Helen, 1858

Jan. 26, 2021
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Helen, 1858


An original name retained.


The Helen was a private schooner that was purchased in April 1858 for use as a supply vessel for servicing remote light stations, for a six-month period.  She was then converted for use as a tender.  She was assigned to the 6th Lighthouse District.

She was seized by Confederate forces in South Carolina in January 1861.  She saw service in the Confederate Navy as the CSS Helen, where she served as a supply vessel along the Florida coast.  She was captured by a boarding party from the USS Sagamore and she was burned and sunk near Cedar Keys, Florida, on 2 April 1863.


Sources:

Douglas Peterson.  United States Lighthouse Service Tenders, 1840-1939. Annapolis: Eastwind Publishing, 2000.