USS Sorrel

History
United States
Acquired	1 August 1864 at Philadelphia
In service	c. 1864
Out of service	late 1870s
Fate	Sold, 27 September 1883
General characteristics
Displacement	68 tons
Length	77 ft (23 m)
Beam	16 ft 6 in (5.03 m)
Depth of hold	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Propulsion	steam engine

USS Sorrel was a small 68-ton steamer purchased by the Union Navy towards the end of the American Civil War.

The Navy placed Sorrel in service as a Philadelphia tugboat, a role she maintained through the end of the Civil War and for a short period afterwards.

Service history[edit]

W. S. Hancock—a wooden-hulled steam tug—was purchased by the Navy at Philadelphia on 1 August 1864 from Hillman and Streaker. The small steamer was renamed Sorrel and was apparently served as a general purpose tug at the Philadelphia Navy Yard throughout her naval career. She was laid up in Philadelphia in the late 1870s and remained inactive until she was sold there to A. Purvis & Son on 27 September 1883.

References[edit]

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.