The USS Cherokee was a 606-ton screw steam gunboat that served in the United States Navy during the American Civil War and later in the Chilean Navy. Originally built as the steamer Thistle, she was launched on 2 July 1859 by Laurence Hill & Company in Port Glasgow, Scotland, for passenger and cargo service between Glasgow and Derry. Thistle was a composite-hulled vessel, with wood planking on iron frames, measuring 184.5 feet in length, 25.2 feet in beam, and a depth of hold of 12.5 feet. She had a gross register tonnage of 386 and a net tonnage of 206. Her propulsion was provided by a single screw driven by a two-cylinder geared beam engine of 150 NHP, manufactured by A. & J. Inglis, Glasgow. During trials on 29 August, she achieved a speed of 14 knots. During the Civil War, Thistle was used as a blockade runner, successfully penetrating the Union blockade into Charleston, South Carolina, in late January 1863. However, she ran aground while attempting to leave port a month later and was salvaged, sold to another owner, and renamed Cherokee. She made another attempt to run out of Charleston in May 1863 but was captured by USS Canandaigua. Before being turned over to the Boston Prize Court in July, she participated in the search for the Confederate raider CSS Tacony. The U.S. Navy purchased Cherokee after condemnation, outfitted her at Boston Navy Yard, and commissioned her on 21 April 1864 under Acting Volunteer Lieutenant J. F. Nickels. She served off North Carolina with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, contributing to the Union blockade, bombarding coastal defenses, and supporting amphibious operations. Notably, Cherokee captured the blockade runner Emma Henry in December 1864 and participated in the final assaults on Fort Fisher in late 1864 and early 1865, which helped close the port of Wilmington to blockade runners. In January 1865, she reconnoitered near New Inlet, engaging Confederate forces. In February 1865, Cherokee transferred to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron, patrolling between Key West and Havana until the end of the war. She was decommissioned at Boston on 23 June 1865 and sold on 1 August. Subsequently, she returned to civilian service, and in 1868, she was sold to the Chilean Government. Renamed Ancud, she served in Chilean Navy for about a decade before becoming a merchant vessel. She ultimately sank off Chiloé Island, Chile, on 25 August 1889.

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