USS Ohio (1820)

Last updated

Ohio-ship-of-the-line-Currier-Ives.jpeg
USS Ohio
History
US flag 15 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Ohio
NamesakeOhio
Builder Henry Eckford (naval architect)
Laid down1817
Launched30 May 1820
Commissionedbefore 16 October 1838
Recommissioned7 December 1846, needed for the Mexican–American War
Decommissioned1875
FateSold 1883, burned 1884
General characteristics
Type Ship of the line
Displacement2724
Length197 ft (60 m)
Beam53 ft (16 m)
Draft22.2 ft (6.8 m)
PropulsionSail
Speed12 kn (14 mph; 22 km/h)
Complement840 officers and men
Armament
  • 34 × 42lb on lower deck
  • 34 × 32lb on gun deck
  • 34 × 42lb carronades on spar deck
  • 2 × 32lb long gun on forecastle
  • 104 guns total

The second USS Ohio was a ship of the line of the United States Navy, rated at 74 guns, although her total number of guns was 104. [1] She was designed by Henry Eckford, laid down at Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1817, and launched on 30 May 1820. She went into ordinary and in the ensuing years decayed badly. Refitted for service in 1838, Ohio sailed on 16 October 1838 to join the Mediterranean Squadron under Commodore Isaac Hull. Acting as flagship for two years, she protected commerce and suppressed the slave trade off the African coast. Ohio proved to have excellent performance under sail, repeatedly making more than 12  kn (14 mph; 22 km/h). One of her officers stated, "I never supposed such a ship could be built—a ship possessing in so great a degree all the qualifications of a perfect vessel." In 1840, Ohio returned to Boston, where she again went into ordinary. From 1841 to 1846, Ohio served as receiving ship.

Contents

To meet the needs of the Mexican–American War, Ohio was recommissioned on 7 December 1846, and sailed on 4 January 1847 for the Gulf of Mexico, arriving off Veracruz on 22 March. Ohio landed 10 guns on 27 March to help in the siege of Veracruz; the city soon surrendered.

Ohio drew too much water for coastal operations in the gulf. However, 336 of her crew participated in the Tuxpan River Expedition. In 1847, the entire distance from the mouth of the river to the town was covered with thick jungle growth. The enemy had constructed three well-positioned forts on bluffs overlooking bends in the river. On 18 April, Commodore Matthew Perry arrived off the mouth of the river with 15 vessels. At 22:00, light-draft steamers Scourge, Spitfire, and Vixen, each towing a schooner, moved up stream. Bombships Etna, Hecla, and Vesuvius followed closely while 30 surf boats containing 1,500 men brought up the rear. Approaching the town, the squadron came under hot fire from Fort LaPena. Cmdre. Perry ordered Commander Franklin Buchanan to disembark the surf boats and storm the fort. As the landing party swept ashore, the Mexicans abandoned their position. The other two forts fell in a like manner, with only light casualties sustained by the squadron. Men from Ohio retrieved the guns of brig Truxtun, which had foundered in a storm near Tuxpan on 16 September 1846. The town was occupied and all military stores destroyed.

Following Tuxpan, Ohio sailed from Veracruz and arrived in New York on 9 May. On 26 June, she sailed to bolster the Pacific Squadron, first carrying the U.S. minister to Brazil and operating off the east coast of South America until December. In Valparaíso on 21 January 1848, Cmdre. Thomas ap Catesby Jones took her as the flagship of the Pacific Squadron, intending to blockade the western Mexico ports. Ohio arrived at Mazatlán on 6 May, shortly after the Mexican–American War ended. Jones used the fleet to help transport to Monterey, California, those that had aided the United States in the war, arriving there on 9 October. Ohio then sailed to Sausalito, in San Francisco Bay. Ohio spent the next two years in the Pacific protecting commerce and policing the newly acquired California Territory during the chaotic early months of the gold rush. Scurvy struck the crew in the spring of 1849 in San Francisco Bay, so Jones sent Ohio to the Sandwich Islands for fresh food.

Ohio as a receiving ship at Boston in the 1870s. Boston Navy Yard waterfront in the 1870s.jpg
Ohio as a receiving ship at Boston in the 1870s.

In 1850, she returned to Boston, where she again went into ordinary. In 1851, Ohio became a receiving ship and continued this duty until again placed in ordinary in 1875. Ohio was sold at Boston to J. L. Snow of Rockland, Maine on 27 September 1883. She was burned in the following year, in Greenport Harbor, New York; the remains are still accessible to scuba divers. The wreck is off Fanning Point, in about 20 ft (6.1 m) of water.

See also

The ship's figurehead, a cedar carving of Hercules, was saved and is currently on display in Stony Brook, New York, along with the ship's anchor. Stony Brook Figurehead.jpg
The ship's figurehead, a cedar carving of Hercules, was saved and is currently on display in Stony Brook, New York, along with the ship's anchor.

Related Research Articles

USS Vesuvius was a 239-ton steamer acquired by the United States Navy for use during the Mexican–American War which was an armed military conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S. annexation of Texas.

USS <i>Raritan</i> (1843)

The first USS Raritan was a wooden-hulled, three-masted sailing frigate of the United States Navy built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, laid down in 1820, but not launched until 13 June 1843, sponsored by Commodore Frederick Engle. She was one of the last sailing frigates of the United States Navy.

USS <i>Columbus</i> (1819) 90-gun ship of the line in the United States Navy

USS Columbus was a 92-gun ship of the line in the United States Navy. Although construction of the warship was authorized by Congress on 2 January 1813, plunder of the Washington Navy Yard by British troops in 1814 during the burning of Washington, combined with efforts to keep US military stores out of British hands, led to the destruction of any initial framing. Days after Congress re-authorized the vessel on 29 April 1816, a keel was laid and construction resumed.

USS <i>Cumberland</i> (1842) US Navy sailing frigate, 1842–1862

The first USS Cumberland was a 50-gun sailing frigate of the United States Navy. She was the first ship sunk by the ironclad CSS Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Murray (1816–1884)</span>

Rear Admiral Alexander Murray was a flag officer in the United States Navy, who served during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Harwar Parker</span>

William Harwar Parker was an officer in the United States Navy and later in the Confederate States Navy. His autobiography, entitled Recollections of a Naval Officer 1841–1865, provides a unique insight into the United States Navy of the mid-19th century during an era when the Age of Sail was coming to an end and the advent of steam power and ironclads was beginning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Home Squadron</span> Military unit of the United States Navy

The Home Squadron was part of the United States Navy in the mid-19th century. Organized as early as 1838, ships were assigned to protect coastal commerce, aid ships in distress, suppress piracy and the Atlantic slave trade, make coastal surveys, and train ships to relieve others on distant stations. It was discontinued in 1861 after the outbreak of the American Civil War, when the Union blockade forced a reassignment of ships to close off Southern ports.

USS <i>John Adams</i> (1799) United States Navy frigate (1799–1865)

The first John Adams was originally built in 1799 as a frigate for the United States Navy, converted to a corvette in 1809, and later converted back to a frigate in 1830. Named for American Founding Father and president John Adams, she fought in the Quasi-War, the First and Second Barbary Wars, the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War.

USS <i>Mississippi</i> (1841) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Mississippi, a paddle frigate, was the first ship of the United States Navy to bear that name. She was named for the Mississippi River. Her sister ship was Missouri. Her keel was laid down by the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1839; built under the personal supervision of Commodore Matthew Perry. She was commissioned on 22 December 1841, with Captain W. D. Salter in command and launched several weeks later.

USS <i>Saratoga</i> (1842) Sloop-of-war of the United States Navy

USS Saratoga, a sloop-of-war, was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Battle of Saratoga of the American Revolutionary War. Her keel was laid down in the summer of 1841 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard. She was launched on 26 July 1842 and commissioned on 4 January 1843 with Commander Josiah Tattnall III in command.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Squadron</span> U.S. Navy squadron positioned in the Pacific Ocean (1821–1907)

The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval supplies and purchased food and obtained water from local ports of call in the Hawaiian Islands and towns on the Pacific Coast. Throughout the history of the Pacific Squadron, American ships fought against several enemies. Over one-half of the United States Navy would be sent to join the Pacific Squadron during the Mexican–American War. During the American Civil War, the squadron was reduced in size when its vessels were reassigned to Atlantic duty. When the Civil War was over, the squadron was reinforced again until being disbanded just after the turn of the 20th century.

USS Germantown was a United States Navy sloop-of-war in commission for various periods between 1847 and 1860. She saw service in the Mexican–American War in 1847–1848 and during peacetime operated in the Caribbean, in the Atlantic Ocean off Africa and South America, and in East Asia. Scuttled at the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, she was captured and refloated by the Confederate States of America and placed in service with the Confederate States Navy as the floating battery CSS Germantown before again being scuttled in 1862.

USS <i>Decatur</i> (1839) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Decatur was a sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the mid-19th century. She was commissioned to protect American interests in the South Atlantic Ocean, including the interception of ships involved in the African slave trade. Decatur served in both the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War.

The fourth USS Spitfire was a sidewheel gunboat in the United States Navy during the Mexican–American War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Alden Jr.</span>

James Alden Jr. was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. In the Mexican–American War he participated in the captures of Veracruz, Tuxpan, and Tabasco. Fighting on the Union side in the Civil War, he took part in the relief of Fort Pickens, followed by many engagements on the Lower Mississippi, before being promoted captain of USS Brooklyn and assisting in the Union victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay.

USS <i>Albany</i> (1846) American sloop in 1846

USS Albany, the first United States Navy ship of that name, was built in the 1840s for the US Navy. The ship was among the last of the wooden sloops powered by sail and saw extensive service in the Mexican War. Before and after her combat service, Albany conducted surveillance and observation missions throughout the Caribbean. In September 1854, during a journey along the coast of Venezuela, Albany was lost with all hands on 28 or 29 September 1854. Included among the 250 men lost were several sons and grandsons of politically prominent men.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capture of Monterey</span>

The Capture of Monterey by the United States Navy and Marine Corps occurred in 1842. After hearing false news that war had broken out between the United States and Mexico, the commander of the Pacific Squadron Thomas ap Catesby Jones sailed from Lima, Peru with three warships to Monterey, California. The Americans' objective was to take control of the capital city before a suspected British cession could be achieved.

The first USS Hecla was a bomb brig that served in the United States Navy from 1846 to 1848, seeing service in the Mexican War.

USS Petrita was a steamer that served in the United States Navy from 1846 to 1848. She saw service in the Mexican War.

USS Reefer, was a pilot schooner purchased by the United States Navy at New York City on May 25, 1846 from shipbuilders Brown & Bell for service as a dispatch boat in Commodore David Conner's Home Squadron during the Mexican–American War.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .The entry can be found here.

  1. ↑ Gordon, John Steele (February 1993). "USS Boondoggle: The Business of America". American Heritage . 44 (1). Retrieved 1 August 2022. Consider the Navy's ship-of-the-line program that followed the War of 1812… Congress, on April 29, 1816, 'authorized to cause to be built, nine ships to rate not less than 74 guns each'. All nine were eventually laid down, in shipyards from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Norfolk, Virginia, and four of them were completed in a timely manner by the end of 1820. None of these ships ever saw action, of course, for the world had entered an extended era of peace.
  2. ↑ The Ward Melville Heritage Organization: Hercules Pavilion. Retrieved 29 June 2008.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.