USS Winona ( 1861 ) USS " Winona " was a built for service with the Union Navy during the American Civil War . " Winona " was heavily armed , with large guns for duels at sea , and 24 - pounder howitzers for shore bombardment . " Winona " saw significant action in the Gulf of Mexico and in the waterways of the Mississippi River and was fortunate to return home safely after the war for decommissioning . Constructed at New York City . The first ship to be so named by the U . S . Navy , " Winona " - - a sidewheel gunboat constructed in 1861 at New York City by C . & R . Poillon — was launched on 14 September 1861 ; delivered to the Navy at the New York Navy Yard on 26 November 1861 ; and commissioned on 11 December 1861 , Lt . Comdr . Edward T . Nichols in command . Civil War service . Assigned to the Gulf coast . Ordered to the Gulf Blockading Squadron and allocated to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron when Union naval responsibility in the area was divided early the next year , she served at the mouth of and in the Mississippi River for the next seven months . On 24 April 1862 , she attempted to pass Forts Jackson and St . Philip but snagged herself on obstructions while the rest of her unit fought its way past the Confederate forts on the river banks and the South ' s naval forces . Eventually freeing herself , " Winona " remained below the forts with Comdr . David D . Porter ' s mortar flotilla while Flag Officer David Farragut moved on upriver to capture New Orleans , Louisiana . Four days later , her commanding officer took part in accepting the Confederate capitulation of Fort St . Philip . In May , she moved upstream with the mortar boats to join the investment of the Southern stronghold at Vicksburg , Mississippi . The siege of Vicksburg . That siege began in earnest late on the afternoon of 26 June when Farragut ' s mortar boats began their bombardment . At dawn on the 28th , " Winona " joined the other ships of Farragut ' s fleet in steaming past the Vicksburg batteries under a hail of fire to unite with the fleet under Flag Officer Davis which had been fighting its way down the river from its base at Cairo , Illinois . Blocking CSS Arkansas . Once above Vicksburg , " Winona " and her colleagues settled into a more or less routine schedule supporting the first Vicksburg campaign and attempting to blockade the Confederate ironclad , " Arkansas " , in the Yazoo River . On 15 July , however , the Southern warship bested a three - gunboat expedition sent up the Yazoo River after her , disabling in the river and chasing and back down the river . " Arkansas " continued out of the Yazoo and into the Mississippi River to begin a bold dash through the 33 - ship Union fleet of which " Winona " remained a unit . Firing as she went , the Confederate warship hurtled through the startled Northern squadron , briefly engaging " Winona " as she raced past her . " Winona " responded briefly , but the Confederate ship passed through the gauntlet safely and moored under the protection of the Vicksburg batteries . Soon thereafter , " Winona " , undertow of , re - passed Vicksburg with the rest of Farragut ' s force and went back to New Orleans . Blockading Mobile , Alabama . By late August , the gunboat had joined the blockade off Mobile , Alabama . On 4 September , she was one of three ships on station off that important Confederate port . During the day , she and the gunboat scampered back and forth investigating ships sighted . At about 1705 that afternoon , the lookout on board " Oneida " spied the third strange vessel of the day . " Winona " received orders to investigate and steamed off toward the stranger . Disregarding the gunboat ' s hail , the stranger — a barkentine - rigged steamer bearing the unmistakable lines of a British gunboat and flying the red British ensign — bore on toward " Oneida " . " Winona " came about and gave chase . Encountering CSS Florida . As the intruder approached , " Oneida " loosed a warning shot across her bow at about 1800 . The unidentified warship did not even slacken speed . " Oneida " put two more shots across her bow in quick succession and then began firing into the ship itself . At 1805 , the stranger hauled down the British colors and raised the Confederate ensign . At that point " Winona " commenced firing at what later proved to be the Confederate commerce raider " Florida " . The chase continued until about 1827 when Florida crossed the bar into Mobile Bay and " Winona " , , and gave up pursuit because of a combination of growing darkness , shallow water , and the guns of Fort Morgan . " Florida " had been severely riddled but Lt . John Newland Maffit had succeeded in his audacious dash through the Union blockade in spite of a skeleton crew laid low for the most part by yellow fever and the fact that he was unable to return fire because his guns lacked sponges , rammers , and other necessary equipment . Later , he would repeat the feat on an outward voyage to become a successful commerce raider excelled only by Semmes and Waddell . Return to Mississippi River duty . " Winona " , meanwhile , resumed her blockade duty off Mobile . That duty lasted until December when she received orders to return to the Mississippi River . On 14 December , while anchored near Profit Island , she was fired upon by a well - concealed Confederate shore battery . Though she returned fire , " Winona ’ s " proved ineffective because she had insufficient steam to bring her broadside to bear on the target . After suffering under the deadly accurate Southern fire , she was forced to retire from the engagement . In April 1863 , the gunboat provided support for the campaign against Port Hudson , Mississippi , one of the two last Confederate strongholds on the river . On 18 June , when a Confederate Army force occupied Plaquemine in Iberville Parish , Louisiana , " Winona " drove them out with gunfire and then moved on to the fort at nearby Donaldsonville to warn the Union garrison assigned there about the proximity of a large Southern force . The Confederates did not attack the fort immediately ; and , in the meantime , " Winona " steamed up and down the river just in case . On two occasions during the following 10 days , she sighted and bombarded relatively large Southern concentrations ashore . When the Confederates finally attacked the fort at Donaldsonville on 28 June , " Winona ' s " guns helped to repulse them . At the conclusion of that action , she returned north to participate in the final stages of the siege of Vicksburg , which finally surrendered on 4 July 1863 . End - of - war operations . On 25 August , the gunboat arrived in Baltimore , Maryland , for extensive repairs . She concluded the yard work in February 1864 and departed Baltimore to join the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron off the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia . For the remainder of the Civil War , that coastal region constituted her area of operations . Though stationed principally on the Charleston , South Carolina , blockade station , she also operated on the Suwanee River where she captured and destroyed a steamer on 25 March 1864 . She also participated in attacks on Forts Rosedon and Beaulieu near Savannah , Georgia . After the Confederate evacuation and Union occupation of Charleston in February 1865 , " Winona " operated on the Combahee River in Georgia until the end of hostilities in April . Post - war decommissioning . She was apparently placed out of commission on 9 June 1865 . Laid up first at the Portsmouth , New Hampshire , Navy Yard , she was moved to the New York Navy Yard on 22 November 1865 . She was sold at New York City on 30 November 1865 .