| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Fox |
| Ordered | as Alabama |
| Laid down | date unknown |
| Launched | 1859 |
| Acquired | 6 May 1863 |
| In service | 10 June 1863 |
| Out of service | 1 June 1865 |
| Stricken | 1865 (est.) |
| Captured |
|
| Fate | Sold 28 June 1865 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 80 tons |
| Length | not known |
| Beam | not known |
| Draught | 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) |
| Propulsion | sail |
| Speed | varied |
| Complement | not known |
| Armament |
|
USSFox was a captured Confederateschooner acquired by theUnion Navy from theprize court during theAmerican Civil War.
The Union Navy placed her into service as aship's tender, whose task was to serve the fleet blockading theConfederate States of America. However, she was outfitted with a powerful rifled gun, which helped her in the role ofgunboat and the capture of a prize on her own.
Fox, a schooner, was built in 1859 atBaltimore, Maryland; used as ablockade runner by the Confederates under the nameAlabama; captured 18 April 1863 bySusquehanna; purchased from theprize court 6 May 1863; renamedFox, her former merchant name; and first put to sea 10 June 1863, Acting Master A. Weston in command.
Assigned to theEast Gulf Blockading Squadron,Fox sailed out ofKey West, Florida, throughout the remainder of the war. Her primary duty was as tender to the ordnance shipDale and other large ships, but in her patrols alone and with the squadron, she shared in the capture of several blockade runners sailing out ofHavana, Cuba.
Sailing alone, on 20 December 1863 she discovered a side wheelsteamer grounded at the mouth of theSuwannee River, and after firing on her, sent a boarding party which found the steamer's crew had fled. Finding the engine room flooded and the job of getting the steamer off beyond her limited capacity,Fox burned her to prevent her further use by the Confederates.
Four days later, again sailing alone,Fox encountered a British schooner from Havana in the Suwannee River, and after firing several shells, boarded her and took her prize. On 18 April 1864,Fox chased a British schooner until the schooner's crew ran her aground and abandoned her. A party fromFox boarded and burned the blockade runner. Again she took a prize singlehanded on 1 May, when she apprehended a sloop running the blockade offCape Romano,Florida.
Her first prize in 1865, taken 23 January, was another British blockade runner out of Havana. On 12 March,Fox chased a schooner ashore in Deadman's Bay. The blockade runner's crew set her afire, but part of her cargo ofcavalrysabers and farming equipment was saved from the flames byFox's boarding party.
Several times during these years boat parties fromFox destroyed valuable salt works ashore, such expeditions combining with her captures to make hers a most significant role in the total effort to cut the Confederacy off from key supplies.
Detached from duty 1 June 1865, Fox was sold 28 June 1865.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.