USS Donegal

USS Donegal was a captured Confederate steamship acquired by the Union Navy from the prize court during the American Civil War. She was put into service by the Union Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.

History
United States
Name	USS Donegal
Laid down	date unknown
Launched	1860
Commissioned	3 September 1864
Decommissioned	8 September 1865
Stricken	1865 (est.)
Captured	Captured by the Union Navy, 6 June 1864
Fate	Sold, 27 September 1865
General characteristics
Type	Steamer
Displacement	1,080 long tons (1,100 t)
Length	200 ft (61 m)
Beam	36 ft (11 m)
Draft	8 ft (2.4 m)
Propulsion	Steam engine, side-wheel propelled
Speed	10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h)
Complement	130
Armament	2 × 30-pounder rifles, 2 × 12-pounder smoothbore guns

Capture of the vessel, conversion to Union Navy use

Donegal — a large sidewheel steamer, was built in 1860 at Wilmington, Delaware, and used as a Confederate blockade runner, occasionally carrying the name Austin. She was captured on 6 June 1864 off Mobile Bay by Metacomet; sent to Philadelphia for condemnation; purchased by the Navy and fitted for sea at Philadelphia Navy Yard; and commissioned on 3 September 1864, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant W. H. West in command.

Assigned to carry cargo to the South Atlantic Blockade

Donegal stood down the Delaware River after her commissioning for Charleston, South Carolina, with supplies and a large number of officers and men for ships of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. She returned to Philadelphia on 16 September, and from 24 September-12 December made four similar voyages.

Rescuing the crew of the sinking McDonough

Later, in 1865, she patrolled the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia until 20 August, when she sailed for New York City, arriving four days later. She rescued the crew of USS Commodore McDonough which sank on the 23rd while being towed to New York.

End-of-war decommissioning and sale

Donegal was decommissioned on 8 September 1865 and sold on 27 September.

References

 This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.