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Sovereign (I) (Union)
ex
 Sovereign (Confederacy) (1861 - 1862)

Sidewheel Steamer:
  • Built in 1855 at Shousetown , PA.
  • Sovereign operated on the Mississippi and its tributaries during the years preceding the Civil War
  • Acquired by the Confederacy in 1861 tp serve as a transport on the Mississippi river system
  • On 5 June 1862, on the Mississippi near Island No. 37, she was fired upon by USS Benton and union tug Spitfire closed for action, was abandoned by her crew
  • However, a 16-year old lad who was loyal to the Union remained on board, removed weights from the steamer's safety valves, wetted down her fires, and signaled Spitfire with a white sheet
  • A prize crew from the Union tug then took possession of the ship
  • Sovereign was condemned by the Illinois prize court and formally purchased by the Navy, 9 January 1863
  • Meanwhile, in the summer of 1862, she had been placed in service as a commissary boat for the Western Flotilla under the command of First Master Thomas Baldwin
  • She served for the most part off the mouth of the Yazoo River tending combatant ships during operations against Vicksburg
  • After the Confederate river fortress fell, she ascended the river to Cairo, IL., where she was laid up and used as quarters for workmen in the navy yard
  • Following the collapse of the Confederacy, Sovereign was sold at public auction there, 29 November 1865, to S. Homer
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 336t.
    Length unknown
    Beam unknown
    Depth of Hold unknown
    Draft unknown
    Speed unknown
    Complement unknown
    Armament unknown
    Propulsion steam
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    Sovereign
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
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    Last Updated 14 October 2022