USS Princess Royal
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
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| Name: | Princess Royal |
| Owner: |
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| Builder: | Tod & McGregor, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Yard number: | 111 |
| Launched: | 20 June 1861 |
| In service: | 25 July 1861 |
| Captured: | by Union Navy forces on 29 January 1863 |
 United States
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| Name: |
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| Owner: |
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| Acquired: | 18 March 1863 |
| Decommissioned: | c21 July 1865 |
| Fate: | sank, 9 January 1874 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 652 GRT and 494 NRT |
| Displacement: | 828 tons |
| Length: | 199 ft (61 m) |
| Beam: | 27 ft (8.2 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 11 knots |
| Complement: | not known |
| Armament: |
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Princess Royal was a British merchant ship and blockade runner that became a cruiser in the Union Navy during the American Civil War and later returned to civilian service.
Princess Royal was launched on 20 June 1861 by the Glasgow shipbuilders Tod & McGregor in 1861 as a passenger-cargo ship for the Liverpool services of M Langlands & Sons, Glasgow, their first iron screw steamer. She measured 652 gross and 494 net register tons, with a length of 200.5 ft (61.1 m), breadth 28.2 ft (8.6 m) and depth of hold 15.5 ft (4.7 m). The ship was powered by a two-cylinder steam engine of 150-170 nhp driving a single propeller. She was registered at Glasgow and entered service in July 1861.
In 1863 the Confederate Government had major contracts for large and specialised British manufactures, including steam engines and boilers for ironclads under construction at Charleston, South Carolina, heavy artillery and armament-making machinery. The government's UK representative, Fraser, Trenholm & Co, arranged the purchase of Princess Royal by private investors to carry these and other supplies direct to Charleston. The ship sailed from London on 8 December 1862 but called at Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Federal spies gained valuable information on the ship and her cargo. After a further call at Bermuda, Princess Royal sailed for Charleston, but in the early hours of 29 January 1863 she was seen as she approached the port entrance by the Federal blockade squadron and forced aground. The captain, pilot and some passengers and crew were able to escape before boarding parties from USS Unadilla and G. W. Blunt could arrive. The ship was sent to the Philadelphia Prize court for adjudication.
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