USS Augusta (1853)

USS Augusta
History
United States
NameUSS Augusta
NamesakeAugusta, Georgia
BuilderWilliam H. Webb
Launched30 September 1852
Acquiredby purchase, 1 August 1861
Commissioned28 September 1861
Decommissioned6 January 1865
FateSold, 2 December 1868; sank, 30 September 1877
NotesLaunched 1852, Completed 1853 by William Henry Webb in the East River of New York City. Augusta's sister vessel, Knoxville, caught fire and was destroyed in New York City in 1856.
General characteristics
TypeSteamer
Displacement1,310 long tons (1,330 t)
Length220 ft (67 m)
Beam35 ft 4 in (10.77 m)
Draft14 ft 3 in (4.34 m)
Depth of hold21 ft 10 in (6.65 m)
Propulsion
Speed11 kn (13 mph; 20 km/h)
Complement157 officers and enlisted
Armament8 × 32 pdr (15 kg) smoothbore guns, 1 × 12 pdr (5.4 kg) rifle

The second USS Augusta was a side-wheel steamer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the city of Augusta, Georgia.

Designed and constructed by the noted American shipbuilder, William H. Webb, the second Augusta was launched on 30 September 1852 and later completed in 1853 at New York City and operated out of that port carrying passengers and freight for the New York and Savannah Steam Navigation Company on runs to Savannah, Georgia and New Orleans, Louisiana. Augusta also had a sister vessel by the name of Knoxville. Early in the Civil War, as the Union Navy was expanding its fleet for the Herculean task of blockading the Confederate coast, the Federal Government purchased the side-wheeler at New York on 1 August 1861. She was fitted out for naval service by the New York Navy Yard and commissioned there on 28 September 1861, Commander Enoch Greenleafe Parrott in command.