USS Nettle (1862) was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy

Union Navy

The Union Navy is the label applied to the United States Navy during the American Civil War, to contrast it from its direct opponent, the Confederate States Navy...

 from the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

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She served the Navy primarily as a tugboat

Tugboat

A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...

 on the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

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Wonder transferred from the Army to the Navy as Nettle

Wonder, a side-wheel steamer, purchased by the Union Army early in the Civil War for service in the Western Flotilla, was transferred to the Navy 30 September 1862 and renamed Nettle 19 October 1862.

Service as a tugboat on the Mississippi River

Nettle, commanded by Acting Ens. Perry C. Wright, served as a tug on the Mississippi River above Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...

, until after the Confederate river fortress fell 4 July 1863.

Continued service on the Mississippi

Then, based at Vicksburg, she continued supporting operations of the Mississippi Squadron maintaining Union lines of supply and communication along the inland waters of the Mississippi and its tributaries.

Nettle sinks in a river collision

She was sunk in a collision with an ironclad 20 October 1865.