View source for USS Sunflower (1863)

{{short description|Gunboat of the United States Navy}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{otherships|USS Sunflower}}
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|Ship country=United States
|Ship flag=[[Image:US Naval Jack 36 stars.svg|48px|Union Navy Jack]]  {{USN flag|1861}}
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|Ship acquired=2 May 1863
|Ship commissioned=29 April 1863
|Ship decommissioned=3 June 1865
|Ship fate=Sold, 10 August 1865
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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|Ship displacement=294 tons
|Ship length={{convert|104|ft|5|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|20|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft={{convert|12|ft|m|abbr=on}}
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|Ship propulsion=*[[steam engine]]
*screw propelled
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|Ship speed={{convert|10.5|kn|lk=in}}
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|Ship armament=two 30-pounder [[Parrott rifle]]s
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'''USS ''Sunflower''''' was a 294-ton [[Steamboat|steamer]] acquired by the [[Union Navy]] during the [[American Civil War]].

''Sunflower'' was used as a [[gunboat]] by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] in order to prevent the South from trading with other countries.

== Service history ==

''Sunflower''—a screw [[gunboat]] purchased at [[Boston]], Massachusetts, on 2 May 1863—was commissioned on 29 April 1863, Acting Master Edward Sice in command. ''Sunflower'' was assigned to the [[East Gulf Blockading Squadron]] and arrived at [[Key West, Florida]], in mid-May 1863. On the 31st, she seized [[schooner]] ''Echo'' and a cargo of [[cotton]] off the [[Marquesas Keys]]. The gunboat captured schooner ''Pushmatatta'' off [[Dry Tortugas|Tortugas]] on 13 June and schooner ''General Worth'' in the [[straits of Florida]] on 27 August. ''Sunflower'' aided {{USS|Beauregard|1861|6}} in seizing [[sloop]] ''Last Trial'' on 6 October. On Christmas Eve 1863, she captured blockade runner ''Hancock'' near the [[lighthouse]] at [[Tampa Bay]] with a cargo of salt and [[borax]].

''Sunflower'' remained on patrol during 1864 and, on 24 March, captured sloop ''Josephine'' in [[Sarasota Bay|Sarasota Sound]]. ''Josephine'' was en route from [[Tampa, Florida]], to [[Havana, Cuba]], with a cargo of cotton when she was intercepted. ''Sunflower'', with {{USS|Honduras|1861|6}} and {{USS|James L. Davis|1861|6}}, supported the capture of Tampa in a combined operation from 4 to 7 May. These Union ships transported Northern soldiers to Tampa and also provided naval landing parties which participated in the assault. On the 6th, the three ships captured sloop ''Neptune'' which was carrying a cargo of cotton, when she attempted to run the blockade On 2 June, ''Sunflower'' landed three armed boats to destroy salt works at Tampa Bay. The last ship to fall prey to ''Sunflower'' was ''Pickwick'', captured off St. George's Sound on 6 December 1864. On 30 March 1865, she and {{USS|Somerset|1862|6}} landed an expedition at [[St. Joseph's Sound]] and destroyed salt works. ''Sunflower'' sailed to [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], and was decommissioned there on 3 June 1865. The ship was sold at auction on 10 August 1865.

== References ==
{{Portal|American Civil War}}
{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s20/sunflower-i.htm}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunflower}}
[[Category:Ships of the Union Navy]]
[[Category:Steamships of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Gunboats of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States]]