USS Wachusett (1861)

USS "Wachusett" (1861) – the first U.S. Navy ship to be so named – was a large (1,032-ton) steam sloop-of-war that served the United States Navy in the American Civil War. She was outfitted as a gunboat and used by the Navy as part of the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America.

When the war was over, "Wachusett" continued to proudly serve the Navy, protecting American interests in both the Atlantic Ocean as well as the Pacific Ocean until she was finally decommissioned.

Built in Boston in 1861

"Wachusett" -- one of seven screw sloops-of-war authorized by the U.S. Congress in February 1861 -- was laid down by the Boston Navy Yard, Boston, Massachusetts, in June 1861; launched on 10 October; sponsored by Miss Mary C. Frothingham; and commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard on 3 March 1862, Comdr. John S. Missroon in command.

Civil War service

North Virginia operations

"Wachusett's" long and eventful career began on 10 March 1862 with her assignment to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. The warship left Boston two days later and arrived in Hampton Roads, Virginia, on the 16th. She was deployed in the York and James rivers, Virginia, and performed valuable service in support of Major General George B. McClellan's Peninsular Campaign of spring, 1862.

On 4 May, a boat crew from "Wachusett" raised the Stars and Stripes at Gloucester Point, Virginia, following the Union occupation of Yorktown, Virginia; and, on the 6th and 7th, the vessel helped to land troops at West Point, Virginia, in the face of Confederate shore fire.

Soon thereafter, the screw sloop moved to the James and, on the 15th, participated in the attack on Fort Darling, Drewry's Bluff, Virginia. She remained in the York and James rivers through August and later served with the Potomac Flotilla as Commodore Charles Wilkes' flagship from 29 August to 7 September.

Searching for CSS "Alabama" and "Florida"

On 8 September, "Wachusett" was designated flagship of a special "Flying Squadron" under Commodore Wilkes. This squadron of seven vessels was deployed in the West Indies with orders to search for the destructive and elusive Confederate commerce raiders CSS "Alabama" and "Florida".

On 18 January 1863, "Wachusett" and Sonoma captured the Southern merchant steamer "Virginia" off Isla Mujeres and took the British blockade runner "Dolphin" between Puerto Rico and [Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands| [St. Thomas Island] on 25 March. However, all efforts to track down "Alabama" and "Florida" failed; and "Wachusett" returned to Boston, Massachusetts, in May for badly needed repairs. She was later decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 19 June 1863. Repairs completed, "Wachusett" was recommissioned on 28 January 1864. On 4 February, she sailed for the coast of Brazil to protect American commerce from the Confederacy's "piratical cruisers," particularly "Alabama" and "Florida". Many months passed tracking down fruitless leads as to the whereabouts of the two vessels.

CSS "Florida" found and captured in Brazil

Finally, on 4 October, Comdr. Napoleon Collins of "Wachusett" sighted "Florida", Lt. Charles M. Morris, CSN, entering Bahia harbor, Brazil. Comdr. Collins dared Lt. Morris to come out and fight, but the Confederate captain prudently declined. However, Collins was determined not to allow "Florida" to slip away.

In the early morning darkness of the 7th, "Wachusett" got underway, steamed past the Brazilian gunboat anchored between his ship and "Florida", and rammed the raider on her starboard quarter. After a brief exchange of cannon fire, Lt. Porter, commanding "Florida" in Morris's absence, surrendered the ship. Aroused by the commotion, the Brazilian coastal fort at Bahia opened fire on "Wachusett" as she towed her prize to sea. The two vessels escaped unscathed, steamed north, and reached Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 11 November. Commander Collins was promptly court-martialed for the incident, but soon after was restored to his command by U.S. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles.

Post-Civil War service

Seeking CSS "Shenandoah" in Chinese waters

After undergoing repairs at the Boston Navy Yard, "Wachusett", under its new captain, Commander Robert Townsend, got underway on 5 March 1865 and sailed, via the Cape of Good Hope, for the East Indies. There, she joined "Wyoming" and "Iroquois" in an effort to track down the Confederate commerce raider CSS "Shenandoah". She remained in Chinese waters into 1867. Upon her return to the United States, she was decommissioned on 4 February 1868 and was placed in ordinary at the New York Navy Yard.

Atlantic Ocean operations

Recommissioned on 1 June 1871, "Wachusett" left New York City a week later, bound for the Mediterranean where she cruised until November 1873. Returning home, she served along the Atlantic and gulf coasts for a year before she was decommissioned at Boston on 29 December 1874. "Wachusett" remained laid up at Boston for five years and was recommissioned on 26 May 1879. She sailed for the Gulf of Mexico on 5 June and visited New Orleans, Louisiana, and Vicksburg, Mississippi, to enlist seamen before returning to Boston in August. On 2 October 1879, "Wachusett" left Boston for the South Atlantic Station where she cruised until May 1880.

Pacific Ocean operations

She then sailed for the Pacific, arriving off the coast of Chile in June. The vessel remained on the Pacific Station, cruising extensively until September 1885 when she was decommissioned at the Mare Island Navy Yard, Vallejo, California. "Wachusett" was sold there to W. T. Garratt & Co. on 30 July 1887.

ource

*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/w1/wachusett-i.htm
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-w/wachust.htm

See also

* American Civil War
* Union Navy
* Confederate States Navy