USS Sonoma ( 1862 ) The first USS " Sonoma " was a sidewheel gunboat that served in the United States Navy during the American Civil War . She was named for Sonoma Creek in northern California , Sonoma County , California , and the town of Sonoma , California , that in turn were named for one of the chiefs of the Chocuyen Indians of that region . " Sonoma " was launched by the Portsmouth Navy Yard at Kittery , Maine , on 15 April 1862 ; sponsored by Miss Mary N . Bleecker ; and commissioned on 8 July 1862 , Commander Thomas H . Stevens , Jr . in command . Service history . 1862 – 1863 . On 17 July 1862 , the double - ender sailed for the West Indies for operations against Confederate blockade runner s and raiders on the high seas . The success of Confederate cruiser s , especially and , in operations against Union shipping prompted the Department of the Navy on 8 September 1862 to put Commodore Charles Wilkes in command of a " flying " West India Squadron created specifically to seek out and destroy the Confederate raiders . " Sonoma " was assigned to this squadron . While " Sonoma " never engaged " Florida " or " Alabama " , she did operate successfully against blockade runners . On 5 October 1862 , " Sonoma " chased " Harriet Pinckney " back into port after she had attempted to slip out of Bermuda reportedly carrying " infernal machines or torpedoes . . . for destroying ships in harbor . " On 18 January 1863 , " Sonoma " and the sloop - of - war seized " Virginia " off Mugeres Island , Mexico , and sent the steamer to Key West , Florida , for adjudication . On 3 February 1863 , " Sonoma " captured the British bark " Springbok " . On 15 February 1863 , she took the brig " Atlantic " bound from Havana , Cuba , for Matamoros , Mexico . Finally , on 14 April 1863 , she took the schooner " Clyde " in the Gulf of Mexico after " Clyde " had escaped from the Confederacy laden with cotton and rosin . The wear and tear of hard service at sea was catching up with " Sonoma " , and she sailed north for repairs . The ship reached New York City on 13 June 1863 and was decommissioned on 20 June 1863 . 1863 – 1865 . With repairs completed , " Sonoma " was recommissioned on 28 September 1863 and assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in which she served for the rest of the Civil War . Highlights of this service included her capture on 8 July 1864 of " Ida " a sidewheel steamer which had slipped out of Sapelp Sound , Georgia , and was bound for the Bahamas laden with cotton . In December 1864 , Sonoma was part of a Union naval force that landed Union Army troops and a battalion of United States Marines at Gregorie Point near Yemassee , South Carolina , in an attempt to cut the rail line between Savannah , Georgia , and Charleston , South Carolina ; they were defeated by a significantly smaller Confederate force in the Battle of Tulifinny . Early in 1865 , " Sonoma " participated in operations of the squadron clearing the way for General William Tecumseh Sherman in his march north from Savannah . On 9 February 1865 , " Sonoma " , the sloop - of - war , and the sidewheel steamer engaged Confederate batteries at Togodo Creek , near North Edisto , South Carolina . " Sonoma " was hit twice in the action , but she silenced the Confederate guns . On the same day , Sherman was marching on nearby Orangeburg , South Carolina , which he took on 12 February 1865 . Assurance of Union naval control of the waters in its path enabled Sherman ' s army to travel fast and light and helped to shorten the war . On 16 and 17 February 1865 , " Sonoma " joined in the naval support of the Union Armys attack on Bull ' s Bay , South Carolina , a diversionary movement in the major drive on Charleston . A boat party from the ship helped in the fighting ashore . The tempo of " Sonoma " s activity eased somewhat as Sherman moved north close to territory whose waters were within the jurisdiction of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron , but she and her sister ships remained as visible evidence of Union power . After the Confederacy collapsed in April 1865 , the ship sailed north and was decommissioned at New York City on 13 June 1865 . She was sold there on 1 October 1867 .