USS Phoenix (1861)

The Phoenix was a 404 ton American wooden whaler based in New London, Connecticut. The aging ship was sold to the Union Navy in 1861, at the start of the American Civil War.

She was part of the Stone Fleet, and was deliberately sunk as a breakwater to shelter Union troops landing on Tybee Island, Georgia, on or before 5 December 1861, in preparation for the Battle of Fort Pulaski.