- USS Swatara (1873)
As part of the Secretary of the Navy George M. Robeson's plans to overhaul and modernize ships of the Navy, the first Swatara was taken to the
New York Navy Yard in 1872, ostensibly for “repairs.” In fact, the “repairs” constituted construction of a new ship, for Swatara was given a new hull and unused machinery which had been in storage since 1865. Embodying only certain fittings and equipment from the first ship, the second Swatara was launched on17 September 1873 at the New York Navy Yard and commissioned on11 May 1874 , Capt. Ralph Chandler in command.Departing New York on
8 June , Swatara transported five scientific parties to the South Pacific to observe the transit of Venus. Swatara debarked the first team at Hobart, Tasmania, on1 October 1874 before touching at Kerguelen Island; Queenstown, Tasmania; New Zealand; and Chatham Island. She returned all but one of the parties, picked up by Mon-ongahela, to Melbourne early in 1875 and eventually arrived at New York on31 May 1875 via the Cape of Good Hope. Assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron, Swatara cruised in Atlantic and Caribbean waters into 1878. Entering the Boston Navy Yard on1 August 1878 , Swatara was decommissioned on5 November and placed in reserve.Swatara was recommissioned on
24 December 1879 at Boston Navy Yard and departed on21 January 1880 for the Far East. She visited numerous Mediterranean ports and transited the Suez Canal, eventually arriving at Hong Kong on17 April 1880 . Swatara called at many east Asian ports during her Asiatic Squadron duty, including long stays at Shanghai, Chefoo, and Yokohama. Departing from Yokohama on7 July 1882 , Swatara headed for home waters, via the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived at Hampton Roads on4 December 1882 for overhaul.Subsequently ordered to join the North Atlantic Squadron, Swatara cruised in the West Indies from January to April 1883, and arrived at Aspinwall, Colombia (now Colon, Panama), on
1 May . She sailed for Florida and reached Key West on24 May . Ordered to the New York Navy Yard for repairs, Swatara arrived on7 June and was ready for sea again on23 August . After cruising off the Massachusetts coast, she was ordered southward toPort-au-Prince , Haiti. She remained in the Caribbean until April 1884, returning to Key West on28 April . She cruised off the east coast of the United States into September, and then took part in squadron maneuvers in Narragansett Bay.During September 1885, escorted by Yantic, she transported a cargo of gold bullion from New Orleans to Washington, D.C. In early 1886, she was assigned hydrographic duties fixing locations on the Puerto Rican coast. After subsequently cruising as far north as Halifax, Nova Scotia, Swatara arrived at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H., where she was decommissioned on
27 October 1886 .Recommissioned there on
1 March 1888 , Swatara was assigned to the South Atlantic Squadron. She visited Argentine and Uruguayan ports before putting into Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, on8 January 1889 . Reassigned to the Asiatic Squadron, Swatara departed from Port Stanley on11 March 1889 for Cape Horn and the Pacific. Arriving at Hong Kong, Swatara departed on23 November to visit Chinese and Japanese ports. Remaining on the Asiatic station into the following year, Swatara was flagship for Rear Admiral George E. Belknap, Commander-in-Chief, Asiatic Fleet, from4 October 1890 until the ship was ordered home later in the month. Swatara stood out from Yokohama harbor on29 October and arrived at San Francisco on30 November . Subsequently transferred to theMare Island Navy Yard on6 December , Swatara was decommissioned there on7 February 1891 .Designated “in ordinary” at Mare Island, Swatara's battery was landed, and she remained inactive into 1896. Ordered sold by an act dated
10 June 1896 , Swatara was struck from the Navy list on29 July and sold at public auction on2 November to the Johnson Wrecking Co. of San Francisco, Calif., for scrapping.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.