(Str: 1. 210'; b. 28'; dph. 15')
Union side wheel steamer Vanderbilt siezed blockade-running British steamer Peterhoff off St. Thomas 25 February 1863. The prize was subsequently condemned by the New York prize court and purchased by the Union Navy.
An international dispute over the legality of the seizure delayed her active service for almost a year. She commissioned in February 1864, Act. Vol. Lt. Thomas Pickering in command, and was assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron on the 20th. The steamer departed Hampton Roads on the 28th for Wilmington, N.C. Stationed off New Inlet, N.C. Peterhoff collided with Monticello 6 March 1864 and sank. The next day Mount Vernon destroyed Peterhoff's hulk to prevent possible salvage by the Confederates.
