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NavSource Online: Army Ship Photo Archive

USED Alpha

Dredge:

Built in 1894 by US Army Engineers.

Launched, 1894

Commissioned and placed in service by the US Army Corp of Engineers, as USED Alpha in 1895

Decommissioned and retired from Army service, 1898

Final Disposition, dismantled in 1898

Specifications:
Displacement unknown
Length unknown
Beam unknown
Draft unknown
Speed unknown
Range unknown
Complement
Fuel Capacity unknown
Machinery steam

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Source
302624101	124k	USED Alpha tied up to the bank of a river, circa 1894-1898 location unknown. The Dredge *Alpha*, completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1894 primarily as an experimental vessel. It sewed from 1895 to 1898 and demonstrated that dredging was effective in maintaining a navigation channel in the Mississippi River. Over those four years it pumped an estimated 1,080,342 cubic yards of material. It was dismantled in 1901 and pieces of it were sold off by the Mississippi River Commission in 1902.		John Spivey

There is no history available for USED Alpha at NavSource

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Last Updated 6 February 2026