USS Yankee (1861) USS Yankee (1861) USS "Yankee" (1861) was a steam-powered side-wheel tugboat acquired by the Union Navy just prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War. The "Yankee"—a side-wheel steamer built in 1860 at New York City—was one of three steam tugs chartered early in April 1861 at New York City for use on the expedition to provision Fort Sumter, South Carolina, the first U.S. state to declare its secession from the Union, which it had done on December 20, 1860. She departed New York on 8 April 1861 and arrived off Charleston Bar on the 15th, a few hours
1st U.S. Light Artillery, Battery E Corps, to May 1863. 2nd Regular Brigade, Artillery Reserve, Army of the Potomac, to June 1863. 2nd Brigade, Horse Artillery, Artillery Reserve, Army of the Potomac, to June 1864. 3rd Brigade, DeRussy's Division, XXII Corps, to July 1864. 1st Brigade, DeRussy's Division, XXII Corps, to October 1865. Defense of Fort Sumter, Charleston Harbor, April 12-13, 1861. Evacuation of Fort Sumter April 13. Reached Fort Hamilton, N.Y. Harbor, April 19. Moved to Chambersburg, Pa., June 3. Ordered to Washington, D.C., August 26, 1861. Duty at the federal arsenal and at Camp Duncan, defenses of Washington, until March 1862. Moved to the