USS Fern (1862) was 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...

 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...

 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...

. Her task was to tow other ships and barges, and to provide other duties that a tug could easily do, such as dispatch running.

Assigned to the Western Flotilla

The first ship to be named Fern 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...

 was a tug, formerly Intrepid

Intrepid

Intrepid can refer to:intrepid [ɪnˈtrɛpɪd]adjfearless; daring; bold [from Latin intrepidus, from in-1 + trepidus fearful, timid]intrepidity , intrepidness nintrepidly adv- People and organizations :...

, which operated under Master Alpheus Amiss with the War Department's

United States Department of War

The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...

 Western Flotilla

Mississippi River Squadron

The Mississippi River Squadron was the Union naval squadron that operated on the western rivers during the American Civil War. It was initially created as a part of the Union Army, although it was commanded by naval officers, and was then known as the Western Gunboat Flotilla and sometimes as the...

 until 1 October 1862 when all these vessels were transferred to the Union Navy. Placed in the command of Amiss who was made Acting Ensign

Ensign (rank)

Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....

, she was renamed Fern

Fern

A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...

 about 19 October.

Operating with the Mississippi Squadron

Fern was assigned to the Mississippi River Squadron

Mississippi River Squadron

The Mississippi River Squadron was the Union naval squadron that operated on the western rivers during the American Civil War. It was initially created as a part of the Union Army, although it was commanded by naval officers, and was then known as the Western Gunboat Flotilla and sometimes as the...

 to operate on western waters between Cairo, Illinois

Cairo, Illinois

Cairo is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the county seat of Alexander County. Cairo is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The rivers converge at Fort Defiance State Park, an American Civil War fort that was commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant...

, and the mouth of the Red River

Red River (Mississippi watershed)

The Red River, or sometimes the Red River of the South, is a major tributary of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in the southern United States of America. The river gains its name from the red-bed country of its watershed. It is one of several rivers with that name...

. She towed barges loaded with troops, delivered dispatches, transported officers, and tended coal barges.

Transporting Major General William T. Sherman

On 19 March 1863 during a joint expedition to penetrate the Yazoo River

Yazoo River

The Yazoo River is a river in the U.S. state of Mississippi.The Yazoo River was named by French explorer La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river's mouth. The exact meaning of the term is unclear...

, she carried Major-General William T. Sherman up Steele's Bayou. From August 1863 to May 1865 she was stationed off Natchez, Mississippi

Natchez, Mississippi

Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...

, to tend and pump coal barges, and in early June 1865 participated in an expedition up the Red River to receive the surrender of Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 Navy men and material.

Fern was ordered to Mound City, Illinois

Mound City, Illinois

Mound City is a city located along the Ohio River in Pulaski County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 692. It is the county seat of Pulaski County.-Geography:Mound City is located at ....

, where on 12 August 1865 she was decommissioned and later sold.