AH-WR-0582

USS Patroon

Screw Steamer · United States · Lost 1865 · Texas & the Western Gulf

A Union Civil War gunboat that ended her days as an Army transport, sinking at Brazos Santiago on the Texas coast just months after the war's end.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

USS Patroon, a wooden screw steamer built in 1859, served the Union Navy's South Atlantic Blockading Squadron off Florida during the Civil War, including a September 1862 engagement at St. Johns Bluff. Decommissioned and sold at auction in late 1862, she was purchased back into government service by the U.S. Army in December 1863 as a transport. She sank at Brazos Santiago, at the southern tip of the Texas coast, on November 10, 1865, a few months after the war's end.

Vessel

Built: 1859
Builder: Not established
Yard: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Material: Wood
Length: 113 ft
Beam: 22.4 ft
Tonnage: 183
Propulsion: Steam, screw
Owners: United States Navy (1861-1862); United States War Department (from 1863)

Loss

Date: November 10, 1865
Cause: Not established
Location: Brazos Santiago, Texas
Water: Gulf of Mexico
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 26.07° N 97.16° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Brazos Santiago, Cameron County, Texas
Region: Texas & the Western Gulf

General area only: coordinate of Brazos Santiago, the named place of loss recorded for this vessel, from the USGS Geographic Names Information System, not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (76/100)

The cause of her sinking at Brazos Santiago is not established in the sources reviewed.

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS), USS Patroon
Build details, service history, and final sinking date and location.
NavSource Online, USS Patroon
Corroborating service and loss details.
USGS Geographic Names Information System — Brazos Santiago Pass
coordinate of the named place of loss