USS Virginia ( 1861 ) USS " Virginia " ( 1861 ) was a heavy 581 - ton blockade - running steamer captured by the U . S . Navy and put to use by the Union during the American Civil War . " Virginia " served the Navy primarily as a mortar gunboat . Her ordnance included six 24 - pounder howitzers for riverbank bombardment , and a powerful 12 - pounder rifle for use at sea against blockade runners . Captured by Union Navy forces . " Virginia " was originally the British merchantman " Pet " built at Dumbarton , Scotland , in 1861 . " Pet " sailed as " Noe - Daquy " during the early months of the Civil War and , in December 1862 , was acquired by a Havana , Cuba , merchant for use as a Confederate blockade runner . Renamed " Virginia " , the vessel was captured off Mugeres Island , Mexico , by and on 18 January 1863 ; was later purchased by the Navy from the New York City prize court on 1 September ; and was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 12 June . Civil War . West Gulf blockade . " Virginia " was assigned duty with Rear Admiral David G . Farragut ' s West Gulf Blockading Squadron and , within a week of her commissioning , departed New York City , bound for the Gulf of Mexico . En route , she touched briefly at Hampton Roads , Virginia , finally joining Farragut ' s squadron in July . However , further repairs and modifications were needed before the vessel could become a fully effective fighting unit ; and the ship spent August and most of September at New Orleans , Louisiana , undergoing overhaul . Texas coast operations . " Virginia " finally returned to active duty in late September and was deployed along the coast of Texas for the duration of the war . There , she conducted numerous patrol and reconnaissance missions — which often took her up the rivers which empty into the gulf — and also compiled an impressive list of captures . Her first success was the seizure of the British blockade runner " Jenny " off the Texas coast with a cargo of cotton on 6 October . Between 2 and 14 November , , , and " Virginia " convoyed and supported General Nathaniel Banks ' successful landing at Brazos Santiago , Texas , near the mouth of the Rio Grande . Here , " Virginia " also captured the British steamer " Matamoras " on the 4th and the English brig " Dashing Wave " on the 5th . This expedition began a Union offensive aimed both at wresting Texas from Confederate control and deterring French troops in Mexico from attempting to invade the state . On the 4th , Southern forces evacuated Brownsville , Texas , giving the Union a strong foothold at the Mexican border . Off - shore blockade duty . After the Rio Grande expedition , " Virginia " returned to blockade duty and found the waters off Texas a fertile breeding ground of smuggling activity . This was especially true of the area off San Luis Pass , Texas , and " Virginia " made most of her captures here . These included the British schooner " Mary Douglas " and her cargo of coffee , bananas , and linen which were seized on 15 February 1864 , and the English schooner " Henry Colthirst " which she took on the 22d . On the 29th off Galveston , Texas , " Virginia " overhauled the Confederate schooner " Camilla " with a cargo of cotton . The sloop " Cassie Holt " was also captured at the same time , but she grounded off San Luis Pass and was burned . Once again off San Luis Pass , " Virginia " captured the sloop " Randall " on 8 March , the schooner " Sylphide " on the 10th , and the Mexican schooner " Juanita " on 11 April . However , " Juanita " grounded on the 13th and was recaptured with the loss of the prize crew . This incident was partially offset by the capture of the Mexican schooner " Alma " on the 19th and the seizure and destruction of the sloop " Rosina " on the 20th . " Virginia " s last captures off San Luis Pass included the schooner " Experiment " , which she took on 3 May and subsequently destroyed and 94 stacked bales of cotton picked up ashore on the 7th and 8th . Boilers repaired . " Virginia " returned to New Orleans in mid - May for badly needed repairs to her boilers . She remained at New Orleans until December , leaving on the 5th for the blockade off Galveston , Texas . Here , she captured the schooner " Belle " on 27 December and helped to destroy the side - wheel steamer " Acadia " in February 1865 . Post - war . After the war ended in April 1865 , " Virginia " sailed for Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , on 17 July . The veteran blockader was sold at public auction at New York City to Perry Brothers on 30 November ; was documented on 14 December ; and was re - rigged as a barge on 24 March 1885 .