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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --
USS Hornet (1865-1869),
originally named Lady Sterling and formerly the blockade
runner of that name
USS Hornet, an 835-ton side-wheel steam gunboat, was
built at Blackwall, England, in 1864. Under the name Lady Sterling,
she was captured by USS Eolus and USS Calypso on 28 October 1864 while attempting to run the blockade of Wilmington, North Carolina. Subsequently acquired by the Navy and converted into a gunboat, she was commissioned in April 1865 as USS Lady Sterling. She was renamed Hornet in June 1865 and operated in the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay area during the next few months. In October 1865, Hornet escorted the former Confederate ironclad Stonewall
to the United States from Cuba. After brief service along the
U.S. east coast, she was decommissioned in December 1865.
USS Hornet was sold by the Navy in June 1869. As the
merchant ship Hornet, she became active in supporting insurrections
in Haiti and Cuba. Taken into Spanish service in 1872 and renamed
Marco Aurelia, she was broken up in about 1894.
This page features all the views we have related to USS
Hornet, ex-Lady Sterling.
Click on the small photograph to prompt
a larger view of the same image.
Photo #: NH 63708
Steamship Lady Sterling (Blockade Runner, 1864)
Watercolor by Erik Heyl, 1961, painted for use in his book "Early
American Steamers", Volume IV.
Built in England in 1864, this blockade runner was captured on
28 October of that year and served as USS Lady Sterling
and USS Hornet in 1865-1869.
Note that the correct spelling of this ship's name differs from
that used by the artist.
Courtesy of Erik Heyl.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 60KB; 740 x 425 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 2041
USS Eolus (1864-1865)
Capturing the blockade runner Lady Sterling off Wilmington,
North Carolina, 28 October 1864.
Phototype by F. Gutekunst, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, published
circa the later 1800s.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 93KB; 740 x 520 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 51190
USS Hornet (1865-1869)
Photographed by C.W. Yates, Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1865.
This ship was formerly the blockade runner Lady Sterling,
captured off Wilmington in October 1864.
Donation of Ralph Dudley, 1943.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 90KB; 740 x 610 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 2376
"U.S.S. Hornet and Prizes"
Phototype by F. Gutekunst, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa
the later 19th Century.
Note: The steamer here presumably represents USS Hornet
(1865-1869), which it resembles to a modest degree. However,
USS Hornet was not commissioned until late April 1865
(as USS Lady Sterling), did not receive the name Hornet
until July 1865, and did not capture any prizes during the Civil
War.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 90KB; 740 x 535 pixels |
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Page made 7 November 1999
New images added 9 March 2003