Alanthus, 1870
Builder: William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Length: 135'
Beam: 25' 5"
Draft: 9'
Displacement: 295 tons
Cost: $44,100
Launched: 1869
Commissioned: 1870
Decommissioned: 1881
Disposition: Sold, 15 February 1882
Machinery: Condensing beam steam engine, IHP 300; side paddle wheel propulsion
Complement: 16
Armament: None
Tender History:
Alanthus was one of two tenders of the Verbena Class, the other being the tender Verbena. Both entered service in 1870. They were wooden hulled, steam powered, side paddle wheelers of 295 tons. Alanthus was assigned to the Sixth Lighthouse District at Charleston. She was overhauled and a new boiler was installed in 1875. She was declared unfit for further use in 1880 and was decommissioned the following year. Apparently and useful fittings were removed prior to her sale in 1882 for use on the new tender, Wistaria.
Sources:
Douglas Peterson. U.S. Lighthouse Service Tenders, 1840 - 1939. Annapolis, Maryland: Eastwind Publishing, 2000.
Robert Scheina. U.S. Coast Guard Cutters & Craft of World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1982.
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