USS George W. Rodgers (1861)

USS George W. Rodgers (1861) was a schooner captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was initially intended to be used as part of the stone fleet of sunken obstructions; however, she was retained and used as a picket boat and dispatch vessel and, later, as a survey ship, concentrating her efforts in the waterways of the Confederate South.
Blockade runner Shark captured by USS South Carolina
George W. Rodgers, originally blockade runner Shark, was captured by the screw steamer South Carolina off Galveston, Texas, 4 July 1861 and sent to the U.S. East Coast.
Arriving New York City 24 August, she was sold to a private purchaser 5 November.
Service under charter by the Union Navy
Later chartered by the Union Navy under a civilian master, Shark served during 1862 and 1863 as a dispatch ship with the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron until taken over by the Union Navy...