Vanderbilt, a 3360-ton (burden) wooden side-wheel steamship, was built in 1856 at Greenpoint, Long Island, New York, for commercial trans-Atlantic passenger service. The U.S. Army chartered her for use as a transport soon after the outbreak of the Civil War. In March 1862 she was turned over to the U.S. Navy and converted into a cruiser. Commissioned as USS Vanderbilt in September 1862, she spent the last two months of 1862 and all of 1863 searching in the Atlantic Ocean and West Indies for the Confederate cruiser Alabama. While this extended cruise did not produce an encounter with the elusive enemy warship, Vanderbilt did capture three merchant ships suspected of blockade running or other traffic with the enemy, including steamer Peterhoff in February 1863; steamer Gertrude in April; and bark Saxon in October 1863.
Following repairs that occupied much of 1864, Vanderbilt patrolled in the North Atlantic against blockade runners operating out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. She served on the blockade off Wilmington, North Carolina, beginning in November 1864 and took part in the December 1864 and January 1865 attacks on Wilmington's Fort Fisher that finally resulted in closing that port to Confederate commerce. In the spring of 1865, Vanderbilt carried Sailors to the Gulf of Mexico and towed ironclads between East Coast ports. She was used as a receiving ship at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, in Kittery, Maine, during the summer of that year.
From November 1865 to June 1866 Vanderbilt voyaged from the U.S. Atlantic Coast around South America, escorting the ironclad Monadnock to San Francisco, California. During October and November 1866 she visited Hawaii, carrying that country's queen home from the U.S. Vanderbilt was laid up at the Mare Island Navy Yard from May 1867 until April 1873, when she was sold to private owners. The ship was subsequently converted to a sailing vessel and renamed Three Brothers. Later in the 19th Century she was used as a coal hulk at Gibraltar and was not broken up until 1929.
This page features all the images we have related to USS Vanderbilt (1862-1873), including views of her prior to her Navy service.
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 42188 USS Vanderbilt (1862-1873) In port, during the Civil War era. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 69KB; 740 x 475 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 58744 USS Vanderbilt (1862-1873) Line engraving by G. Parsons, published in "Harper's Weekly", 1862, depicting the ship at sea. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 137KB; 740 x 520 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 60881 USS Vanderbilt (1862-1873) Artwork by Clary Ray. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 84KB; 740 x 470 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 59170 "Second Attack upon Fort Fisher, showing the positions of the vessels, and the lines of fire", 13-15 January 1865 Chart by Walter A. Lane, published in "The Soldier in our Civil War", Volume II. The positions of 58 ships are represented on the chart. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 216KB; 825 x 1225 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 2051 "The Bombardment of Fort Fisher, January 15, 1865" Engraving by T. Shussler, after an artwork by J.O. Davidson, published in "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War". It depicts ships of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron bombarding Fort Fisher, North Carolina, prior to the ground assault that captured the fortification. Identifiable ships include: USS Monadnock (twin-turret monitor in the right center); USS Vanderbilt (grey two-stack side-wheel steamer in right foreground); and USS New Ironsides (at the right end of the main battle line). U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 126KB; 740 x 435 pixels |
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Photo #: LC-USZ62-144 "Bombardment of Fort Fisher" "Jan. 15th 1865" Lithograph after a drawing by T.F. Laycock, published by Endicott & Co., New York, 1865, depicting the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron bombarding Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in preparation for its capture. The print is dedicated to Commodore S.W. Godon, USN. Ships present, as named on the original print, are identified in Photo Number LC-USZ62-144 (Complete Caption). Collections of the Library of Congress. Online Image: 92KB; 740 x 525 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 93869 League Island Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania U.S. Navy ships laid up at League Island soon after the end of the Civil War. The three ships nearest to the camera appear to be "Double Ender" gunboats. Next astern, with two smokestacks, is a former blockade runner. Beyond her, also with two funnels, is USS Vanderbilt. Several monitors are in the far left distance, tied up astern of Vanderbilt. The original print is mounted on a stereograph card. Courtesy of Paul H. Silverstone, 1982. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 106KB; 690 x 675 pixels A stereo pair version of this image is available as Photo # NH 93869-A Online Image of stereo pair: 45KB; 675 x 360 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 45953 USS Monadnock (1864-1874) Sketch depicting the ship in heavy seas off Point Conception, California, 19 June 1866, near the end of her voyage from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, around South America to San Francisco, California. The steamer in the left distance is probably USS Vanderbilt. The original sketch was presented to the Naval Historical Foundation by Vice Admiral William L. Rodgers, 18 May 1938. It came from the collection of his father. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 83KB; 740 x 545 pixels |
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The following image depicts Vanderbilt (rather distantly) while she was still a civilian ship, serving as a transport under charter to the U.S. Army:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 10 July 2002