USS Spuyten Duyvil, a 207-ton armored torpedo vessel, was built at Mystic, Connecticut. She was completed under the name Stromboli, apparently in October 1864, but was renamed a month later. After her arrival at Hampton Roads, Virginia, in early December 1864, Spuyten Duyvil was sent to operate on the James River. On 23-24 January 1865, she participated in the battle at Trent's Reach, which was precipitated when Confederate ironclads attempted to attack Federal forces on the lower James.

As the Civil War drew to its conclusion in early April 1865, Spuyten Duyvil used her unique torpedo placing mechanism to clear obstructions on the river, thus permitting President Abraham Lincoln to ascend the James on his way to visit Richmond, the former Confederate capital city. She continued the work of clearing the river's obstruction for some time after the fighting ended, and was then sent to the New York Navy Yard, where she was decommissioned and laid up. Subsequently used for experiments, Spuyten Duyvil was sold in 1880.