- USS Columbus (1819)
The second USS "Columbus" was a 74-gun
ship of the line in theUnited States Navy .She was launched
1 March 1819 byWashington Navy Yard and commissioned7 September 1819 ,Master Commandant J. H. Elton in command.Clearing
Norfolk, Virginia ,28 April 1820 , "Columbus" served asflagship for CommodoreWilliam Bainbridge in theMediterranean until returning toBoston 23 July 1821 . Serving as areceiving ship after1833 , she remained at Bostonin ordinary until sailing to the Mediterranean,29 August 1842 , as flagship for Commodore Charles W. Morgan. On24 February 1843 , she sailed fromGenoa ,Italy , and reachedRio de Janeiro ,Brazil ,29 July to become flagship of theBrazil Squadron , Commodore Daniel Turner. She returned toNew York City 27 May 1844 for repairs.After embarking Commodore
James Biddle , CommanderEast Indies Squadron , she sailed4 June 1845 for Canton,China , where on31 December , Commodore Biddle exchanged ratified copies of the first American commercial treaty with China. "Columbus" remained there until April1846 when she sailed forJapan to attempt opening that country to American commerce. She raisedTokyo Bay 19 July in company with "Vincennes" but achieved no success. Recalled at the outbreak of theMexican-American War "Columbus" reachedValparaíso ,Chile , in December and arrived offMonterey, California ,2 March 1847 . Too large to be useful in theCalifornia operations, the ship sailed fromSan Francisco 25 July for Norfolk, arriving3 March 1848 .At
Norfolk Navy Yard , "Columbus" lay in ordinary until20 April 1861 when she was sunk by withdrawing Union forces to prevent her falling into Confederate hands.References
*
Howard Chapelle , "" (New York: Norton, 1949), pp. 309-310*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/c11/columbus-ii.htm
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