USS Western World (1856)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
|
|
| Laid down: | not known |
| Launched: | 1856 |
| Acquired: | 21 September 1861 |
| Commissioned: | 3 January 1862 |
| Decommissioned: | 26 May 1865 |
| Struck: | 1865 (est.) |
| Fate: | sold, 24 June 1865 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 441 tons |
| Length: | 178 ft (54 m) |
| Beam: | 34 ft 3 in (10.44 m) |
| Draught: | 6 ft (1.8 m) (est.) |
| Propulsion: |
|
| Speed: | 7 knots |
| Complement: | not known |
| Armament: |
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USS Western World (1856) was a ship acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.
Western World—a screw steamer built in 1856 at Brooklyn, New York—was purchased by the Navy on 21 September 1861 at New York City from S. Schuyler; and commissioned on 3 January 1862 at the New York Navy Yard, Acting Master Samuel B. Gregory in command.
On 2 January 1862, Western World was ordered to Port Royal, South Carolina, to join the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. On the 26th, she participated in a major reconnaissance sweep of the Savannah River, Georgia, and its tributaries. The force included the gunboats Ottawa and Seneca; armed steamers Isaac Smith, Potomska, and Ellen; and transports Cosmopolitan, Delaware, and Boston carrying over 2,400 troops under the command of Brigadier General H. G. Wright. The Union flotilla repulsed an attack by five Confederate vessels on 28 January and the next day completed invaluable survey work. On 14 February 1862, Western World and E. B. Hale drove off four Confederate vessels which attempted to break the Union blockade of the Mud and Wright's Rivers, tributaries of the Savannah River. This restricted Confederate activity upon the Savannah River and protected the newly installed Federal battery at Venus Point. After remaining off the Savannah through May, Western World returned to Port Royal on 2 June.
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