Civil War operations Stars and Stripes—a screw steamer built at
Mystic, Connecticut, by Charles Mallory as a speculation for C. S. Bushnell—was purchased by the Navy at
New York City from C. S. Bushnell on 27 July 1861; was fitted out for naval service at the
New York Navy Yard and was commissioned there on 19 September 1861, Lt.
Reed Werden in command. Assigned to the
Atlantic Blockading Squadron,
Stars and Stripes reached
Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 26 September. Two days later, she was ordered to tow
schooners of the
Stone Fleet to
Hatteras Inlet,
North Carolina. She arrived off Hatteras Inlet on 1 October and operated in that vicinity for the next few months. While there, the , , and were subordinate to the orders of her captain. Because of the draft of the
Stars and Stripes and the
Underwriter, Lt. Werden was unwilling to have them enter
Pamlico Sound due to shallowness of Hatteras Inlet. On 2 November, a Confederate vessel engaged the
Stars and Stripes at long range briefly before retiring. The exchange was ineffectual since neither ship came within range of the other's guns. On 5 and 6 November, the ships under Lt. Werden's command attempted to provide assistance to the
French corvette Prony which had run aground, but between concern for the weather and Rebel activity, proved unable to do so. On 15 December, she captured schooner
Charity and sent her to
New York City for adjudication. On 7 February 1862, the screw gunboat was in the squadron which attacked
Roanoke Island and the next day captured that base which controlled communication between
Pamlico Sound and
Albemarle Sound. On 20 February while transferring ammunition to the , that ship struck the submerged anchor of the and was sunk, with most of her crew brought aboard the
Stars and Stripes. She operated in the inland waters of North Carolina and helped capture
New Bern, North Carolina, in mid-March.
Stars and Stripes returned to
Norfolk, Virginia, on 4 June for repairs and sailed on the evening of the 10th for blockading duty off
Wilmington, North Carolina. Shortly before dawn on the 27th, she helped destroy
blockade-running steamer
Modem Greece which that Union blockader had run aground. On 24 August,
Stars and Stripes captured British ship
Mary Elizabeth attempting to slip into Wilmington with a cargo of salt and fruit. The wear and tear of hard duty forced
Stars and Stripes to sail, via
Norfolk, Virginia, to
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for repairs. She was decommissioned at the
Norfolk Navy Yard on 14 September. Quickly restored to a serviceable condition, the ship was recommissioned on 29 September and was assigned to the
East Gulf Blockading Squadron. The steamer reached
Key West, Florida, and spent the remainder of the Civil War operating off the gulf coast of
Florida. Highlights of her service in 1863 included capturing
sloop Florida at
St. Marks Bay, Florida, laden with cotton and
tar on 3 June; the expedition of boat crews from the steamer and to Marsh Island, Florida, to destroy salt and
salt works on 15 July; and the destruction under heavy fire of blockade-running schooner
Caroline Gertrude aground on the bar at the mouth of the
Ochlockonee River on 29 December. In 1864, she captured blockade-running steamer
Laura off the Ochlockonee on 18 January; she destroyed an extensive Confederate fishery at Marsh Island on 19 and 20 October and captured the troops stationed there as guards; and she joined three other gunboats in an expedition on 3 December which destroyed extensive
salt works at Rocky Point in
Tampa Bay. After the end of the Civil War,
Stars and Stripes sailed north and was decommissioned at Philadelphia on 30 June 1865. She was sold at
public auction there on 10 August 1865 to Thomas Watson and Sons of New York City.
Later career Stars and Stripes was redocumented on 18 September 1865 as
Metropolis. The ship operated in merchant service until, while steaming from Philadelphia to
Pará,
Brazil, she was wrecked on the outer bar of
Currituck Beach, North Carolina, on the evening of 31 January 1878. Both the ship and her cargo were a total loss. 85 persons lost their lives. == References ==