USS Massachusetts ( 1860 ) USS " Massachusetts " ( 1860 ) was a large steamer acquired by the U . S . Navy prior to the American Civil War . She was used by the Union Navy as a gunship in the blockade of Confederate ports . At war ' s end , she was outfitted as a cargo ship and served in that capacity until finally decommissioned . " Massachusetts " , an iron screw steamer built at Boston , Massachusetts , in 1860 , was purchased by the Union Navy 3 May 1861 from the Boston & Southern Steamship Co . , and commissioned 24 May 1861 at Boston , Commander Melancton Smith in command . Civil War Service . Assigned to the Gulf Blockading Squadron , " Massachusetts " steamed south 10 May 1861 to anchor off Key West , Florida , departing there 8 June for Pensacola , Florida . The next day she took her first prize , British ship " Perthshire " , near Pensacola . She captured " Achilles " 17 June and 2 days later took " Naham Stetson " off Pass a l ’ 0utre , Louisiana , and on the 23d captured Mexican schooner " Brilliant " and the Confederate blockade running schooners " Trois Freres " , " Olive Branch " , " Fanny " , and " Basile " in the Gulf of Mexico . While " Massachusetts " was absent , the South had fortified Ship Island , and the batteries fired on her when she returned from Pensacola . She engaged the Confederate guns until she ran out of ammunition . On 13 July she seized schooner " Hiland " near Ship Island , and next day engaged steamers " Arrow " and " Oregon " off Chandeleur Islands , forcing them to withdraw . " Massachusetts " captured blockade - running sloop " Charles Henry " near Ship Island 7 August and gained information on Fort Pike , which guarded the entrance to Lake Pontchartrain for the South . After repairs in early September , " Massachusetts " fortified Chandeleur Island and set up a light there 13 September . A landing party from the ship took possession of Ship Island 17 September , thereby providing the Union Navy with a valuable shelter during storms and the base from which Admiral David Farragut would launch his attack on New Orleans , Louisiana . Returning to Ship Island 20 September , " Massachusetts " attacked , causing the South to burn the barracks and desert Ship Island passage . " Massachusetts " operated near strategically important Ship Island through the remainder of the year . She thwarted Confederate efforts to transport freight through the passage 2 December , captured a small fishing boat 12 December , and turned back " Oregon " , " Pamlico " , " Gray Cloud " , and " Florida " at Mississippi Sound 19 December . Early in 1862 " Massachusetts " steamed northward to decommission at New York City 28 February . Fitted out as a transport and supply ship , she recommissioned 16 April and operated along the Atlantic coast until decommissioning at New York City 3 December . " Massachusetts " recommissioned 10 March 1863 and but for a brief period in ordinary late that summer served the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron through the end of the war . She captured sloop " Parsis " in Wassaw Sound 12 March and with " Commodore Perry " captured blockade runner " Caledonia " 30 May 1864 south of Cape Fear after a 2 hour chase . In August she aided steamers " Gettysburg " and " Keystone State " in the capture of Confederate steamer " Lilian " . On 19 March 1865 " Massachusetts " struck a torpedo ( mine ) , which failed to explode , in Charleston Harbor . Post - war decommissioning . She decommissioned 22 September 1865 at New York City and was sold there at public auction 1 October 1867 . Documented 11 February 1868 as " Crescent City " , she served American commerce until 1872 .