The first USS Courier was a storeship acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

Courier sailed from New York City 17 October 1861 on the first of many voyages to bring supplies to ships at Port Royal, South Carolina, along the Florida coast, and in the Gulf of Mexico as far west as New Orleans, Louisiana.

Participating in the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America, Courier captured three blockade runners, Angelina and Emeline on 16 May 1863 and Maria Bishop on 17 May 1863.

Courier ran aground in the Abaco Islands in the Bahamas on 14 June 1864 and had to be abandoned, but her officers and men, together with her stores and cargo, were saved and sent to the United States.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.