USS Whitehead, a 136-ton screw steam gunboat, was built at the New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1861. Purchased by the Navy in October 1861 and commissioned the following month, she took part in an engagement with CSS Patrick Henry near Hampton Roads on 2 December 1861. Soon thereafter, she was sent to North Carolina's internal waters, where she spent most of the remainder of the Civil War. Whitehead helped capture Roanoke Island and Elizabeth City, N.C., in February 1862 and actively participated in other operations in the vicinity during the next several months. She was given thin iron armor during a refit in late 1862, providing some protection against light enemy fire.
Whitehead continued her operations in North Carolina waters in 1863, 1864 and 1865. In April and May 1864, she was three times involved in engagements with the Confederate ironclad ram Albemarle.
Whitehead was present during the capture of Plymouth, N.C., on 31 October 1864. Following the end of the Civil War, she decommissioned in June 1865 and was sold in August. Later in 1865 she became the merchant vessel Nevada. The little steamer's very active career ended when she was destroyed by fire at New London, Connecticut, in September 1872.
