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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

Hyacinth
ex
 US Army Tug Spitfire (1862)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal
Steam Tug:
  • Built, date and location unknown
  • Launched, date unknown
  • Purchased by the U.S. War Department in 1862, named Spitfire
  • Spitfire was placed into service by the U.S. Army as a tugboat, dispatch boat and gunboat on the upper Mississippi River
  • During the Battle of Island Number Ten in March 1862 Spitfire was used to carry dispatches
  • On 5 June 1862 Spitfire captured Confederate transport Sovereign near Fort Pillow, TN.
  • On 14 June she took steamer Clara Dolsen after a long chase from Helena, Arkansas, ending on the White River a short distance above its mouth
  • Spitfire was transferred by the U.S. War Department to the Union Navy 30 September 1862
  • Spitfire was renamed Hyacinth 19 October 1862
  • Hyacinth served the Mississippi Squadron until the end of the war. She was especially useful in operations which resulted in the fall of Vicksburg, and assisted in the salvage work which refloated USS Indianola
  • Placed out of service and sold at public auction in Mound City, IL., 17 August 1865 to J. H. Payne. For $4,350. Redocumented as ROLLA on September 30, 1865.
    Specifications:
    Displacement 50 t.
    Length unknown
    Beam unknown
    Depth of Hold unknown
    Draft 6'
    Speed 8 kts
    Complement unknown
    Armament one gun
    Propulsion steam
    single screw propeller
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    Hyacinth
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
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    Last Updated 16 May 2023