History
United States
In service	1862
Out of service	1864
Captured	14 June 1862
Fate	Returned to owner, May 1864
General characteristics
Displacement	939 tons
Length	268 ft (82 m)
Beam	42 ft (13 m)
Draft	8 ft 9 in (2.67 m)
Propulsion	steam engine screw-propelled
Armament	one 32-pounder gun

USS Clara Dolsen was a large steamer captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She served the Union Navy in river operations and as a "receiving ship" auxiliary.

Service history

Clara Dolsen, a side-wheel steamer, was captured 14 June 1862 by the gunboat USS Mound City and the tug USS Spitfire on the White River during the St. Charles expedition. After taking part in the joint Army-Navy expedition to recapture Henderson, Kentucky, (19–24 July 1862), she served as a receiving ship at Cairo, Illinois, until April 1864. Since she had not been labeled as a prize, her owners brought suit for her return. The final adjudication restored Clara Dolsen to her owners, and she was turned over to the U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Illinois in May 1864, for delivery to her owners.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.