| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Laid down | date unknown |
| Launched | 1862 |
| Acquired | August 13, 1862 |
| Commissioned | October 2, 1862 |
| Decommissioned | circa early 1865 |
| Stricken | 1865 (est.) |
| Fate | Sold, August 17, 1865 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 227 tons |
| Length | 154 ft 8 in (47.14 m) |
| Beam | 33 ft 6 in (10.21 m) |
| Draught | 5 ft (1.5 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 6 MPH |
| Complement | not known |
| Armament |
|
USS Brilliant was a steamer purchased by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat assigned to patrol Confederate waterways.
Brilliant, a wooden stern-wheel steamer, was built in 1862 at Brownsville, Pennsylvania, and purchased by the War Department, August 13, 1862 at St. Louis, Missouri and converted to tinclad by Edward Hartt; transferred to the Navy with the Western Flotilla October 1, 1862; and commissioned the following day. Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Charles G. Perkins in command.