USS Verbena (1864)

USS Verbena (1864) was a small 104-ton steamer purchased by the Union Navy towards the end of the American Civil War.

Verbena, outfitted with a 20-pounder Parrott rifle by the Navy, was placed in service as a gunboat and assigned to the blockade of the Confederate States of America. However, most of her service was as a tugboat and as a ship’s tender.

Commissioned in New York City in 1864
Verbena -- originally the wooden steamer Ino built at Brooklyn, New York, in 1864—was purchased by the Navy at New York City on 7 June 1864 and commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 11 July 1864.

Civil War operations
On 19 July, the vessel was attached to the Potomac Flotilla for duty as a tugboat. Two days later, she deployed in the Potomac River off Point Lookout, Maryland.; and she served for most of the duration of the Civil War as a tender to the ironclad USS Roanoke (1855).

Post-war decommissioning
After the collapse of the Confederacy, Verbena received orders on 5 May 1865 to proceed to the Washington Navy Yard, where she was decommissioned on 13 June.

Commercial service
Verbena was sold at public auction there to W. E. Gladwick on 20 July; redocumented as Game Cock on 9 September; renamed Edward G. Burgess on 7 July 1885; and dropped from the registry in 1900.