USS Rodolph ( 1863 ) USS " Rodolph " ( 1863 ) was a steamer commissioned by the Union Navy during the American Civil War . She served the Union Navy during her struggle against the Confederate States of America , both as a tugboat and a minesweeper , as well as a gunboat when the occasion demanded . Unfortunately for " Rodolph " , just as the war was ending , she struck a mine and sank , with four of her crew killed and a number of others wounded . Built in Cincinnati , Ohio , in 1863 . " Rodolph " ( " Gunboat No . 48 " ) , a stern - wheel steamer built in 1863 at Cincinnati , Ohio , was purchased by the Navy there on 31 December 1863 for service in the Mississippi Squadron . However , the installation of her " tinclad " armor and fitting out were slow . When she was finally ready for active service , she was transferred to Admiral David Farragut ' s West Gulf Blockading Squadron which was then preparing for the invasion of Mobile Bay . Civil War service . Carrying the Confederate flag down from Fort Morgan . Commissioned at New Orleans , Louisiana , on 28 May 1864 , the stern - wheeler , commanded by Act . Vol . Lt . George D . Upham , operated on the lower Mississippi River until after the historic Union naval victory in Mobile Bay on 5 August . She joined Farragut ' s invasion force there on the 14th and participated in operations which culminated in the surrender of Fort Morgan on the 23d . Acting Master ' s Mate Nathaniel B . Hinckley , serving on board the " tinclad , " carried the Confederate flag from the fort . Destroying valuable Confederate salt works . " Rodolph ' s " shallow draft enabled her to be especially useful during " mop up " operations while Union seapower projected General Edward Canby ' s army against the final defenses of the city of Mobile , Alabama . The high point of her service came , perhaps , on 8 September , when she entered the Bon Secours River with the side - wheeler " Stockdale " and demolished extensive salt works which had been producing , daily , some 2 , 000 bushels of badly needed salt for the Confederacy . Destroying a sawmill and of lumber . On the 11th , the two ships escorted an Army transport , " Planter " , up the Fish River to seize a sawmill engine and some of lumber . That night , as the Union ships retired down the river from the wrecked mill , southern riflemen fired upon them from the riverbanks and felled trees in their path . While the gunboats fired back rapidly , " Rodolph " battered her way through the obstructions , enabling the expedition to reach safety . Assuming the role of a minesweeper and getting sunk . Diverse and dangerous duties in Mobile Bay and in nearby streams kept the " tinclad " busy until almost the end of the Civil War . The most difficult task facing her and her sister ships was clearing torpedoes ( mines ) from the captured Confederate waters . On 1 April 1865 , as she was towing a barge to assist in salvaging the sunken monitor Milwaukee , " Rodolph " was herself sunk when she struck a mine in the Blakely River . The explosion killed four men and wounded 11 others . Note . The “ Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships ” describes " Rodolph " as a side - wheel steamer ; however , the Naval Historical Center describes her as a stern - wheel steamer . Since the Naval Historical Center shows a line engraving of " Rodolph " , published in the “ Harper ’ s Weekly ” 29 April 1865 issue , showing " Rodolph " as a stern wheeler , this article will describe her a stern wheeler unless proved otherwise .