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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

USS Berberry

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal
Harbor Tug:
  • Built by unknown builder, Philadelphia, PA
  • Completed for Stephen & James M. Flanagan as screw tug Columbia (ON 21443), 1864
  • Purchased by Navy at Philadelphia for $52,000, 13 August 1864
  • Commissioned USS Berberry at Philadelphia, 12 September 1864
  • Served in North Atlantic Blockading Squadron off Wilmington, NC, October 1864 - February 1865
  • Servied in North Carolina's inland waters, February - May 1865
  • Decommissioned at New York Navy Yard, 10 June 1865
  • Sold at public auction for $15,250, 12 July 1865
  • Documented to Merritt's Wrecking Organization, New York, NY, as salvage tug Rescue, 31 July 1865
  • Sold foreign, 1902
  • Final disposition, further fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Hull wood, sheathed with yellow metal
    Displacement 163 long tons
    Length 99' waterline, 105' 6" overall
    Beam 20'
    Draft 8' 6"
    Speed 10 knots
    Complement 35
    Armament two 12-pdr SB, two 24-pdr SB
    Propulsion vertical engine (30" x 26"), single screw, 350hp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Source
    Namesake
    Berberry
    140895501    		 153k An archaic spelling of barberry, a genus of shrubs (berberis) whose species are found in Europe and Asia and have been brought to the United States. Its red edible berries are sometimes preserved as a jam and are also used medicinally to treat fevers and fluxes. A yellow dye can be extracted from its roots.
    Photo of Berberis darwinii shoot via Wikimedia Commons.    		 Dave Wright
    Commanding Officers
    01Acting Ensign Milton Griffith12 September 1864 - 04 December 1864
    02Acting Ensign Robert Wray Rowntree04 December 1864 - 03 January 1865
    03Acting Ensign Peter Christian Asserson03 January 1865 - 10 June 1865
    Berberry
    DANFS history entry located at the Naval History and Heritage Command website
    Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
    National Association of Fleet Tug Sailors
    Back to the Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Yard and District Craft Photo Index Back To The District Harbor Tug (YT) Photo Index
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    This page was created and is maintained by David L. Wright
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 14 July 2022