USS Arapahoe (1864)

The USS Arapahoe was a Casco-class light draft monitor built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Designed for shallow-water operations, she was intended to operate in the rivers and inlets of the Confederacy.

Her keel was laid down by Alexander Swift & Company of Cincinnati, Ohio in 1864. She was launched later that year and commissioned on November 18, 1864, with Commander Albert N. Smith in command.

The Arapahoe saw limited active service during the remainder of the Civil War. Her shallow draft allowed her to navigate waters inaccessible to larger warships, but the war ended shortly after her commissioning.

Following the end of hostilities, the Arapahoe, along with many other monitors of similar design, was deemed surplus to the Navy's peacetime needs. She was decommissioned on July 24, 1865, and laid up at League Island Navy Yard near Philadelphia.

In 1874, the Arapahoe was sold to A. D. Bacon. She was subsequently broken up for scrap. The Casco-class monitors proved largely unsuccessful due to their poor seakeeping abilities and were quickly removed from service. The Arapahoe's brief career exemplifies this fate.