USS Magnolia ( 1854 ) USS " Magnolia " ( 1854 ) was a steamer captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War . She was planned to be used by the Union Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries . Service with the Confederate Navy . " Magnolia " , a wooden , seagoing , sidewheel steamer built by J . Simonson of Greenpoint , New York for Charles Morgan ' s Southern Steamship Company . Launched in 1854 , the ship was impressed as a public vessel in New Orleans , Louisiana , 15 January 1862 , by Maj . Gen . Mansfield Lovell , CSA , acting for the Confederacy ' s Secretary of War Judah P . Benjamin . The South ’ s original plan to arm her as a ram was dropped in favor of turning her into a blockade runner . In 1858 Floridian cattle man Captain James McKay Sr . of Tampa made a contract with the Morgan Line . This contract allowed McKay to use " Magnolia " twice a month at a price of $ 1 , 500 each run in order to ship cattle to Cuba , making " Magnolia " the first of many ships to be used in the same way . For this reason , the introduction of Spanish doubloons to Florida can be traced back to the trading trips made by " Magnolia " . " Magnolia " made at least two successful runs to nearby British islands in 1861 carrying large cargoes . On 19 February 1862 , while trying to escape from Pass a ’ l ’ Outre in the Gulf of Mexico with a large cargo of cotton and rosin , in a very dense fog , she was captured by Union ships " Brooklyn " and " South Carolina " . Service with the Union Navy Gulf Blockade . After her capture , " Magnolia " was sent to Key West , Florida , where she was evaluated and condemned . She was purchased 9 April 1862 at New York City , by the Navy Department from the Key West Prize Court . After repairs , she commissioned at New York City 22 July 1862 , Lt . William Budd in command . The sidewheel steamer departed New York 26 July 1862 to take station near Key West as part of the Union blockade . En route on the 31st , she captured British steamer " Memphis " near Cape Romain , South Carolina , bound ostensibly from Nassau , Bahamas , to Liverpool , England . Search produced papers revealing that she had actually departed Charleston , South Carolina , the previous night with a cargo of cotton and rosin . Aided by " South Carolina " , " Magnolia " convoyed her prize to New York City , arriving 3 August . After repairs , she sailed again for Key West . Operating off the coast of Florida with the Eastern Gulf Blockading Squadron , " Magnolia " took British schooner " Carmita " 27 December , and 2 days later seized a second blockade runner , British sloop " Flying Fish " , off Tortugas . By mid January 1863 , repeated boiler problems slowed down " Magnolia ’ s " activities on blockade , and 15 July she sailed for New York for extensive repairs . " Magnolia " sailed to rejoin the Eastern Gulf Blockading Squadron 25 April 1864 , and patrolled off the Bahama Banks . On 10 September , she captured steamer " Matagorda " with a load of cotton , carrying no papers and flying no colors . She remained on blockade in these waters until February 1865 , when she shifted to Apalachee Bay to blockade St . Marks , Florida . Four of the ship ' s sailors were awarded the Medal of Honor for accompanying a Union Army force during the Battle of Natural Bridge on 5 – 6 March 1865 . The four men were Landsman John S . Lann , Seaman George Pyne , Ordinary Seaman Charles Read , and Seaman Thomas Smith . " Magnolia " put into Key West 15 March , and spent her last war days ferrying supplies to the ships maintaining the blockade . Post - war decommissioning and civilian career . " Magnolia " decommissioned at New York 10 June 1865 and was sold at public auction to N . L . & G . Griswold 12 July 1865 . Redocumented 23 August 1865 , " Magnolia " served briefly as a merchantman and was abandoned in 1866 .