USS Port Royal a 1163-ton "double-ender" side wheel steam gunboat, was built at New York City. Commissioned in April 1862, she was soon in action against the Confederates in the Hampton Roads and James River areas, taking part in bombardments at Sewell's Point on 8 May and Fort Darling on 15 May. In August, she covered the Army's withdrawal from Harrison's Landing. Later in 1862, Port Royal operated on the North Carolina Sounds.

The gunboat was next assigned to the Gulf of Mexico blockade, raiding Apalachicola, Florida, in April and July 1863 and capturing a sloop in May. In August 1864, Port Royal participated in operations in Mobile Bay, entering the bay with Farragut's fleet on the 5th and later assisting in the bombardment and capture of Fort Morgan. Remaining in the Gulf beyond the end of the Civil War, USS Port Royal was decommissioned in May 1866 and sold in October of that year.

This page features the only views we have related to USS Port Royal.

Photo #: NH 82580-KN (Color) Bombardment of Fort Darling, Drewry's Bluff, Virginia, 15 May 1862 Contemporary pencil sketch, with colors of flags and smoke lightly worked in, depicting the Union ships Galena, Monitor, Aroostook, Port Royal and Naugatuck (listed as shown, left to right) bombarding the Confederate fort at Drewry's Bluff.
Photo #: NH 1998 Bombardment of Fort Darling, Drewry's Bluff, Virginia, 15 May 1862 Contemporary pencil sketch by F.H. Wilcke, depicting the Union warships Galena, Monitor, Aroostook, Port Royal and Naugatuck (listed as shown, left to right), under the command of Commander John Rodgers, bombarding the Confederate fort at Drewry's Bluff.
Photo #: NH 83136 "Entrance of Rear Admiral Farragut in to Mobile Bay. August 5th 1864" Chart of the action, prepared by RAdm. D.G. Farragut, Washington, D.C., March 1st, 1865. See Photo # NH 83136 (complete caption) for further information, as printed on the original chart. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. Online Image: 277KB; 870 x 1200 pixels