USS James Adger

USS James Adger, capturing the Emily St. Pierre off Charleston, 18 March 1862
History
United States
Name	SS James Adger
Owner	James Adger & Co.
Route	Charleston, South Carolina – New York City
Builder	William H. Webb
Completed	1851
Fate	Seized at the outset of the Civil War, 1861
United States
Name	USS James Adger
Acquired	By purchase, 20 July 1861
Commissioned	20 September 1861
Decommissioned	1865
Fate	Sold, 9 October 1866
General characteristics
Type	Sidewheel steamer
Displacement	1,152 long tons (1,170 t)
Length	215 ft (66 m)
Beam	33 ft 6 in (10.21 m)
Depth of hold	21 ft 3 in (6.48 m)
Installed power	1 × side-lever engines 2 × side-wheels
Sail plan	Auxiliary sails
Speed	11 kn (13 mph; 20 km/h)
Complement	120 officers and enlisted
Armament	8 × 32-pounder guns, 1 × 20-pounder Parrott rifle

USS James Adger was a sidewheel steamer in the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She retained her former name.

Before being pressed into service by the United States Navy, the SS James Adger was a United States Mail Steamship operating between Charleston, South Carolina and New York City, New York. Owned by James Adger II (James Adger & Co) of Charleston, she was seized while in New York City at the outset of the Civil War and converted for military duty by the Union Navy. There is at least one instance in which the USS James Adger was used to transport a slave, 35-year-old "Margarette," from Charleston to New York. Her owners or shippers were Thomas P. Tainter and John Dickinson; the steamer arrived in NY on 7 July 1852 (see Slave Manifests for the Port of NY, 1822–1852, National Archives Catalog).

James Adger was built at New York City by William H. Webb in 1851. Her 240 hp (180 kW) side-lever engine was supplied by the Allaire Iron Works.^[1]

James Adger was purchased at New York for the sum of $85,000^[2] from Spofford, Tileston & Co., on 20 July 1861, and commissioned at New York Navy Yard on 20 September 1861, Commander John B. Marchand in command.