Velocity I (Sch)
I
The first Velocity was a British blockade-running schooner captured by Kensington and Rachel Seaman at Sabine, Tex., on 25 September 1862; and was purchased by the Navy from the Key West prize court, Key West, Fla., on 30 September.
Velocity joined the West Gulf Blockading Squadron shortly after her acquisition, deploying with the blockade off Sabine Pass. There, on 25 November, she assisted Kensington, Rachel Seaman, and another prize vessel, Dan, in the capture of the British schooner Maria and the Confederate schooner Course. Velocity was, herself, recaptured together with Morning Light on 21 January 1863 at Sabine Pass, resulting in a temporary lifting of the Union blockade on the Texas coast. She is believed to have continued to serve as a Confederate gunboat, but her final disposition is unknown.
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(MB: 1. 85'6"; b. 17'6"; dr. 4'9" (mean); cpl. 5; a. 1 3-pdr., 2 mg.)
Velocity, advertised as an "unsinkable" fishing craft, was constructed at Morris Heights, N.Y., by the noted boat-builder, Charles L. Seabury, and owned by W. W. Stephens prior to World War I when she was inspected for naval service. Assigned the classification SP-446, Velocity was apparently earmarked for section patrol duties. However, no logs exist, nor has other evidence been found to confirm or to disprove her naval service.
