CSS Oregon, a wooden steam gunboat

Gunboat

A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...

 was the only ship of the Confederate States Navy

Confederate States Navy

The Confederate States Navy was the naval branch of the Confederate States armed forces established by an act of the Confederate Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American Civil War...

 to be named for the 33rd state

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

. A wooden steamer similar to California, she was built at New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 in 1846 for the Mobile Mail Line, 60 percent owned at the end of April 1861 by the Geddes family of New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

, and Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

, the remainder by R. A. Heirn and Samuel Wolff of Mobile, Alabama

Mobile, Alabama

Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...

. Described as having "one deck, one mast, no galleries and a billethead," she was permanently enrolled (coastwise) at New Orleans on 20 June 1858. Seized by Louisiana's Governor Moore sometime in 1861, she was an early and successful blockade runner, apparently only in the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

. Under Captain A. P. Boardman she had somehow contrived to make 92 "entrances and clearances" at blockaded ports before being picked for arming as a man-of-war; how much of this coastal service was under Confederate Army auspices is not altogether clear. Captain A. L. Myers succeeded to her command.

After being converted into a gunboat, Oregon operated in Mississippi Sound

Mississippi Sound

The Mississippi Sound is a sound along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It runs east-west along the southern coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, from Waveland, Mississippi, to the Dauphin Island Bridge, a distance of about 145 kilometers...

 on various assignments. On 13 July 1861 she steamed in company with Arrow to the vicinity of Ship Island Light

Ship Island Light

Ship Island Light was a lighthouse in Mississippi near Gulfport.-History:The first tower at this site was constructed in 1853; though appropriations were made starting in 1848; disputes over land ownership delayed acquisition of the land...

 where they vainly attempted to lure USS Massachusetts

USS Massachusetts (1860)

USS Massachusetts was a large steamer acquired by the U.S. Navy prior to the American Civil War.She was used by the Union Navy as a gunship in the blockade of Confederate ports...

 within range of shore batteries. During September 1861 she evacuated Confederate property and troops from Ship Island

Ship Island (Mississippi)

Ship Island is the collective name for two barrier islands off the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, part of Gulf Islands National Seashore: East Ship Island and West Ship Island. Hurricane Camille split the once single island into 2 separate islands in 1969...

, Mississippi

Mississippi

Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...

. When Confederate forces evacuated New Orleans in April 1862, Oregon was destroyed to prevent capture.