- USS Vermont (1848)
USS "Vermont" (1848) was originally intended to be a
ship of the line for theU.S. Navy when laid down in1818 , but was not commissioned until1862 , when she was too outdated to be used as anything but a stores andreceiving ship .Built at the Boston Navy Yard
"Vermont" was one of nine
74-gun warships authorized byUnited States Congress on29 April 1816 . She was laid down at theBoston Navy Yard in September1818 , finished about1825 , and kept on the stocks until finally launched atBoston, Massachusetts on15 September 1848 in the interest of both space and fire safety considerations. However "Vermont" was not commissioned at this time. Instead the already agedship-of-the-line remainedin ordinary at Boston until the outbreak of theAmerican Civil War in April1861 .Civil War service
Assigned to duty with the South Atlantic blockade
At this time, the cavernous hull of the vessel was badly needed as a store and receiving ship at
Port Royal, South Carolina , and she was commissioned at Boston on30 January 1862 , Comdr.Augustus S. Baldwin in command. She received orders to sail for Port Royal for duty with Rear AdmiralSamuel F. Du Pont 'sSouth Atlantic Blockading Squadron on17 February and left Boston on24 February undertow by the steamer "Kensington ".Trapped in a North Atlantic storm
That evening, a violent northwest gale accompanied by snow struck the vessels while off
Cape Cod Light, Massachusetts. "Kensington" let go the tow lines, but "Vermont" refused to obey her helm, broached, and had all her sails and most of her boats blown and torn away. The gale raged for 50 hours; and, by the morning of the 26th, "Vermont" was drifting eastward with no rudder, her berth deck flooded, and much of the interior of the vessel destroyed. Later, on the 26th, "Vermont" sighted theschooner "Flying Mist", hailed her, put a man on board and persuaded her captain to return to the east coast and report the helpless condition of the ship to naval authorities. Rescue vessels began to reach the stricken ship on7 March and enabled "Vermont" to sail into Port Royal under her own power on12 April .Service as an auxiliary
"Vermont" remained anchored at Port Royal, where she served the
South Atlantic Blockading Squadron as an ordnance, hospital, receiving, and store ship and drew praise from Rear Admiral Du Pont.Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles ordered the vessel to return toNew York City for "public service" on25 July 1864 . She left Port Royal on2 August and was replaced there by her sister ship-of-the-line "New Hampshire".Post-war service
"Vermont" remained at New York City for the next 37 years, serving both as a store and receiving ship. She was condemned and struck from the Navy list on
19 December 1901 and was sold at New York on17 April 1902 .References
See also
*
United States Navy
*American Civil War
*Confederate States Navy
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.