William G. Hewes, a 747-ton iron side-wheel steamship, was built at Wilmington, Delaware, in 1860 for commerical service between the U.S. East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. She made her maiden voyage early in 1861, as north-south tensions were expanding toward Civil War. The steamer was seized by the State of Louisiana in late April 1861, initially with the idea of converting her into a gunboat, but instead became a blockade runner operating out of New Orleans. She was moved to Carolina ports after Federal Forces captured the lower Mississippi River in April 1862.
Sometime thereafter, William G. Hewes was transferred to private ownership and renamed Ella and Annie. She continued to run the Federal blockade on behalf of the Confederacy until 9 November 1863, when USS Niphon captured her off New Inlet, North Carolina, during an attempt to enter the port of Wilmington. Ella and Annie was subsequently purchased by the U.S. Navy and commissioned as USS Malvern. Sold at auction in October 1865, she reentered civil employment under her original name. Following a long and varied career, the steamship William G. Hewes was wrecked off Cuba on 20 February 1895.
