USS Wissahickon, a 691-ton Unadilla class screw steam gunboat, was built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Commissioned in November 1861, she initially served in the Gulf of Mexico and on the Mississippi River, where in April-July 1862 she participated in the capture of New Orleans, bombardment of Grand Gulf, two runs past the Confederate fortifications commanding the river at Vicksburg and a battle with the ironclad CSS Arkansas.

After repairs at Philadelphia in August-October 1862, Wissahickon joined the blockade of the coasts of South Carolina, Georgia and eastern Florida. She took part in bombardments of Fort McAllister, Georgia, in late 1862 and early 1863 and in the destruction of the privateer Rattlesnake (ex-CSS Nashville) on 28 February 1863. In March and June 1863, Wissahickon destroyed one blockade running steamer and helped to destroy another. During the summer, she bombarded Forts Wagner and Sumter, off Charleston, South Carolina.

Wissahickon spent the rest of the Civil War patrolling off South Carolina and in expeditions into the inland waters of that state and Georgia. She went to New York in June 1865, after the end of hostilities, and was decommissioned there at the beginning of July. USS Wissahickon was sold in October 1865 and soon became a merchant vessel under the name Adele. She was employed in commercial service for some twenty more years.

This page features our only views relating to USS Wissahickon (1861-1865).

Photo #: NH 59009 "View of Ship Island, Louisiana. -- By our Special Artist on Board the 'Sagamore'" Line engraving, published in "Harper's Weekly", 1862, depicting several U.S. Navy ships anchored off the Federal base at Ship Island in early 1862. Ships are (from left to right) Winona, New London, Niagara, Sagamore, Wissahickon, and Massachusetts. Other features identified, in the center and right background, are Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island, the 9th Connecticut and 22nd Massachusetts Regiments and a military camp.
Photo #: NH 42244 "Passage of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, April 24, 1862. Order of Attack." Chart showing the positions of U.S. Navy ships during the action (with individual ships identified, with their commanders), and of Confederate defenses ashore and afloat. Online Image: 208KB; 795 x 1225 pixels
Photo #: NH 58899 "The Iron-clad 'Montauk' engaging the Rebel Fort McAllister, in the Ogeechee River, 28th January 1863. -- Sketched by an Officer of the 'Dawn.'" Line engraving, published in "Harper's Weekly", 1863, depicting USS Montauk in the foreground, firing on the fort. At left, also bombarding, are the U.S. ships Seneca, Wissahickon, Dawn and C.P. Williams.
Photo #: NH 59286 Confederate Privateer Rattlesnake (ex-CSS Nashville, 1861-1862) Line engraving published in "The Soldier in Our Civil War", Volume II, page 41, showing Rattlesnake burning after being shelled by the monitor USS Montauk, commanded by Captain John L. Worden, USN, in the Ogeechee River, Georgia on 28 February 1863. Fort McAllister is in the right-center background, and the U.S. Navy gunboats Wissahickon, Seneca and Dawn are providing supporting fire in the left distance.
Photo #: NH 59288 Bombardment of Fort McAllister, Georgia, 3 March 1863 Line engraving published in "Harper's Weekly", January-June 1863, page 196, depicting the bombardment of Fort McAllister by the U.S. Navy monitors Passaic, Patapsco and Nahant. The engraving is based on a sketch by "an eye-witness" on board USS Montauk, which is in the right center foreground. In the left foreground, firing on the fort, are the mortar schooners C.P. Williams, Norfolk Packet and Para. Among other U.S. Navy ships involved were gunboats Wissahickon, Seneca and Dawn and tug Dandelion.
Photo #: NH 59287 Bombardment of Fort McAllister, Georgia, 3 March 1863 Line engraving, after a sketch by W.T. Crane, published in "The Soldier in Our Civil War", Volume II, page 39. It depicts the U.S. Navy monitors Patapsco, Passaic and Nahant firing on Fort McAllister (at far left) from the Ogeechee River. Other U.S. Navy ships are in the foreground. Montauk is the monitor in this group (farthest from the artist). Firing on the fort from the right foreground are mortar schooners, including C.P. Williams, Norfolk Packet and Para. Among other U.S. Navy ships involved were gunboats Wissahickon, Seneca and Dawn and tug Dandelion, all screw steamers.
Photo #: NH 42265 USS Wissahickon (1861-1865) Crewmembers by the ship's Dahlgren XI-inch pivot gun, during the Civil War. Copied from Francis Trevelyan Miller's "The Photographic History of the Civil War" Volume 6, page 42. This photograph is the left half of a wider image, with Photo # NH 42267 being the right half.
Photo #: NH 42267 USS Wissahickon (1861-1865) Crewmembers by the ship's Dahlgren XI-inch pivot gun and foremast, during the Civil War. Copied from Francis Trevelyan Miller's "The Photographic History of the Civil War" Volume 6, page 43. This photograph is the right half of a wider image, with Photo # NH 42265 being the left half.