USS R. B. Forbes

USS R. B. Forbes (1845) was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. Her primary task was to prevent blockade runners from entering, or departing from, the South.

History
United States
Name: USS R. B. Forbes
Laid down: 1845
Launched: 1845
Acquired: 17 August 1861
Commissioned: 25 August 1861
Decommissioned: date unknown
In service: 8 February 1862
Out of service: 25 February 1862
Stricken: 1862
Fate: Wrecked 25 February 1862
General characteristics
Type: Steamer
Displacement: 329 long tons (334 t)
Length: 121 ft (37 m)
Beam: 25 ft 6 in (7.77 m)
Draft: 12 ft 3 in (3.73 m)
Depth of hold: 11 ft 7 in (3.53 m)
Propulsion:
Speed:
  • 11 kn (13 mph; 20 km/h) (max.)
  • 7 kn (8.1 mph; 13 km/h) cruising
Complement: Unknown
Armament: 2 × 32 pdr (15 kg) guns

R. B. Forbes, a twin-screw steamer built in 1845 — was acquired by the Navy at Boston, Massachusetts on 17 August 1861. Although not formally purchased until September, she was fitted out at Boston and got underway for the Washington Navy Yard on 25 August, Acting Master William G. Gregory in command.

Assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron

After spending most of September at the Navy Yard, the steamer operated in the Chesapeake Bay area until ordered to join the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in late October. Sailing on the 29th, she participated in the capture of Fort Walker and Fort Beauregard at Port Royal, South Carolina, on 7 November, then remained in the area until December. Following damage to her port shaft and propeller, she was towed to New York by the steamer Atlantic, arriving on 20 December.

Reassigned to the Mortar Flotilla

Decommissioned for repairs, she was recommissioned on 8 February 1862 and ordered to join the Mortar Flotilla below New Orleans, Louisiana.

Running aground and destroyed

Caught in a gale off Cape Henry on 25 February, R. B. Forbes was driven ashore and wrecked a few miles south of Currituck Inlet. Young America — dispatched to the scene — brought off the steamer's crew and all salvageable equipment. She was then burnt to prevent capture by Confederate forces.

See also

References

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

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