USS Rocket (1862)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Rocket.

USS Rocket was a tugboat acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.

History
United States
Name	USS Rocket
Ordered	as J. P. Billard
Laid down	Date unknown
Launched	1862
Acquired	12 October 1863
Commissioned	1863
Decommissioned	1899
Stricken	27 October 1899
Fate	Sold, 28 December 1899
General characteristics
Type	Tugboat
Displacement	187 long tons (190 t)
Length	85 ft 8 in (26.11 m)
Beam	18 ft 10 in (5.74 m)
Draft	7 ft (2.1 m)
Depth of hold	8 ft (2.4 m)
Propulsion	Screw propelled
Speed	8.5 knots (15.7 km/h; 9.8 mph)

Rocket, built at Mystic, Connecticut, in 1862 as the wooden harbor tug J. P. Billard, was purchased for the Navy on 12 October 1863 from Copeland & Howe at New York City and renamed the same day.

Service during the American Civil War

Rocket served as an ordnance tug carrying weapons and ammunition in New York Navy Yard during and after the Civil War. Reboilered in 1884, Rocket was subsequently transferred to Boston Navy Yard to perform yard tug duties.

Service during the Spanish–American War

Thoroughly overhauled at Portsmouth Navy Yard (Maine) in 1889, Rocket's last service was as a fireboat and tug in Boston Navy Yard through the Spanish–American War.

Final decommissioning

Stricken from the Navy List on 27 October 1899, Rocket was sold on 28 December 1899 to Carrie I. Hall at Newport, Rhode Island.

See also

• Union Blockade

References

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