Elfin I (Light Draft Gunboat)
Noun meaning elf or (as adjective) dwarfish, mischievous.
I
Elfin, a light draft gunboat, was purchased as W. C. Mann by Admiral D. D. Porter at Cincinnati, Ohio, 23 February 1864, and placed under the command of Acting Master A. F. Thompson. Assigned to the Mississippi Squadron, she cruised in the 7th District between Caledonia and Mound City, Ill., for a month, then took up duty in the 9th District extending from Cairo, Ill., to the head of the Tennessee River. On 4 November 1864 Elfin was operating with Tawah and Key West in the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. After a severe engagement of several hours with heavy Confederate shore batteries it was considered impossible to save the three vessels, and they were burned to prevent capture.
