a month before Robert E. Lee surrendered, Stepping Stones was in a naval expedition up Mattox Creek to Colonial Beach, Virginia, where the Union ships attacked a supply base for Confederate guerrillas operating on the peninsula between that river and the Potomac River. Post-war decommissioning, sale and subsequent civilian career After the war ended, Stepping Stones was decommissioned at the Washington Navy Yard on 23 June 1865 and was sold on 12 July 1865 to W. D. Wallach. Redocumented as Cambridge on 27 July 1865, the steamer was reduced to a barge on 2 August 1871 and soon disappeared from maritime records. References Ships of the Union Navy Ships built in New York City Steamships of the United States Navy Dispatch boats of the United States Navy Gunboats of the United States Navy American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States 1861 ships