USS Lily (1862)

USS Lily (1862) was a tugboat acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the South from trading with other countries.

Lily, a steam tugboat, was built as Jessie Benton, and purchased by the War Department 5 May 1862. Used by the Quartermaster Corps on the western rivers, she was known as Jessie until transferred to the Navy 30 September 1862, Acting Ens. R. H. Smith in command, and renamed Lily 19 October.

Assigned to the Mississippi Squadron
Assigned to Rear Adm. David Dixon Porter’s Mississippi Squadron, she served on the river, including duty during the Vicksburg campaign.

Sunk during collision with an ironclad
Lily was sunk near Chickasaw Bayou in the Yazoo River in collision with ironclad ram USS Choctaw (1856) 28 May 1863.