| Career (US) | |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | as W. C. Mann |
| Laid down: | date unknown |
| Launched: | date unknown |
| Acquired: | 23 February 1864 |
| In service: | (circa) February 1864 |
| Out of service: | 4 November 1864 |
| Struck: | 1864 (est.) |
| Fate: | destroyed in combat 4 November 1864 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 192 tons |
| Length: | 155 ft (47 m) |
| Beam: | 31 ft (9.4 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 4 ft 4 in (1.32 m) |
| Propulsion: | steam engine |
| Speed: | not known |
| Complement: | 50 |
| Armament: | eight 24-pounder howitzers |
The first USS Elfin was a gunboat acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a patrol vessel on Confederate waterways.
Elfin, a light draft gunboat, was purchased as W. C. Mann by Admiral David Dixon Porter at Cincinnati, Ohio, 23 February 1864, and placed under the command of Acting Master A. F. Thompson.
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Assigned to the Mississippi Squadron, she cruised in the 7th District between Caledonia and Mound City, Illinois, for a month, then took up duty in the 9th District extending from Cairo, Illinois, to the head of the Tennessee River.
On 4 November 1864 Elfin was operating with Tawah and Key West in the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. After a severe engagement of several hours with heavy Confederate shore batteries it was considered impossible to save the three vessels, and they were burned to prevent capture.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.