Harvest Moon, a 546-ton (burden) side-wheel steamship, was built at Portland, Maine, in 1862 for commercial use. She was purchased by the Navy in November 1863 and placed in commission as USS Harvest Moon in February 1864. The ship was soon sent to join the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, which operated along the coasts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
Harvest Moon departed Boston 18 February and arrived off Charleston 25 February 1864. Next day Rear Admiral Dahlgren made the steamer his flagship. Harvest Moon began her regular blockading duties 7 June 1864 off Charleston. For the next 9 months the steamer served off Tybee Island, the North Edisto River, and Charleston harbor. During this period she also acted as a picket and dispatch vessel as well as Admiral Dahlgren's flagship.
While proceeding in company with tug Clover shortly after 0800 on 29 February 1865 Harvest Moon struck a torpedo (mine) in Winyah Bay, S.C. Admiral Dahlgren, awaiting breakfast in his cabin, saw the bulkhead shatter and explode toward him. The explosion blew a large hole in the ship's hull aft and she sank in 2.5 fathoms of water. One man was killed. The Admiral, and the crew, were taken on board Nipsic. Harvest Moon was stripped of her valuable machinery and abandoned 21 April 1865. In 1963, nearly 100 years later, a project was initiated to raise Harvest Moon from the mud at the bottom of Winyah Bay and to restore the ship, but has made little headway.
