USS Sidney C. Jones was a schooner that served in the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

Built in East Haddam, Connecticut, and launched in April 1856, Sidney C. Jones was intended to be used on trade routes.

Naval historian W. Craig Gaines reports that she had a draft of 7 feet 8 inches (2.34 m),[1] while American Civil War military records indicate that this figure represents depth of hold.

[2] On October 7, 1861,[3] the Union Navy purchased Sidney C. Jones for military service in the American Civil War[4] from George E. Goodspeed at a cost of $10,500[5] at New York City.

The Union Navy originally intended to use her in the blockade,[4] and by November 9, 1861, she had been armed with two 32-pounder cannon, each of which weighed 57 hundredweight.

[5] It was later decided to instead convert her into a mortar schooner and assign her to the fleet of Flag Officer David Glasgow Farragut.

[7] Porter divided his command into three parts; Sidney C. Jones was assigned to the rearmost one, Lieutenant Walter W. Queen's Second Division, along with five other vessels.

In order to pre-occupy the Confederate defenders, the mortar vessels increased their rates of fire until the Union ships had passed the positions.