History
United States
Laid down	date unknown
Launched	1863
Acquired	6 September 1864
Commissioned	6 October 1864
Decommissioned	5 April 1865
Stricken	1865 (est.)
Captured	by Union Navy forces 24 August 1864
Fate	Sold, 30 November 1865
General characteristics
Displacement	630 tons
Length	225 ft 6 in (68.73 m)
Beam	26 ft (7.9 m)
Draught	8 ft 2 in (2.49 m)
Propulsion	steam engine wide side wheel-propelled
Speed	14 knots
Complement	not known
Armament	one 90-pounder gun one 20-pounder gun
Armour	iron

USSLilian was a largesteamer captured by theUnion Navy during theAmerican Civil War. She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of theConfederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.

Lilian, an iron wide-wheel steamer built on theClyde River,Scotland, in 1863, was captured some 100 miles east ofCape Fear,North Carolina, 24 August 1864 byUSS Keystone State and other Union ships. Among the prisoners were fiveWilmington, North Carolina, pilots being carried toBermuda to guide Confederate ships through theblockade. Purchased by the Navy from thePhiladelphia, Pennsylvania,Prize Court 6 September 1864, she was commissioned 6 October at thePhiladelphia Navy Yard, Acting Volunteer Lt. T. A. Harris in command.

Lilian joined the fleet attackingFort Fisher,Cape Fear River, 23 to 24 December 1864 and 13 to 14 January 1865. She landed troops above the fort on the 13th, and then bombarded it. After this attack, she patrolled the inlet, and withUSS Tristram Shandy captured the British steamerBlenheim 25 January.

She decommissioned 5 April 1865 and was sold atpublic auction atNew York City 30 November 1865. Documented 8 October 1866,Lilian operated in merchant service until 1868.

 This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.

• Ships of the Union navy
• Steamships of the United States Navy
• Ships built on the River Clyde
• Gunboats of the United States Navy
• 1863 ships

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from June 2017
• Ship infoboxes without an image
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships