- USS Fulton (1837)
USS "Fulton" (1837) was a steamer that served the
U.S. Navy prior to theAmerican Civil War , and then was recommissioned in time to see service in that war. However, her participation was limited to being captured by Confederate forces in port ofPensacola, Florida , at the outbreak of war.The second ship to be named "Fulton" by the Navy, a side wheel steamer, was launched
18 May 1837 byNew York Navy Yard ; and commissioned13 December 1837 , Captain M. C. Perry in command. She was often called "Fulton II".Service in the North Atlantic
"Fulton" cruised the Atlantic coast, aiding ships in distress, conducting ordnance experiments, and training officers in gunnery. A major event of her early service came on
23 November 1838 , when she bested the British steamerSS Great Western in a speed contest offNew York . Decommissioned at New York23 November 1842 , "Fulton" lay in ordinary until 1851, when she was rebuilt and her machinery completely replaced.Upgraded in 1841 and returned to service
"Fulton" was essentially a harbor defense ship and was unsuitable for the cruising missions then emphasized by Navy policy. Accordingly, the
New York Navy Yard rebuilt her in 1851 as a much more conventional warship. "Fulton" was recommissioned25 January 1852 for duty in the Home Squadron, and sailed from New York22 February for theWest Indies .Pre-Civil War operations
During the next six years, aside from necessary repair periods in the yards at
Washington, D.C. ,Norfolk, Virginia , andBoston, Massachusetts , "Fulton" ranged from theCaribbean to theGulf of St. Lawrence , transporting Government officials, protecting merchantmen against search on the high seas, and joining in the search for USS|Albany|1846 (January through May 1855) and the expedition toNicaragua in 1857 to break up William Walker's filibustering activities. The next year "Fulton's"commanding officer obtained the release of five American merchant ships held atTampico, Mexico , by revolutionary forces. From October 1858 to May 1859 "Fulton" joined in operations commanded by Commodore W. B. Shubrick during his negotiations to improve relations withParaguay , sailing the La Plata and the Parana andParaguay River s. After lying out of commission atNorfolk, Virginia , from7 May 1859 to30 July 1859 , "Fulton" cruised offCuba to suppress theslave trade until laid up atPensacola, Florida , in mid-October 1859.Captured by Confederate forces in Pensacola
Captured by the Confederates when they took the Pensacola yard on
12 January 1861 , "Fulton" was considered for use in theConfederate States Navy , but was never fitted out. She was destroyed in the evacuation of the yard by the Confederates upon Federal reoccupation10 May 1862 .References
See also
*
United States Navy
*American Civil War External links
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/f5/fulton-ii.htm USS Fulton]
* [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-f/fulton2.htm USS Fulton (1837-1861)]
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