USRC Naugatuck was a twin-screw ironclad experimental steamer operated by the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service during the American Civil War.

This proposal was accepted and an Act of Congress — approved on 14 April 1842 — authorized the Secretary of the Navy to contract for the construction of a shot and shell-proof steamer, to be built principally of iron, on the Stevens plan.

But experiments made by John Ericsson with his big wrought-iron gun proved that 4.5 inches of armor was insufficient, and the construction of the vessel was thus delayed.

During 1861 and early 1862, Stevens reinforced the deck to support one 100-pound Parrott gun amidships trained forward, later augmented with two 12-pounder howitzers.

The New York Times reported on March 22, 1862, that "The Naugatuck is not intended to be a model of Mr. Stevens' iron-clad battery, but is designed to illustrate one or two novel ideas connected with that monstrous engine of war, viz: The ability to sink and raise a vessel with great rapidity; to turn and manage her by means of two propellers located one on each side of the stern; also, taking up the recoil of the gun by means of India-rubber."

This band covered a wooden bulwark built of solid cedar, which rose 18 in (46 cm) above the deck and measured 4.5 feet (1.4 m) in depth.

On April 11, under command of Captain Shippen, Stevens exchanged fire with CSS Virginia when the ironclad emerged from its anchorage near Craney Island.

On April 29, Lieutenant David Constable, USRCS relieved Shippen and took command of the gunboat and its crew of two dozen.

By May 10, Confederate land forces evacuated Norfolk, leaving the deep-draft Virginia with neither a defensible homeport nor a feasible escape route.

On the evening of May 10, commanding officer Josiah Tattnall ran the ironclad aground near Craney Island and set it on fire.

In an effort to renew his Peninsular Campaign, General George McClellan requested a squadron to force its way up the James River and threaten Richmond from the water.

The Federal warships experienced only minor resistance during their passage up the James River to reach the fortifications at Drewry's Bluff.

On the 16th, Rodgers convened a board, composed of squadron officers, to examine the remains of the Parrott rifle and determine the cause of its failure.

Even though her main gun remained shattered, Commodore Rodgers still felt it could provide good service to the James River Squadron.

On May 29, while the gunboat underwent these repairs, President Lincoln honored Lieutenant Constable by promoting him to captain before an audience of his full cabinet.

In July 1863, the gunboat defended the McDougal General Hospital at Fort Schuyler, playing a small role in the New York City Draft Riots.

After the conclusion of hostilities, the Treasury Department assigned Naugatuck responsibility for patrolling North Carolina's inland sounds, homeported at New Bern.

Naugatuck served in this duty from late 1865 until the summer of 1889, with periodic trips to New York, Norfolk, and Baltimore for maintenance and repairs.