USS Tyler

The U. S. S. Tyler by F. Muller
History
United StatesUnited States
NameUSS Tyler
Launched1857
CommissionedSeptember 1861
Decommissioned1865
FateSold at public auction, 1865
General characteristics
TypeSidewheel gunboat
Tonnage575
Length180 ft (55 m)
Beam45 ft 4 in (13.82 m)
Draft6 ft (1.8 m)
Depth of hold7 ft 8 in (2.34 m)
PropulsionSteam engine
Speed8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph)
Complement61 officers and men
Armament
  • 1 × 32-pounder gun
  • 6 × 8 in (200 mm) guns
The timberclad steamer gunboat USS Tyler with crew on deck. From the Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs, Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

USS Tyler was originally a merchant steamboat named A. O. Tyler, a commercial side-wheel steamboat with twin stacks and covered paddles positioned aft. Constructed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1857, it was acquired by the United States Navy, 5 June 1861 for service in the American Civil War and converted into the gunboat USS Tyler on 5 June 1861. She was commissioned in September 1861. She was protected with thick wooden bulwarks.