34. What special distinction could be said of the George Washington Parke Custis, the Stepping Stones, the Wachusett, the Tioga, the Port Royal, and the Delaware?
From Quiz Civil War Firsts
Answer:
They formed the first US carrier task force
Although the carrier task force, and the aircraft carrier in particular, as we know it today essentially originated in the early part of the twentieth century, the carrier and carrier task force can be said to have originated during the nineteenth century. The USS George Washinton Parke Custis was a coal barge that had been converted to serve as a balloon carrier, and appears to be the first aircraft carrier to be designed, or redesigned, as such to serve in the US Navy. At least one recon flight was launched from the deck of this ship. The USS Stepping Stones served as a tug for the George Washington Parke Custis. Of the escorting ships of the task force, the USS Wachusett was a sloop of war, the USS Delaware was a steamer turned into an armed transport, and both the USS Tioga and USS Port Royal were gunboats.
One major difference between this task force and the modern one is that it never served as such on the open ocean.