USS Water Witch was a steamer in the service of the United States Navy.

She entered the Philadelphia Navy Yard late in 1845; had her hull lengthened by some 30 feet; and had all her machinery removed and replaced with a new power plant to drive a Loper propeller.

However, that configuration, after some months of experimentation, also proved unsatisfactory and; in 1847, she again traded her propulsion plant for an inclined condensing engine driving conventional side-wheels.

During the spring of that year, she sailed from Norfolk, Virginia, on a coastal voyage but broke down on her first day out and was towed back to port.

Her machinery was removed at Washington for use in the third Water Witch, and her hull became a target for gunnery practice This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.