USS Stars and Stripes ( 1861 ) USS " Stars and Stripes " ( 1861 ) was a 407 - ton steamer acquired by the U . S . Navy and put to use by the Union during the American Civil War . " Stars and Stripes " served the Union Navy primarily as a screw gunboat , and as a tugboat when necessary , in the blockade of the rivers and ports of the Confederate States of America . Purchased by the Union Navy in New York in 1861 . " Stars and Stripes " — a screw steamer built at Mystic , Connecticut , by Charles Mallory as a speculation for C . S . Bushnell — was purchased by the Navy at New York City from C . S . Bushnell on 27 July 1861 ; was fitted out for naval service at the New York Navy Yard and was commissioned there on 19 September 1861 , Lt . Reed Werden in command . Civil War operations . Assigned to the North Atlantic blockade . Assigned to the Atlantic Blockading Squadron , " Stars and Stripes " reached Hampton Roads , Virginia , on 26 September . Two days later , she was ordered to tow schooners of the Stone Fleet to Hatteras Inlet , North Carolina . She arrived off Hatteras Inlet on 1 October and operated in that vicinity for the next few months . While there , the , , and were subordinate to the orders of her captain . Because of the draft of the " Stars and Stripes " and the " Underwriter " , Lt . Werden was unwilling to have them enter Pamlico Sound due to shallowness of Hatteras Inlet . On 2 November , a Confederate vessel engaged the " Stars and Stripes " at long range briefly before retiring . The exchange was ineffectual since neither ship came within range of the other ' s guns . On 5 and 6 November , the ships under Lt . Werden ' s command attempted to provide assistance to the French corvette " Prony " which had run aground , but between concern for the weather and Rebel activity , proved unable to do so . On 15 December , she captured schooner " Charity " and sent her to New York City for adjudication . On 7 February 1862 , the screw gunboat was in the squadron which attacked Roanoke Island and the next day captured that base which controlled communication between Pamlico Sound and Albemarle Sound . On 20 February while transferring ammunition to the , that ship struck the submerged anchor of the and was sunk , with most of her crew brought aboard the " Stars and Stripes " . She operated in the inland waters of North Carolina and helped capture New Bern , North Carolina , in mid - March . " Stars and Stripes " returned to Norfolk , Virginia , on 4 June for repairs and sailed on the evening of the 10th for blockading duty off Wilmington , North Carolina . Shortly before dawn on the 27th , she helped destroy blockade - running steamer " Modem Greece " which that Union blockader had run aground . On 24 August , " Stars and Stripes " captured British ship " Mary Elizabeth " attempting to slip into Wilmington with a cargo of salt and fruit . Repaired at Philadelphia . The wear and tear of hard duty forced " Stars and Stripes " to sail , via Norfolk , Virginia , to Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , for repairs . She was decommissioned at the Norfolk Navy Yard on 14 September . Assigned to the East Gulf of Mexico blockade . Quickly restored to a serviceable condition , the ship was recommissioned on 29 September and was assigned to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron . The steamer reached Key West , Florida , and spent the remainder of the Civil War operating off the gulf coast of Florida . Highlights of her service in 1863 included capturing sloop " Florida " at St . Marks Bay , Florida , laden with cotton and tar on 3 June ; the expedition of boat crews from the steamer and to Marsh Island , Florida , to destroy salt and salt works on 15 July ; and the destruction under heavy fire of blockade - running schooner " Caroline Gertrude " aground on the bar at the mouth of the Ochlockonee River on 29 December . In 1864 , she captured blockade - running steamer " Laura " off the Ochlockonee on 18 January ; she destroyed an extensive Confederate fishery at Marsh Island on 19 and 20 October and captured the troops stationed there as guards ; and she joined three other gunboats in an expedition on 3 December which destroyed extensive salt works at Rocky Point in Tampa Bay . Post - war decommissioning . After the end of the Civil War , " Stars and Stripes " sailed north and was decommissioned at Philadelphia on 30 June 1865 . She was sold at public auction there on 10 August 1865 to Thomas Watson and Sons of New York City . Subsequent commercial career . " Stars and Stripes " was redocumented on 18 September 1865 as " Metropolis " . The ship operated in merchant service until , while steaming from Philadelphia to Pará , Brazil , she was wrecked on the outer bar of Currituck Beach , North Carolina , on the evening of 31 January 1878 . Both the ship and her cargo were a total loss .