USS De Soto was a fast wooden-hulled sidewheel steamship that saw service as a U.S. Navy gunboat during the American Civil War.
De Soto was originally a privately owned vessel, built for passenger service between New York and New Orleans. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, she was purchased by the Navy, commissioned as USS De Soto, and sent to assist with the blockade of Confederate ports. De Sotos speed made her an effective pursuit ship, and she would capture or bring about the destruction of a total of eighteen blockade runners during the war.
In the postwar period, De Soto continued to serve with the Navy, mostly in South American waters, until resold to her original owners in 1868 for resumption of service as a passenger ship. She caught fire and was burned to the waterline in December 1870.
Construction and design
De Soto was built by Lawrence & Foulks of Brooklyn, New York in 1859 for Livingston, Crocheron & Co., which ran a line of passenger steamships between New York and New Orleans. At 1,675 tons and in length, De Soto was quite a large steamer for her time, and considered a fine example of her type. She was named after Hernando De Soto, a Spanish explorer and conquistador.
De Soto was powered by a bore, stroke single-cylinder vertical beam engine, built by the Morgan Iron Works of New York. The engine, which drove a pair of 30-foot sidewheels, was capable of delivering up to 14 mph (12 knots)—a good speed for the time, which would soon make De Soto a favorite with the travelling public and which would later prove invaluable for pursuing blockade runners during the Civil War. The ship had a single, raked smokestack forward of the engine, and two masts, one fore and one aft—the fore mast square rigged—to provide auxiliary sail power.
Commercial service, 1859–61
De Soto appears to have entered service in August 1859, carrying mail, passengers and specie between New York and New Orleans, with an intermediate stop at Havana, Cuba. She would maintain a regular service on this route, making a round trip about once a month, until shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861.
The ship made a fast passage of less than four days from Havana to New York in April 1860, at an average speed of around 14 mph. By this time she had already earned a reputation as a "fast and popular steamship". Another fast run, again at an average speed of about 14 mph, was made in June following.
In addition to her passengers and cargo, De Soto also acted as a conduit for news between Cuba and the United States. Most of the news conveyed by De Soto was of a mundane character—for example, reports of activity on the Havana sugar market—but sometimes it was of more interest. In October 1860 for instance, De Soto reported the interception at Sierra Morena, Cuba of an illegal slave ship carrying 800 African slaves. The captain and crew of the slave ship were detained by local authorities, but about 400 of the slaves had already been dispersed ashore and could not be retrieved.
De Soto became one of the last steamships to engage in trade between the North and the breakaway Southern states when she departed New York for New Orleans on 23 April 1861, eleven days after the outbreak of the Civil War. The Confederacy however missed the opportunity to seize the vessel, and she returned safely to New York. On 6 May, De Soto departed New York for Havana once again, but on this occasion it was "not considered prudent" for the ship to continue on to New Orleans.
De Soto made one further voyage to Havana in June. On 21 August 1861, she was purchased by the U.S. Navy for the sum of $161,250 for conversion into a gunboat.
American Civil War, 1861–65
Gulf Blockading Squadron
At the New York Navy Yard, De Soto was fitted out for naval service, including the installation of a battery consisting of one 30-pounder Parrott rifle and eight 32-pound guns. She was then commissioned as USS De Soto, with Commander William M. Walker placed in command.