USS Howquah ( 1863 ) USS " Howquah " was a screw steamer purchased by the Union Navy in Boston from G . W . Upton on 17 June 1863 , for action against Confederate commerce raider CSS " Tacony " which was then preying upon Northern merchantmen during what Professor Richard S . West has called " the most brilliant daredevil cruise of the war . " Search for " Tacony " . " Howquah " departed Boston 25 June 1863 , with Acting Volunteer Lieutenant E . F . Devens in command , to search for " Tacony " in the southern section of the Banks of Newfoundland but her quarry had been destroyed the day before she sailed . " Tacony " ' s captain , Lieutenant Charles W . Read , OSN , in an effort to elude the Northern gunboats who were scouring the sea for his ship , shifted his guns to captured fishing schooner " Archer " and put the torch to " Tacony " . He and his crew were captured 3 days later while attempting to escape to sea from Portland , Maine , in still another prize , Revenue cutter " Caleb Gushing " . Blockade duty . When " Howquah " returned to Boston 3 July , she received orders to sail for Wilmington , North Carolina , for blockade duty . Except for occasional brief interruptions for repairs , she remained in waters off Wilmington until close to the end of the war , usually stationed near New Inlet . There on 5 November 1863 she assisted USS " Nansemond " and Army transport SS " Fulton " capture CSS " Margaret " and CSS " Jessie " after the ship had run the blockade 15 times . Only 5 days later , she took CSS " Ella " , a small , fast and new side - wheel steamer subsequently serving the Navy as a picket , patrol , and dispatch vessel . Next , on 11 December , she forced an unidentified ship to run on the beach to be wrecked by a heavy sea . On Christmas Eve she transported troops from Beaufort , North Carolina , to Bear Inlet to ruin salt works vital to the Confederate war economy . Again on 21 April 1864 , she joined USS " Niphon " in an attack on salt works on Masonboro Sound . Her guns shelled the beach while a landing party smashed salt - making equipment ashore . Early morning 7 May 1864 , " Howquah " and five other blockaders engaged Confederate ironclad ram CSS " Raleigh " and drove her back toward the harbor to run aground and " break her back " while attempting to cross the bar to safety . On 25 September , while chasing and firing on blockade runner CSS " Lynx " , " Howquah " was caught in a cross fire from Fort Fisher and from " friendly guns " on two other Union ships , USS " Governor Buckingham " and USS " Niphon " . In this operation one of her bluejackets was killed and four others were wounded , but her hull was not seriously damaged . CSS " Lynx " ended up on the beach totally destroyed by fire . Second Battle of Fort Fisher . Christmas Eve 1864 found " Howquah " engaged in amphibious operations . This time the objective was Fort Fisher , which protected Wilmington , one of the South ' s most successful centers of blockade running and her last port for overseas aid . " Howquah " landed troops who took the Flag Pond Hill battery and bombarded enemy positions to support Union forces ashore . Unfortunately , Major General B . F . Butler nullified this success by ordering his troops to give up their beachheads and return to their ships ; and " Howquah " had the unpleasant task of assisting in the evacuation . But in less than a month , the Northern ships were again attacking Fort Fisher in conjunction with the Army . " Howquah " anchored off Half Moon Battery 16 January 1865 and fired at targets ashore while her cutters evacuated the wounded . She remained in the area supporting Northern troops and the fleet ' s landing force with her guns until the last pockets of resistance along the Wilmington waterfront had been snuffed out . To the Gulf . " Howquah " was transferred to Key West for duty in the East Gulf Blockading Squadron . She was stationed in Saint George ' s Sound , Florida , until ordered North 1 June . She decommissioned at Philadelphia 22 June 1865 and was sold at public auction 10 August 1865 .