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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
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WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

Photo # NH 63887:  Steamer Phineas Sprague, which served as USS Flag during the Civil War.

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --

USS Flag (1861-1865).
Originally the Civilian steamship Phineas Sprague (1857)

In April 1861 the Navy purchased the 938-ton (burden) screw steamship Phineas Sprague, which had been built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1857. Converted to a gunboat and renamed Flag, she was commissioned in late May to take part in the war to subdue the rebellious southern states. USS Flag spent her Civil War career blockading the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia and eastern Florida, participating in the capture or destruction of several would-be blockade runners, among them three steamers. She also was involved in several operations against enemy shore positions, including the occupation of Tybee Island, Georgia, in November 1861, the capture of Fernandina, Florida, in March 1862 and operations against the fortifications protecting Charleston, South Carolina, in 1863. USS Flag was decommissioned in February 1865 and was sold in July 1865. Thereafter, she was the civilian steamship Flag. She was broken up in 1876.

This page features the only views we have related to USS Flag and to the civilian steamship Phineas Sprague.


If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

Photo #: NH 63887

Phineas Sprague
(American Steamship, 1857-1876)

Watercolor by Erik Heyl, 1951, painted for use in his book "Early American Steamers", Volume I.
Built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1857, this steamer served as USS Flag during the Civil War and was the SS Flag after 1865.

Courtesy of Erik Heyl.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 72KB; 740 x 410 pixels

 
Photo #: NH 59283

Union blockaders off the entrance to Savannah, Georgia, 1861


Line engraving published in "Harper's Weekly", July-December 1861, page 797, depicting USS Savannah, USS Flag and the steamer McClellan off shore, with Tybee Lighthouse and Fort Pulaski in the background. Also shown are hulks sunk to block the channel.

U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

Online Image: 109KB; 1200 x 260 pixels

 

Note: In addition to the views presented above, Photo # NH 58711 shows the blockade runner Anglia, which USS Flag assisted in capturing on 27 October 1862.


If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


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Page made 7 September 2003
Link added 27 September 2003