The USS Albemarle was a screw steamer captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War and repurposed as a support vessel in North Carolina waters. Originally, she was a Southern schooner owned by Boyle and Richard Reddick of Suffolk, Virginia, which was seized during an expedition on March 26, 1862, by the Union sidewheel gunboat Delaware in Pantego Creek, Pungo River, North Carolina. After her capture, the Albemarle was towed to New Bern, North Carolina, and served as a Union vessel supporting the blockade of Confederate waterways. Throughout the war, Albemarle primarily functioned as a storeship and ordnance hulks within the North Carolina sounds. By February 1863, she was reported off New Bern alongside the schooner Knockern, serving as a storeship for Union forces. A report from May 1863 confirmed her continued role in this capacity, and she was formally purchased from the prize court on May 9, 1863. The vessel remained in North Carolina waters for the duration of her service, never leaving the sounds, and was condemned in absentia, meaning she was formally acquired by the Union while still under Confederate control. Commanded initially by Acting Assistant Paymaster Emanuel Mellach and later by Acting Assistant Paymaster George R. Watkins, USS Albemarle provided logistical support, including serving as an ordnance hulk. Her service lasted until the end of the Civil War, after which she was towed to Hampton Roads, Virginia, in late July 1865. The vessel was sold at public auction at the Norfolk Navy Yard on October 19, 1865, to Captain S. I. Bain. Details of her subsequent career are not documented, leaving her later history unknown. Her significance lies in her role as a logistical support vessel, aiding Union operations in the strategic North Carolina sounds during the Civil War.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.