USRC Harriet Lane
Artist's rendition of USS Harriet Lane | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| → United States → Confederate States | |
| Laid down | 1857 |
| Launched | 20 November 1857 |
| Commissioned | U.S. Revenue-Marine, 28 February 1858 |
| Recommissioned | U.S. Navy, 10 September 1861 |
| Captured | Confederate States Navy, renamed Lavinia, 1 January 1863 |
| Fate | Converted to a barque and renamed Elliot Ritchie after the Civil War. Sank off Pernambuco, Brazil in 1884 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Brigantine |
| Displacement | 730 tons |
| Tons burthen | 639 (bm) |
| Length | 180 ft (55 m) |
| Beam | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Draft | 13 ft (4.0 m) |
| Propulsion | A double-right-angled marine engine with two side paddles |
| Speed | 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph) |
| Complement | 95 officers and men |
| Armament |
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Harriet Lane was a revenue cutter of the United States Revenue Cutter Service and, on the outbreak of the American Civil War, a ship of the United States Navy and later Confederate States Navy. The craft was named after the niece of senator and later United States President, James Buchanan; during his presidency, she acted as First Lady. The cutter was christened and entered the water for the Revenue Service in 1859 out of New York City, and saw action during the Civil War at Fort Sumter, New Orleans, Galveston, Texas, and Virginia Point. The Confederates captured her in 1863, whereupon she was converted to mercantile service. Union forces recaptured her at the end of war. The U.S. Navy declared her unfit for service and sold her. New owners out of Philadelphia renamed her Elliot Ritchie. Her crew abandoned her at sea in 1881.