The USS Glaucus was a large screw steamer built by the Van Duesen Brothers in New York City, originally intended for the Neptune Steamship Company. Acquired by the Union Navy on July 17, 1863, and commissioned on February 18, 1864, under Commander C. H. B. Caldwell, she served during the American Civil War primarily as a gunboat in the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. Constructed as a steam-powered vessel, the USS Glaucus was designed to support blockade operations along the Confederate coast. Early in her service, she was selected to transport the newly elected Colombian President Manuel Murillo to Cartagena, departing New York on March 5, 1864, and arriving there on March 16. Upon returning to blockade duty off the Cape Fear River in North Carolina, she encountered a series of mishaps. Notably, on May 28, 1864, Glaucus caught fire while pursuing a blockade runner but managed to control the flames and was able to reach Philadelphia for repairs, where she was decommissioned on June 11, 1864. Repaired and recommissioned on August 22, 1864, she faced further difficulties, including a breakdown en route to New York and a grounding near Molasses Reef in the Bahamas, which required towing in May 1865. She was decommissioned permanently on June 6, 1865. During her wartime service, the vessel experienced multiple operational setbacks but remained afloat until the end of the Civil War. After the war, the vessel was sold at auction on June 12, 1865, to John Henderson of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Renamed Worcester, she was repurposed for transatlantic mail and freight service under the Baltimore & Liverpool Steamship Co. The Worcester completed several voyages to Liverpool, though she suffered engine and propeller damages during her service. The vessel's commercial career continued with various routes, including service between Boston, Halifax, and Prince Edward Island, until she was scrapped in Boston in 1894. The USS Glaucus’s transition from a Civil War blockade vessel to a civilian freight and mail ship exemplifies the versatile use of steamships during the late 19th century’s maritime expansion.

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