- USS Levant (1837)
The first "Levant" was a second-class
sloop -of-war in theUnited States Navy ."Levant" was launched
28 December 1837 byNew York Navy Yard ; and commissioned17 March 1838 , CommanderHiram Paulding in command."Levant" sailed from New York
1 April 1838 for 4 years’ service in theWest Indies Squadron protecting American interests in theCaribbean andSouth Atlantic . Returning toNorfolk, Virginia , the sloop-of-war decommissioned26 June 1842 .She recommissioned
27 March 1843 , Comdr.Hugh N. Page in command, and departed Norfolk to join thePacific Squadron under CommodoreJohn D. Sloat . From 1843 to 1845 "Levant" cruised betweenPanama andLatin American ports carrying diplomats and dispatches and generally furthering American national policy.With the
Mexican-American War impending in 1845, "Levant" was, ordered to theCalifornia coast to protect American citizens and property, and was en route whenMexico declared war12 May . The sloop arrived offMonterey, California 1 July , and 6 days later a landing force from "Levant", "Savannah", and "Cyane" took possession of the recently proclaimed Republic of California.On
23 July , Commodore Sloat relinquished command of the Pacific Squadron because of illness, and sailed29 July in "Levant" for the east coast. Upon arriving at Norfolk28 April 1847 , the sloop was placed in ordinary. She recommissioned12 July 1852 , Comdr.George R. Upshur in command, and sailed for theMediterranean . When Commander Upshur died on board "Levant" offSpezia, Italy ,3 November , Comdr.Louis M. Goldsborough , later to win fame in theAmerican Civil War , took command. On7 April 1853 atLeghorn, Italy , "Levant" loaded statues by American sculptorHoratio Greenough , including one ofGeorge Washington , destined for the Capitol atWashington, D.C. After embarking the U.S. Minister toTurkey and his family atPiraeus, Greece ,24 June , "Levant" sailed toConstantinople , arriving5 July . Returning toHampton Roads ,Virginia ,29 April 1855 , "Levant" decommissioned at New York Navy Yard4 May .Recommissioned
31 October , Comdr.William N. Smith in command, "Levant" sailed13 November forRio de Janeiro , theCape of Good Hope , andHong Kong , where she arrived to join theEast India Squadron 12 May 1856 . On1 July she embarked the U.S. Commissioner toChina for transportation toShanghai , arriving1 August . At the outbreak of hostilities between the British and the Chinese, "Levant" arrived Whampoa28 October . Comdr. Andrew H. Foote then sent a landing party from "Levant" and his own ship, "Portsmouth", to Canton to protect American lives and property there. On15 November , while in the process of withdrawing this force, Commander Foote was fired on while passing in a small boat by the “Barrier Forts” on thePearl River below Canton. On the 16th "Levant" was towed upriver to join "Portsmouth" and "San Jacinto" in keeping the Pearl open to American shipping. As the forts were being strengthened in disregard of American neutrality, Foote was ordered by Commodore James Armstrong, commanding the squadron, “to take such measures as his judgment would dictate...even the capture of the forts.”Commander Foote complied with all the dash and courage for which he became famous during the Civil War. On
20 November he took the first fort by leading an amphibious assault with 300 men, then silenced the second with cannon captured from the first. Next day he took the third, and by the 24th all four were in American hands and the Pearl once again safe for American shipping."Levant", close in through most of the action, received the major part of the Chinese bombardment, with 22 shot holes in her hull and rigging, one man dead, and six injured. Destruction of the earthworks was completed by
5 December , and "Levant" cruised between Hong Kong andShanghai until she departed Hong Kong7 December 1857 for home, arriving at theBoston Navy Yard 6 April 1858 .After repairs into 1859, "Levant", Comdr.
William E. Hunt in command, sailed15 June for the Pacific, arriving atValparaíso ,Chile ,11 October , to serve asPacific Squadron flagship, wearing CommodoreJohn B. Montgomery ’s broad pennant, through December. In January 1860 "Levant" sailed for the coast ofNicaragua , where she relieved "Saranca" and began 5 months of showing the flag off the coasts of Central andSouth America .In May 1860, "Levant" was ordered to the
Hawaiian Islands at the request of the Secretary of State to investigate the disbursement of relief funds to American merchant seamen. After receiving a state visit by King Kamehameha IV atHonolulu 7 May , and investigating atLahaina, Maui , andHilo, Hawaii , "Levant" sailed for Panama18 September , but never made port.All ships that vanish at sea gather rumors in death as they collect barnacles afloat. But since "Levant" disappeared just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, an unusual number of intriguing yarns surround her last voyage. Bits of evidence, too scanty to solve her mystery, have multiplied the myths.
Commodore Montgomery reported that a violent hurricane had occurred in September in a part of the Pacific Ocean which "Levant" was to cross. In June 1861, a mast and a part of a lower yardarm believed to be from "Levant" were found near Hilo. Spikes had been driven into the mast as if a form a raft. Some rumors had her running aground on an uncharted reef off California; others had her defecting to the Confederacy. Whatever her real fate, this ghostly heroine of colorful episodes in American naval history still sails the seas of imagination and legend.
In July 1861, a small bottle was found at Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia. It was corked and contained a card that read in part: "Pacific Ocean" "Levant" "Written by the last remaining" "three" "in a boat" "God forgive us". Unfortunately, the card was damaged when it was removed from the bottle and parts of the message were unreadable. This card was in the possession of Thomas Willett of Pubnico, Nova Scotia, in 1862, who lost a son aboard this vessel. [Yarmouth Herald 30-1-1862 p.3 col.2 courtesy Yarmouth Co. Museum & Archives] .
References
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/l5/levant.htm
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