USS Underwriter (1852)

The USS Underwriter was a wooden-hulled side-wheel steamer that served in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Originally a civilian steamer operating in the Chesapeake Bay, she was purchased by the Navy in 1861.

The Underwriter was employed primarily in patrol and blockade duties along the North Carolina coast. Her mission was to interdict Confederate shipping and prevent supplies from reaching the Confederacy. She participated in various engagements and skirmishes with Confederate forces.

In February 1864, while anchored in the Neuse River near New Bern, North Carolina, the Underwriter was captured and destroyed by a Confederate raiding party led by Commander John Taylor Wood, a grandson of President Zachary Taylor and nephew of Jefferson Davis. The Confederates approached in small boats under cover of darkness, overwhelming the Union crew. After capturing the vessel, they set her ablaze. The loss of the Underwriter was a temporary setback for the Union Navy, but the strategic impact was minimal.