E. B. Hale (Screw Steamer)
1861-1865
The Navy retained the name carried by this vessel at the time of her acquisition.
(Screw Steamer: tonnage 220; length 117'0"; beam 28'0"; depth of hold 7'6"; draft 8'6"; speed 8 knots; complement 50; armament 4 32-pounders)
The screw steamer E. B. Hale was purchased by the Navy in July 1861, and commissioned on 4 September 1861, Acting Master William J. Foster in command.
E. B. Hale sailed on 28 September 1861 for Washington, D.C., and from her arrival on 1 October patrolled the Potomac River. On 14 November, she sailed to transport six heavy guns to the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, New York.
E. B. Hale left New York on 20 December 1861, five days before Christmas, to join the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, and arrived at Port Royal, S.C., on New Year's Eve. She combed the inland waters of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, including reconnaissance in Wright's and Mud Rivers and up the Ashepoo and Combahee in South Carolina. She participated in attacks on the enemy at Port Royal Ferry, in the Coosaw River and the North Edisto, and took part in the expeditions up to St. Johns River Bluff. On 14 November 1862 E. B. Hale captured the schooner Wave with a cargo of cotton and turpentine, and on 11 December sailed for New York where she was decommissioned for repairs.
Recommissioned on 18 February 1863, E. B. Hale stood out for Port Royal on 9 March and during the next two years served on patrol and picket duty, having frequent encounters with the Confederates. She put to sea from Port Royal on 24 April 1865 and five days later arrived at the Philadelphia [Pa.] Navy Yard where she was placed out of commission on 11 May 1865 and was sold on 20 June 1865.
Updated, Robert J. Cressman
23 February 2022
