View source for USS Philadelphia (1861)

{{Short description|US Navy ship during the American Civil War}}
{{other ships|USS Philadelphia}}
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{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:USS Philadelphia (1861).jpg|300px|USS Philadelphia]]
|Ship caption=USS ''Philadelphia''
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag=[[Image:US Naval Jack 36 stars.svg|48px|Union Navy Jack]]  {{USN flag|1861}}
|Ship name=USS ''Philadelphia''
|Ship namesake=[[Philadelphia]]
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=1859
|Ship acquired=by seizure, 21 April 1861
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=31 August 1865
|Ship in service=
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|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Sold, 15 September 1865
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship type=[[Steamship|Steamer]]
|Ship displacement={{convert|500|LT|t|abbr=on}}
|Ship length={{convert|200|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|30|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft=
|Ship hold depth={{convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship propulsion=[[Steam engine]]
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|Ship armament=2 × {{convert|12|pdr|kg|lk=on|abbr=on}} guns
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|}

The third '''USS ''Philadelphia''''' was the [[flagship]] of [[Rear admiral (United States)|Rear Admiral]] [[Samuel Phillips Lee]] when he commanded the [[North Atlantic Blockading Squadron]] during the [[American Civil War]].

==Service history==
A side-wheel, iron-hulled [[steamship|steamer]], ''Philadelphia'' was built at [[Chester, Pennsylvania]], in 1859 as the commercial vessel of the same name. She was operating as a trading vessel between [[Aquia Creek]], [[Virginia]] and [[Washington, D.C.]] at the outbreak of the Civil War. Seized on 21 April 1861, in accordance with a Presidential order, she was ordered to the [[Washington Navy Yard]], where she fitted out for naval service. ''Philadelphia'' — [[Lieutenant]] [[William Nicholson Jeffers]] commanding — operated on the [[Potomac River]] as a patrol vessel. In May, she was detailed to transport ordnance stores to Fortress Monroe, to Philadelphia and to New York. Upon return to the Washington Navy Yard, Jeffers reported that the steamer was in no respect suitable for outside service. She continued to operate on the Potomac River until October 1861, primarily transporting troops downriver to [[Fort Washington (Maryland)|Fort Washington]].

''Philadelphia'' was assigned duties with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron in October, and in January–February 1862 served as squadron flagship. ''Philadelphia'' took part in the expedition to [[Hatteras Inlet]] in January and served as flag-steamer to [[Flag officer#United States|Flag Officer]] [[Louis M. Goldsborough]] at the [[battle of Roanoke Island]] [[North Carolina]] on 7–8 February. She also took part in the [[Battle of New Bern (1862)|Battle of New Bern]] in March, and later participated in the expedition to the [[Dismal Swamp Canal]] on 17–20 April. From August 1863 – 1865, ''Philadelphia'' was flagship of the [[South Atlantic Blockading Squadron]]. The highlight of her activities during this period was her participation in the operation against [[Charleston, South Carolina]] in the fall of 1863. With the close of hostilities ''Philadelphia'' was sent to the Washington Navy Yard where she decommissioned on 31 August 1865. She was sold at [[public auction]] on 15 September to N. L. and G. Griswold. Renamed ''Ironsides'' in 1869, she was lost by stranding at [[Hog Island, Virginia]] on 29 August 1873.

==References==
{{Portal|American Civil War}}
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/p6/philadelphia-iii.htm}}
*{{Naval Vessel Register}}

{{1873 shipwrecks}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Philadelphia, USS (1861)}}
[[Category:Ships of the Union Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built in Chester, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Virginia coast]]
[[Category:1859 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in August 1873]]