USS John L . Lockwood ( 1854 ) USS " John L . Lockwood " ( 1854 ) was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War . She was needed by the Navy to be part of the fleet of ships to prevent blockade runners from entering ports in the Confederacy . " John L . Lockwood " built at Athens , New York , in 1854 ; was purchased at New York City 1 September 1861 ; and commissioned at Washington , D . C . , 21 September , Acting Master William F . North in command . Assigned to the North Atlantic Blockade . " John L . Lockwood " was assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron 25 September with whom she steadfastly served throughout the war . She took station off the New York River 30 September and remained there on blockade duty until ordered to Hampton Roads , Virginia , to guard and . With she shelled Virginia infantry on Yorktown Road a few miles above Camp Butler 23 November . Repaired and recommissioned at Baltimore . The following day " John L . Lockwood " departed Hampton Roads for repairs at Baltimore , Maryland , and she decommissioned upon arrival 25 November . Back in fighting trim , she recommissioned 6 December and returned to Hampton Roads . Assisted by , she engaged three Confederate batteries on Sewell ' s Point 29 December . Operations against Roanoke Island . " John L . Lockwood " was ordered to Hatteras Inlet 2 February 1862 to take part in combined operations which struck the Confederacy with heavy and costly blows wherever water reached within the North Carolina Sounds . She was with Flag Officer Goldsborough during operations against Roanoke Island 7 February bombarding Confederate positions with deadly effective fire . The next day with eight other ships she cut the chain connecting two vessels which obstructed the channel , thus clearing a passage for the Union ships into Albemarle Sound . This victory and the follow - up operations in the sounds severed Norfolk ' s main supply lines , secured the North Carolina coast , diverted important strength from the main Confederate Armies , and weakened the South ' s ability to resist at sea . At the end of the fighting , Captain Alex Murray who commanded Goldborough ' s second column praised " John L . Lockwood " for being " conspicuously in the foreground throughout the bombardment . " North Carolina coastal operations . With Roanoak Island secure , the fleet moved on to Elizabeth City , North Carolina , to destroy Confederate gunboats and interrupt the South ' s canal communications to the north of Albemarle Sound . The next major amphibious operation , the attack on Confederate batteries on the Neuse River 13 March , resulted in Union occupation of New Bern , North Carolina , on the 14th . On 23 April , with and , " John L . Lockwood " , blocked the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Canal near Elizabeth City , North Carolina , sinking a schooner and other obstructions inside the waterway . She remained in North Carolina ' s inland waters patrolling the innumerable inlets and streams and assisting Army units ashore until sailing from Hatteras Inlet for repairs at Hampton Roads 3 September 1863 . Refitting completed , " John L . Lockwood " departed Norfolk Navy Yard 8 January 1864 and arrived New Bern 14 January to resume duty in the sounds . She captured sloop " Twilight " at Elizabeth City , North Carolina . During most of her further service she was stationed at New Bern where after the war she decommissioned 23 May 1865 . Post - war decommissioning and sale . She was towed to Baltimore late in May and thence taken to Washington 27 July . " John L . Lockwood " was sold at Washington to Mr . Cresset of New York 15 September 1865 and redocumented " Henry Smith " 3 April 1866 . The Army purchased and renamed her " Chester A . Arthur " 30 June 1876 .