USS Ossipee (1861)

Last updated

USS Ossipee (1861).jpg
History
US Naval Jack 36 stars.svg US flag 34 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Ossipee
NamesakeThe Ossipee River
Builder Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine
Laid downJune 1861
Launched16 November 1861
Sponsored byMrs. McFarland
Commissioned6 November 1862
Decommissioned3 July 1865
Recommissioned27 October 1866
Decommissioned30 November 1872
Recommissioned10 October 1873
Decommissioned25 May 1878
Recommissioned28 January 1884
Decommissioned12 November 1889
FateSold 25 March 1891
General characteristics
Type Screw sloop-of-war
Displacement1,240 long tons (1,260 t)
Length207 ft (63 m)
Beam38 ft (12 m)
Draft16 ft (4.9 m)
Depth of hold16 ft 10 in (5.13 m)
Propulsion Steam engine
Speed10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Complement141 officers and enlisted
Armament
  • 1 × 100-pounder Parrott rifle
  • 1 × 11 in (280 mm) smoothbore Dahlgren gun
  • 3 × 30-pounder Dahlgren rifles
  • 6 × 32-pounder guns
  • 1 × heavy 12-pounder smoothbore gun
  • 1 × 12-pounder rifle

The first USS Ossipee was a wooden, screw sloop-of-war in commission in the United States Navy at various times between 1861 and 1889. She served in the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the Ossipee River of New Hampshire and Maine. The USS Ossipee was present during the Alaska Purchase. [1]

Contents

Construction

Ossipee's keel was laid down in June 1861 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine; launched 16 November 1861; sponsored by Mrs. McFarland, wife of the editor of the Concord Statesman ; and commissioned 6 November 1862 Lieutenant Commander Robert Boyd in command. Ossipee was one of four sister ships which included USS Adirondack, USS Housatonic and USS Juniata.

Service history

Civil War, 1862–1865

Ten days later Captain John P. Gillis took command of the ship and she got underway for Hampton Roads to join the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron in which she served until departing Newport News, Virginia, 18 May 1863 to join the West Gulf Blockading Squadron off Mobile, Alabama. She captured schooner Helena there 30 June and with USS Kennebec seized steamers James Battle and William Bagley in the Gulf of Mexico on 18 July. The former, "the finest packet on the Alabama River...altered to suit her for a blockade runner," was laden with cotton and rosin while the latter carried cotton which they hoped to sell abroad.

In September Ossipee steamed to the coast of Texas for blockade duty until returning to station off Mobile in mid-March 1864 as Admiral David Farragut built up his forces for the invasion of Mobile Bay. On 5 August, with USS Itasca alongside, she passed the forts and entered Mobile Bay with Farragut and participated in the ensuing naval battle, playing a large role in the struggle with CSS Tennessee which finally forced the well fought, heavy southern ironclad ram to surrender.

In September Ossipee returned to blockade duty off the Texas coast and, but for repairs at Pensacola, Florida late in 1864, served there until moving to New Orleans, Louisiana in April 1865. She was one of the Federal ships to pursue CSS Webb during the Confederate steamer’s daring attempt to race down the Mississippi River and escape to sea.

Following duty off Mobile, Ossipee sailed North late in June and decommissioned at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 3 July.

Pacific, 1866–1872

Recommissioned 27 October 1866, Captain George F. Emmons in command, Ossipee served in the north Pacific protecting American interests along the coasts of Mexico and Central America. She departed San Francisco 27 September 1867 for Sitka, Alaska, carrying Russian Commissioners for the ceremony transferring Alaska to the United States on 18 October.

After serving in the Pacific into the spring of 1872, Ossipee headed home on 6 June. On 20 June, Seaman James Benson jumped overboard to rescue a shipmate, for which he was later awarded the Medal of Honor. [2] Ossipee arrived in New York on 18 November, and was decommissioned there on the 30th.

North Atlantic, 1873–1878

Recommissioned 10 October 1873, the veteran sloop of war served in the North Atlantic. She departed Key West 15 December for Dry Tortugas to await filibustering steamer Virginius which had been seized on the high seas by the Spanish corvette Tornado under fraudulent American registry. To help ease tension caused by the Virginius Affair, Spain had turned the prize over to the United States, represented by Captain Whiting, commander of USS Despatch at Bahia Honda, Cuba. Despatch took Virginius to Tortugas. Ossipee departed Tortugas 19 December towing Virginius north, but the notorious prize foundered off Cape Hatteras a week later. Ossipee continued operations in the North Atlantic until decommissioning at Boston 25 May 1878.

Asiatic Squadron, Atlantic, 1884–1891

Recommissioned 28 January 1884, Ossipee departed Hampton Roads 30 April for the Far East via Gibraltar and the Suez Canal and served on the Asiatic station until returning to New York 15 February 1887. She then served along the Atlantic coast and in the West Indies until decommissioning at Norfolk, Virginia 12 November 1889. She was sold there 25 March 1891 to Herbert H. Ives.

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Brooklyn</i> (1858) Sloops-of-war of the United States Navy

USS Brooklyn was a sloop-of-war authorized by the U.S. Congress and commissioned in 1859. Brooklyn was active in Caribbean operations until the start of the American Civil War at which time she became an active participant in the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America.

USS <i>Advance</i> (1862) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Advance, the second United States Navy ship to be so named, was later known as USS Frolic, and was originally the blockade runner Advance captured by the Union Navy during the latter part of the American Civil War. She was purchased by the Union Navy and outfitted as a gunboat and assigned to the blockade of the waterways of the Confederate States of America. She also served as dispatch ship and supply vessel when military action eventually slowed.

USS <i>Hartford</i> (1858) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Hartford, a sloop-of-war steamer, was the first ship of the United States Navy named for Hartford, the capital of Connecticut. Hartford served in several prominent campaigns in the American Civil War as the flagship of David G. Farragut, most notably the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864. She survived until 1956, when she sank awaiting restoration at Norfolk, Virginia.

USS <i>Pensacola</i> (1859) Gunboat of the United States Navy

The first USS Pensacola was a screw steamer that served in the United States Navy during the U.S. Civil War.

USS <i>Susquehanna</i> (1850) 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.

USS <i>St. Lawrence</i> Frigate of the United States Navy, launched 1848

USS St. Lawrence was a frigate in the United States Navy that saw service during the mid-19th century, including the American Civil War. She was based on the same plans as USS Brandywine.

USS <i>Lancaster</i> (1858) Sloops-of-war of the United States Navy

The first USS Lancaster was a screw sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War through the Spanish–American War.

USS <i>Richmond</i> (1860) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Richmond was a wooden steam sloop in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

USS <i>Lackawanna</i> (1862) Sloops-of-war of the United States Navy

The first USS Lackawanna was a screw-propelled sloop-of-war in the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was named after the Lackawanna River in Pennsylvania.

The first USS Mohican was a steam sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the Mohican tribe and was the first ship of her class.

USS <i>Seminole</i> (1859) Gunboat of the United States Navy

The first USS Seminole was a steam sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

USS <i>Pocahontas</i> (1852) Gunboat of the United States Navy

The first USS Pocahontas, a screw steamer built at Medford, Massachusetts in 1852 as City of Boston, and purchased by the Navy at Boston, Massachusetts on 20 March 1855, was the first United States Navy ship to be named for Pocahontas, the Algonquian wife of Virginia colonist John Rolfe. She was originally commissioned as USS Despatch – the second U.S. Navy ship of that name – on 17 January 1856, with Lieutenant T. M. Crossan in command, and was recommissioned and renamed in 1860, seeing action in the American Civil War. As Pocahontas, one of her junior officers was Alfred Thayer Mahan, who would later achieve international fame as a military writer and theorist of naval power.

USS <i>Jamestown</i> (1844) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

The first USS Jamestown was a sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War.

USS <i>Octorara</i> (1861) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Octorara was a steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Navy to patrol navigable waterways of the Confederacy to prevent the Confederates from trading with other countries.

USS <i>De Soto</i> (1859) U.S. gunboat

USS De Soto was a fast wooden-hulled sidewheel steamship that saw service as a U.S. Navy gunboat during the American Civil War.

USS Massachusetts was a large steamer acquired by the U.S. Navy prior to the American Civil War.

USS Althea was a screw steamer acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. The Union Navy used her as a tugboat, a torpedo boat, and as a ship's tender in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.

USS State of Georgia was a large steamer with powerful guns acquired by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. State of Georgia, with her crew of 113 sailors and officers, was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat in its blockade of Confederate waterways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William E. Le Roy</span>

William Edgar Le Roy was an officer in the United States Navy who served in the Mexican War, on the African Slave Trade Patrol, and in the American Civil War. He rose to the rank of rear admiral and late in his career was consecutively commander-in-chief of the South Atlantic Squadron, the North Atlantic Squadron, and the European Squadron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gustavus H. Scott</span> United States Navy admiral (1812–1882)

Gustavus Hall Scott was an officer in the United States Navy who served in the Second Seminole War and the American Civil War. He rose to the rank of rear admiral and late in his career was commander-in-chief of the North Atlantic Squadron.

References

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

  1. William, Seward; Rousseau, Lovell (October 1908). "Transfer of the Alaska to the United States" (PDF). University of Washington. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  2. "Medal of Honor Recipients – Interim Awards, 1871–1898". Medal of Honor Citations. United States Army Center of Military History. 3 August 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2010.