USS Wilderness (1864) - Revenue Cutter

Revenue Cutter

Decommissioned on 10 June 1865, Wilderness was acquired by the Treasury Department at the Boston Navy Yard on 6 September 1865 and sailed for Baltimore, Maryland, on the 17th. There, the side-wheeler was fitted put for her new duties as a revenue cutter and, following repairs and alterations, was ordered to Florida waters on 28 November.

Reaching Key West on 8 December, Wilderness operated out of that port for a year, before she shifted up the east coast to Charleston, South Carolina, on 14 December 1866 for repairs. Wilderness subsequently operated in the Gulf of Mexico, ranging from New Orleans to Veracruz, Mexico. She apparently operated out of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the gulf, through the summer of 1872.