USS Portsmouth (1843)

Last updated

USSPortsmouth(1896).jpg
USS Portsmouth in 1896 (John S. Johnston, photographer)
History
US Naval Jack 36 stars.svg US flag 34 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Portsmouth
Builder Portsmouth Navy Yard, its namesake navy yard
Launched23 October 1843
Commissioned10 November 1844
Decommissioned14 July 1878
Stricken17 April 1915
FateSold, and destroyed, 6–7 September 1915
General characteristics
Type Sloop-of-war
Tonnage1,022
Length151 ft 10 in (46.28 m)
Beam37 ft 3 in (11.35 m)
Draft16 ft 6 in (5.03 m)
PropulsionSail
Complement200 Naval officers and enlisted, 27 Marines
Armament
  • 18 × medium 32-pounder guns
  • 2 × Paixhans 64-pounder shell guns

The second USS Portsmouth was a wooden sloop-of-war in the United States Navy in service during the mid-to-late 19th century. She was designed by Josiah Barker on the lines of a French-built privateer, and built at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, directly across the Piscataqua River from Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She was described as an improvement over USS Saratoga built in the same shipyard a year earlier. Portsmouth was launched on 23 October 1843 and commissioned on 10 November 1844, with Commander John Berrien Montgomery in command.

Contents

Service history

Mexican–American War, 1845–1848

Portsmouth had an important role during the Mexican–American War, seizing the port of Yerba Buena (today's San Francisco) from Mexico. [1] She had set sail on 25 January 1845 from Norfolk, Virginia, on a cruise around Cape Horn to join the Pacific Squadron under the command of Commodore John D. Sloat. En route, she made stops in Rio de Janeiro, Valparaiso, Callao, the Sandwich Islands, and Acapulco. Upon arriving off the Departamento de Las Californias coast, with Lieutenant Benjamin F. B. Hunter as her Sailing Master, she was initially engaged in watching the movements of British vessels there to prevent the possibility of Great Britain acquiring the region during any conflict between the U.S. and Mexico.[ citation needed ]

Marines of USS Portsmouth proceeding ashore on 9 July 1846 to hoist the American flag at Yerba Buena, today's San Francisco Henry Bulls Watson's Marines of the USS Portsmouth proceding ashore on July 9, 1846 to hoist the American flag at Yerba Buena, San Francisco.jpg
Marines of USS Portsmouth proceeding ashore on 9 July 1846 to hoist the American flag at Yerba Buena, today's San Francisco

After the declaration of war with Mexico, a detachment of Marines under the command of Second Lieutenant Henry Bulls Watson rowed ashore on 9 July 1846, marched to the pueblo's main plaza, and raised the American flag, thereby seizing the city. Renamed Portsmouth Square, the site is located in modern Chinatown. In the square there is a US Flag flown from a flagpole and a commemorative plaque set by the Daughters of the American Revolution.[ citation needed ]

Portsmouth remained in San Francisco Bay until November 1846, when she was sent to San Diego. During 1847, under the command of Montgomery, she was assigned to blockade Mexico's west coast, arriving with USS Congress and USS Argo at Guaymas on 17 October. After a request to surrender was rejected the ships began a bombardment of the city, lasting an hour. After the town surrendered a garrison was sent ashore and occupied the city. [2] Her duty completed by early 1848, she got underway for the cruise back to the U.S. east coast on the morning of 3 January.[ citation needed ]

West Africa, 18481851

Returning to Boston in May 1848 she departed again on 29 August and sailed east to the African coast. There until 1 February 1849 she patrolled with Royal Navy ships to suppress the slave trade. Between September 1849 and May 1851 she again cruised off the West African coast, returning to Boston on 26 June.

Pacific, Africa, 18511861

Six months later Portsmouth left Boston for duty in the Pacific. On 5 April 1855 she returned to the east coast for overhaul at Norfolk, and on 3 May 1856 got underway for the Pacific again. Under Commander Andrew H. Foote she reached Batavia 94 days later, whence she sailed to China. There she participated in the engagement with the Barrier Forts of Canton on 1622 November 1856. Ordered home in January 1858, she returned to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and remained there until sailing for Africa again for a three-year tour, 1859–1861.

Civil War, 18611865

USS Portsmouth in full sail USS Portsmouth-Full Sail.jpg
USS Portsmouth in full sail

Following the onset of the Civil War, Portsmouth home-ported and refitted between September and December 1861, then sailed for the Gulf of Mexico and duty with the Gulf Blockading Squadron. By the end of February 1862 she had captured two blockade runners off Texas. In April she participated in operations against Forts Jackson and St. Philip, then from May 1862 to August 1865 operated as station ship at New Orleans.

South America, Pacific, 18651878

Continuing her varied career after peace was restored, Portsmouth served as quarantine vessel at New York, 1866–67; cruised off Brazil and Africa, 1869–71; carried relief personnel to Brazil in early 1872; and participated in survey assignments in the eastern Pacific, 1873–74. This included a stop at the Palmyra Atoll for several days, arriving there on 11 December 1873. Ship's surgeon William H. Jones performed a survey of the animal and plant life, as well as creating a detailed map of the atoll's islets and lagoons. [3] In 1875 she conducted a cruise off the west coast of Latin America and on 14 July 1878 was decommissioned as a cruiser and assigned as a training ship for boys. On 25 July 1876 at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, Boatswain's Mate Alexander Parker attempted to rescue a shipmate from drowning, for which he was later awarded a Medal of Honor. [4]

Training ship, 18781915

In 1878 Portsmouth returned to the east coast, arriving at Washington, D.C., on 16 February. In March she sailed to France, returning in December to resume training ship duties on 17 January 1895, first with naval apprentices, then with the New Jersey Naval Militia, until March 1911. Three of her crewman earned the Medal of Honor during this period for jumping overboard to rescue fellow sailors: Boatswain's Mate Francis Moore on 23 January 1882, [5] and Seaman Henry C. Courtney and Boatswain's Mate Thomas Cramen on 7 February 1882. Portsmouth was then loaned to the Public Health Service, Quarantine Station, Charleston, South Carolina to serve as a boarding launch. She was struck from the Navy List on 17 April 1915 and subsequently sold.

Portsmouth was taken to Governors Island, Boston Harbor, and burned on the night of 6–7 September 1915, the culmination of a South Boston carnival. The event was well attended by politicians and others, and a fireboat siren shrieked a salute as flames poured out of her empty gun ports.

Service pin demonstrating Bank of America logo Bank-of-america-service-pin.jpg
Service pin demonstrating Bank of America logo

The Portsmouth was adopted as the logo for the San Francisco-founded Bank of America by its founder, Amadeo Giannini, in recognition of the ship's role in securing the city. Service pins issued to employees by the bank not only feature the ship's image, but include its name inscribed beneath..

USS Portsmouth double helm at Bank of America Headquarters, 1995 USS Portsmouth Double Helm.jpg
USS Portsmouth double helm at Bank of America Headquarters, 1995

The ship's helm was removed during decommissioning and was on display in the headquarter's reception area in 1995.

Hoboken Civil War Memorial

Portsmouth served in the New Jersey Naval Militia in the early 1900s. Two Dahlgren guns from her are part of the Hoboken Civil War Memorial located at Stevens Park in Hoboken.

See also

Related Research Articles

USS <i>Enterprise</i> (1874) Sloops-of-war of the United States Navy

The fifth USS Enterprise, a barque-rigged screw sloop, was launched 13 June 1874 at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, US, by John W. Griffiths, a private contractor; and commissioned 16 March 1877, Commander George C. Remey in command. She was later commanded by Bowman H. McCalla around 1890, followed by Commander Albert S. Barker from 1892 to 1896.

USS <i>Sabine</i> (1855) American Civil War naval vessel

The first USS Sabine was a sailing frigate built by the United States Navy in 1855. The ship was among the first ships to see action in the American Civil War. In 1862, a large portion of the USS Monitor crew were volunteers from the Sabine.

USS <i>Santee</i> (1855) Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Santee was a wooden-hulled, three-masted sailing frigate of the United States Navy. She was the first U.S. Navy ship to be so named and was one of its last sailing frigates in service. She was acquired by the Union Navy at the start of the American Civil War, outfitted with heavy guns and a crew of 480, and was assigned as a gunboat in the Union blockade of the Confederate States. She later became a training ship then a barracks ship for the U.S. Naval Academy.

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

The second USS Ticonderoga was a 2526-ton Lackawanna-class screw sloop-of-war laid down by the New York Navy Yard in 1861; launched on 16 October 1862; sponsored by Miss Katherine Heaton Offley; and commissioned at New York on 12 May 1863, Commodore J. L. Lardner in command.

USS <i>Dale</i> (1839) Sloops-of-war of the United States Navy

USS Dale was a sloop-of-war in the United States Navy commissioned on 11 December 1839. Dale was involved in the Mexican–American War, the American Civil War, operations along Africa to suppress slave trade, and was used by the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service and later the U.S. Coast Guard, among other activities. Dale was placed into ordinary numerous times.

USS <i>Des Moines</i> (CL-17) Denver-class cruiser

USS Des Moines (C-15/PG-29/CL-17) was a protected cruiser of the Denver class in the United States Navy during World War I. She was the first Navy ship named for the city of Des Moines, Iowa.

USS <i>Marblehead</i> (C-11) Gunboat of the United States Navy

The second USS Marblehead (C-11/PG-27) was a Montgomery-class unprotected cruiser in the United States Navy, authorized in the naval appropriations bill of September 7, 1888. Marblehead served in the Spanish–American War and World War I, and was the last ship of her class in service.

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

The first USS Pawnee was a sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was named for the Pawnee Indian tribe.

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>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.

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>Supply</i> (1846) Cargo ship of the United States Navy

The first USS Supply was a ship-rigged sailing vessel which served as a stores ship in the United States Navy. She saw service in the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War.

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

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.

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>Pontoosuc</i> Gunboat of the United States Navy

USS Pontoosuc was a Union Navy vessel in the American Civil War. A side wheel gunboat, Pontoosuc was built under contract with G. W. Lawrence and the Portland Company, Portland, Maine, and was named for Pontoosuc, Illinois, on the Mississippi River. She was commissioned at Portland on 10 May 1864 with Lieutenant Commander George A. Stevens in command.

USS <i>Machias</i> (PG-5) United States schooner-rigged gunboat

The first USS Machias (PG-5), a schooner-rigged gunboat, was laid down in February 1891 by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine. She was launched on 8 December 1891. She was sponsored by Miss Ethel Hyde, daughter of President Hyde of Bath Iron Works and commissioned at Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, 20 July 1893, Commander Charles J. Train in command.

References

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

  1. Downey p. 125
  2. Tucker, 2013, p. 280
  3. "Journal of the Voyages of the USS Portsmouth". Palmyra Atoll Digital Archive.
  4. Robeson, 1876, p. 150
  5. Medal of Honor Recipients, 2010

Sources

43°04′44″N70°44′26″W / 43.0788°N 70.7405°W / 43.0788; -70.7405