USS Kate (1864) (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! USS Kate (1864) was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways. Kate's first duty was patrolling the Mississippi River from Mound City to Memphis, Tennessee, during the closing days of the Civil War. The tinclad gunboat was ordered downstream 28 April 1865 to intercept Confederate President Jefferson Davis in his flight toward freedom in exile. After his capture, she returned up the river to assist in the demobilization of the squadron. After the war, she was sent to the Tennessee River to clear away the hulks of a number of sunken gunboats and barges. In August she was ordered to Jefferson Barracks Reserve to discharge her ordnance and to assist in disarming other vessels.