USS Violet

USS Violet was a wooden-hulled, propeller-driven steamship, originally built as the tugboat Martha in 1862. She was purchased by the U.S. Navy in late 1862 for use in the American Civil War. She served on the U.S. East Coast in the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America, most notably at the entrance to the Cape Fear River which led to Wilmington, North Carolina. There she had several encounters with blockade runners. In August 1864 she went aground under the guns of the Confederate fort guarding the western entrance to the river. Rather than risk Violet's capture, the ship was blown up by her own men.