Sidewheel steam frigate
USS
Susquehanna
, a sidewheel steam frigate, was the first ship of the
United States Navy
to be named for the
Susquehanna River
, which rises in
Lake Otsego
in central
New York
and flows across
Pennsylvania
and the northeast corner of
Maryland
emptying into the
Chesapeake Bay
.
Her keel was laid down by the
New York Navy Yard
in 1847. She was
launched
on 5 April 1850 and was
commissioned
on 24 December 1850, Captain John H. Aulick in command.
Service history
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East India Squadron, 1850?1855
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After completing her trials, which she began in January 1851, the side-wheel frigate sailed on 8 June for the Far East to become flagship of the
East India Squadron
under the command of Commodore
John H. Aulick
. Aulick's orders included instructions to visit Japan and negotiate a treaty opening diplomatic relations with that country. However, before he could carry out his mission, he was forced to give up his command as result of quarrels during the first leg of his journey with Captain
Franklin Buchanan
, the captain of the flagship and due to an incident with a Brazilian diplomat on board.
[1]
Susquehanna
joined Commodore
Matthew Perry
's
expedition
as his flagship at
Canton
and entered
Edo Bay
with his squadron on 8 July 1853. After Perry had presented his demands and official letter from President
Millard Fillmore
to the Japanese government on 14 July, the American warships departed on 17 July. On 12 February 1854,
Susquehanna
returned with the squadron to Japan as part of Perry's show of force, resulting in the signing of the
Convention of Kanagawa
on 31 March 1854. The frigate departed Japanese waters on 24 March; and, after operating on the China coast, headed home via the Indian Ocean and the
Cape of Good Hope
. She arrived at
Philadelphia
, Pennsylvania, on 10 March 1855 and was decommissioned on 15 March.
Mediterranean Squadron, 1856?1861
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Recommissioned on 5 May 1856, the ship joined the
Mediterranean Squadron
in July under the command of
Joshua R. Sands
. After serving as flagship, she returned and was laid up on 18 April 1858. Reactivated at the
New York Navy Yard
on 17 August 1860, the ship sailed for
Veracruz
, a week later and thence sailed to the Mediterranean. On the outbreak of the
American Civil War
, she departed
La Spezia
, Italy, on 5 May 1861 and reached
Boston
, Massachusetts, on 6 June.
American Civil War, 1861?1865
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US Steam Frigate
Susquehanna
The ship was assigned to the
Atlantic Blockading Squadron
and sailed for
Hampton Roads
. Late in August,
Susquehanna
participated in the
joint Army-Navy expedition
to
Hatteras Inlet
,
North Carolina
, which captured
Fort Clark
and
Fort Hatteras
on 29 August. During September, she captured two British schooners:
Argonaut
on 13 September and
Prince Alfred
on 28 September. In the same month, she also took two
Confederate
schooners as well:
San Juan
on 28 September and
Baltimore
the following day. All four ships were laden with contraband.
Late in October,
Susquehanna
joined Flag Officer
Samuel Francis DuPont
's expedition to
South Carolina
waters which captured
Port Royal Sound
on 7 November; took possession of
Beaufort, South Carolina
, on 9 November; and established a blockade at the mouth of the
Broad River
the same day. These operations provided the Union Navy with an important base for the future operations of the
South Atlantic Blockading Squadron
.
Susquehanna
served in this important squadron until the following spring, operating primarily on blockade duty off
Charleston, South Carolina
. There, she took British schooner
Coquette
on 3 April 1862, attempting to slip into Charleston from the
Bahamas
.
On 27 April,
Susquehanna
was ordered to
Hampton Roads
to strengthen the
North Atlantic Blockading Squadron
which was then making every effort to support Major General
George B. McClellan
's drive up the peninsula toward
Richmond, Virginia
. The Union forces in the area were then threatened by ironclad
CSS
Virginia
, the former USS
Merrimack
.
Susquehanna
and four other Union warships acting under orders from President of the United States
Abraham Lincoln
bombarded Confederate batteries at
Sewell's Point, Virginia
, on 8 May. Three days later,
Virginia
was blown up by her crew, ending her threat to Union shipping in the Hampton Roads area and freed
Susquehanna
for duty elsewhere.
Late in May, the ship was assigned to the
West Gulf Blockading Squadron
, and she carried dispatches for Flag Officer
David Farragut
to the
Gulf of Mexico
. En route, she captured Confederate schooner
Princeton
on 11 June, and sent the prize to
Key West
, Florida. On 29 June, she and
Kanawha
seized British steamer
Ann
trying to get into
Mobile Bay
with a cargo of arms and ammunition.
Susquehanna
continued to operate in the
Gulf of Mexico
until ordered to New York for repairs in the spring of 1863. While proceeding north, the warship captured schooner
Alabama
off the Florida coast on 18 April. She was decommissioned at the
New York Navy Yard
on 14 May 1863.
Recommissioned on 20 July 1864,
Susquehanna
was assigned to the
North Atlantic Blockading Squadron
and participated in the
abortive attacks
on
Fort Fisher, North Carolina
, on Christmas Eve 1864. However, in mid-February 1865, the double-ender was in the mighty force which finally
took that Confederate stronghold
and closed
Wilmington, North Carolina
, the
Confederate States of America
's last major port. At that time, she was under command of Rear Admiral
Sylvanus William Godon
. One of her crewmen, Landsman
Henry S. Webster
, was awarded the
Medal of Honor
for his actions in the Second Battle of Fort Fisher.
[2]
Atlantic Squadron, 1866?1868
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Following the end of the
American Civil War
,
Susquehanna
brought American delegates to Veracruz bay in Mexico during the destruction of the
Second Mexican Empire
in order to open up relations with the United States backed Mexican president
Benito Juarez
. When the
Susquehanna
found out that the acting imperial ruler
Maximilian I of Mexico
had decided not to abdicate, the ship turned around to head home 1866.
[3]
The USS Susquehanna also sailed for Brazil and operated on the Atlantic coast of South America until returning home and decommissioning on 30 June 1866. Recommissioned on 2 November 1866, the ship ended her active service as flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron. Decommissioned at the
New York Navy Yard
on 14 January 1868,
Susquehanna
was laid up until she was sold for scrapping on 27 September 1883 to E. Stannard of New York City.
In fiction
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The ship appeared in
Jules Verne
's book
Around the Moon
, a sequel to
From the Earth to the Moon
, in which the ship rescues the main protagonists from their spacecraft, a projectile made of aluminium and launched by cannon, which splashed down off the coast of the California Peninsula.
See also
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References
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This article incorporates text from the
public domain
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
. The entry can be found
here
.
External links
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