USS Howquah was a screw steamer purchased by the Union Navy in Boston from G. W. Upton on 17 June 1863, for action against Confederate commerce raider CSS Tacony which was then preying upon Northern merchantmen during what Professor Richard S. West has called "the most brilliant daredevil cruise of the war."

Howquah departed Boston 25 June 1863, with Acting Volunteer Lieutenant E. F. Devens in command, to search for Tacony in the southern section of the Banks of Newfoundland but her quarry had been destroyed the day before she sailed.

Only 5 days later, she took CSS Ella, a small, fast and new side-wheel steamer subsequently serving the Navy as a picket, patrol, and dispatch vessel.

On Christmas Eve she transported troops from Beaufort, North Carolina, to Bear Inlet to ruin salt works vital to the Confederate war economy.

Unfortunately, Major General B. F. Butler nullified this success by ordering his troops to give up their beachheads and return to their ships; and Howquah had the unpleasant task of assisting in the evacuation.