USS Columbia was a steamer captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.

USS Columbia.
History
United States
NameUSS Columbia
Acquired4 November 1862
CommissionedDecember 1862
Out of service14 January 1863
Capturedby Union Navy forces, 3 August 1862
FateRan aground, 14 January 1863
General characteristics
TypePatrol boat
Displacement503 long tons (511 t)
Length168 ft (51 m)
Beam25 ft (7.6 m)
Draft14 ft (4.3 m)
Propulsion
RangeShip complement=100
Armament6 × 24-pounder smoothbore guns, 1 × 30-pounder rifle

Service history

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Columbia, a screw steamer was captured on 3 August 1862 by Santiago de Cuba while running the blockade off the coast of Florida; purchased by the Navy from the Key West, Florida Prize Court on 4 November 1862; outfitted at New York Navy Yard; and commissioned sometime in December, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Joseph Pitty Couthouy in command. While serving with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron off Wilmington, North Carolina, Columbia ran aground and was wrecked off Masonboro Inlet on 14 January 1863. Forty men of her crew — including her commanding officer — were captured by the Confederates.

References

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  This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.