USS Ceres ( 1856 ) USS " Ceres " ( 1856 ) was a small steamboat acquired by the Union Navy during the beginning of the American Civil War . She was outfitted as a gunboat and used in the Union blockade of the waterways of the Confederate States of America . Construction . " Ceres " , an armed side - wheel merchant steamer , was built at Keyport , New Jersey in 1856 . " Ceres " was purchased by the United States Navy on 11 September 1861 , fitted out at the Washington Navy Yard , and commissioned the same month , Acting Master J . L . Elliott in command . Civil War service . North Atlantic blockade operations . Originally assigned to the Potomac Flotilla , " Ceres " was ordered on 18 September 1861 to report to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron , and for the remainder of the war , aside from repair periods at Baltimore , Maryland operated in the rivers and sounds of Virginia and North Carolina . Here she maintained the close watch for Confederate States merchantmen through which the blockading forces provided so important a part of the U . S . Navy ' s contribution in the American Civil War . She was successful in capturing four blockade runner s during her service , as well as aiding in the seizure of others . Capture of Roanoke Island . Another crucial assignment carried out by " Ceres " ' squadron was support for Union Army forces holding or attempting to take coastal positions , as well as providing boats and cover for amphibious operations , raids , and reconnaissance . She took part in the capture of Roanoke Island on 7 – 8 February 1862 , during which she was hit while firing on Confederate shore positions . When nearby Confederate naval ships retired up Albemarle Sound as Roanoke Island fell , " Ceres " joined in following them , and next took part in the naval engagement off Elizabeth City , North Carolina . During this action , in which one of her men was wounded , she captured CSS " Ellis " . Continuing her operations in North Carolinian waters , " Ceres " took the steamer " Wilson " on 9 July 1862 while covering the landing of an Army raiding party near Hamilton , North Carolina . Through most of 1863 , she protected the forces holding such posts as Fort Anderson at New Bern , North Carolina and the positions near Washington , North Carolina , coming under fire from Confederate batteries on several occasions . Under fire with casualties . In the lengthy series of attacks around Plymouth , North Carolina , " Ceres " lost two men killed and six wounded when she was taken under heavy fire from Fort Grey , upriver from Plymouth , on 17 April 1864 . Two days later , it was " Ceres " who gave warning of the approach of the formidable Confederate ram CSS " Albemarle " , and took part in the first engagement with the ram which followed . On 5 May , her group again was engaged with " Albemarle " and two other steamers . Following the dramatic sinking of " Albemarle " by Lieutenant William B . Cushing , and later salvage , " Ceres " towed " Albemarle " north to Norfolk , Virginia at the close of the war . Post - war decommissioning and sale . After a final patrol period off North Carolina , " Ceres " was decommissioned at New York City on 14 July 1865 , and sold on 25 October 1865 .