Thistle I (SwGbt)
A plant having spiney, prickly leaves and white, purple, pink, or yellow flowers.
I
The first Thistle, formerly the Army tug Spiteful, was transferred by the War Department to the Navy on 1 October 1862.
Thistle deployed with the Mississippi Squadron as a tug and reconnaissance vessel in October 1862 and participated in the capture of Fort Hindman, Arkansas Port, Ark., on 11 January 1863. From 14 to 27 March, she took part in an expedition into Steele's Bayou, Miss., attempting to find an entrance into the Yazoo River, Miss., and a rear approach to the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg, Miss. After the expedition failed, Thistle rejoined the squadron in the Mississippi. There, she performed dispatch and reconnaissance duty for the remainder of the war.
Thistle was decommissioned at Mound City, Ill., on 12 August 1865 and was sold at public auction there on 17 August to J. T. Haight.
