Construction and Design
Levi Woodbury—originally named Mahoning after a creek and a valley in Pennsylvania—was one of six Pawtuxet-class screw schooners ordered by the Treasury Department in 1863 for the United States Revenue Marine. Mahoning was built in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by J. W. Lynn. Among those aboard for the launch, on the afternoon of Wednesday, 29 July 1863, were "a number of ladies, many officers of the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and other invited guests." Mahoning was christened by Miss Rebecca B. Thomas, daughter of Philadelphia's Collector of Ports, Colonel W. B. Thomas.
Mahoning was 130 feet (40 m) long, with a beam of 26 feet 6 inches (8.08 m) and both draft and hold depth of 11 feet (3.4 m). Like the other ships of her class, her contract called for a hull of oak, locust and white oak, strengthened with diagonal iron bracing. Her two-cylinder oscillating engine drove a single 8-foot (2.4 m) diameter screw propeller. Mahoning's speed is unrecorded but was probably similar to the 12 knots achieved by her sister ship USRC Kankakee. She was topsail schooner-rigged for auxiliary sail power.
Mahoning's armament consisted of a single 30-pounder Parrott rifle and five 24-pounder howitzers. She was crewed by a complement of seven officers and 34 enlisted men.
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