USS Union (1861)

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History
United States
Acquired	24 April 1861 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commissioned	16 May 1861 at Philadelphia
Decommissioned	10 December 1861 at Philadelphia
Recommissioned	20 January 1863
Decommissioned	29 September 1865 at New York City
Fate	Sold, 25 October 1865 Burned and sank in merchant service 22 October 1872
General characteristics
Displacement	1,114 tons
Length	220 feet (67 m)
Beam	34 feet (10.4 m)
Draught	16 (4.9 m)
Propulsion	steam engine screw-propelled
Speed	13.5 knots
Complement	not known
Armament	one 12-pounder rifled gun

The third USS Union was a heavy (1,114-ton) steamer with a powerful 12-inch rifled gun purchased by the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

Union served the U.S. Navy successfully during the blockade of ports and waterways of the Confederate States of America, capturing numerous blockade runners. Towards war's end, she was also assigned the role of dispatch boat and, because of her large size, of storeship, at the same time continuing to capture blockade runners.