Spirea, a side wheel steamer built in 1864 at Fairhaven, Conn., was purchased by the Navy at New York City on 30 December 1864 from S. M. Pook; and was commissioned on 9 January 1865, Acting Volunteer Lieutenant George E. Nelson in command.
Spirea was ordered to join the East Gulf Blockading Squadron at Key West, Fla., in early January 1865. On 23 February, she led an expedition up the St. Mark's River to land Army troops for an attack on Tallahassee. Spirea and two other ships ran aground, but she was refloated and patrolled off St. Marks until 1 May when she joined the blockade off Apalachicola. Two weeks later, she returned to St. Marks.
After the end of the Civil War, Spirea remained on duty in the Gulf of Mexico until she sailed early in August. Spirea was decommissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 23 August 1865 and was sold at public auction at New York on 5 October 1866. The side-wheeler was documented as Sappho on 30 January 1867 for operation out of New York City. She was apparently lost later in 1867, but details of her demise have not been found.
