USS Cohasset (1860)

Gunboat of the United States Navy

For other ships with the same name, see USS Cohasset.

Sketch of USS Cohasset.

History
United States
Name| USS Cohasset
Laid down| date unknown
Launched| 1860
Acquired| 13 September 1861
In service| 26 October 1861
Out of service| 1882
Stricken| 1892 (est.)
Homeport| Boston Navy Yard
Fate| Sold, 9 May 1892
General characteristics
Type| Tugboat
Displacement| 100 long tons (100 t)
Length| 82 ft (25 m)
Beam| 18 ft 10 in (5.74 m)
Draft| 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)
Propulsion| Steam engine
Speed| 8 kn (9.2 mph; 15 km/h)
Complement| 12
Armament| 1 × 20-pounder rifled gun

USS Cohasset was a tugboat acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy for various purposes: as a tugboat, dispatch vessel, escort vessel, and even as a gunboat.

Cohasset — a tug originally called E. D. Fogg and later Narragansett — was built in 1860 at Providence, Rhode Island; purchased by the Navy on 13 September 1861; outfitted at New York Navy Yard; delivered at Hampton Roads, Virginia on 26 October 1861; and assigned to duty with the Atlantic Blockading Squadron.

## Assigned to the Atlantic Blockade

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From 26 October 1861-July 1864, Cohasset sailed in the Norfolk, Virginia, area and in the rivers of Virginia as a picket and dispatch boat, carried mail and supplies, towed coal barges, acted as guard for Minnesota, and shared in the fighting in the York, James, and Nansemond Rivers.

## Providing harbor defense

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Ordered to Beaufort, North Carolina in July 1864, Cohasset was used for harbor defense and towing until 1 October 1864, when she returned to Norfolk for duty towing coal barges in the James River.

## Post-Civil War activity

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Cohasset arrived at Boston Navy Yard on 1 June 1865. She served as yard tug there until 1882, when she was transferred to Newport, Rhode Island.

Cohasset was sold on 9 May 1892 at Newport, Rhode Island.

## References

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* This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.