History
United States
Acquired	7 June 1864
Commissioned	11 July 1864
Decommissioned	26 May 1865
Fate	Sold, 29 June 1865
General characteristics
Displacement	116 tons
Length	79 ft 6 in (24.23 m)
Beam	18 ft 4 in (5.59 m)
Draft	9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion	steam engine screw-propelled
Speed	10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement	26
Armament	1 × 20-pounder Parrott rifle 1 × 12-pounder heavy rifle

USS Juniper was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a tugboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.

Service history

Juniper was purchased at New York City from Solomon Thomas 7 June 1864; and commissioned at New York Navy Yard 11 July 1864. Juniper sailed for Washington, D.C. via Hampton Roads, Virginia, arriving at the Washington Navy Yard 17 July 1864. Two days later she was attached to the Potomac River Flotilla where she served during the remainder of the war performing varied duties as a tug, dispatch vessel, and patrol ship. She sailed from the lower Potomac River 5 May 1865 for the Washington Navy Yard, where she decommissioned 26 May. Juniper was sold to the U.S. Treasury Department for service under the Lighthouse Board 29 June 1865.

References

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