- USS Tuscarora (1861)
The first USS "Tuscarora" was a
sloop of war in theUnited States Navy during theAmerican Civil War ."Tuscarora" was laid down on
27 June 1861 atPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania , byMerrick & Sons ; launched on24 August 1861 ; sponsored by Miss Margaret Lardner; and commissioned on5 December 1861 , CommanderTunis A. M. Craven in command.earching for Confederate raiders
Later that month, "Tuscarora" sailed for
Southampton ,England , under orders to capture or sink thecruiser CSS "Nashville". "Nashville" had run the blockade on21 October and docked at Southampton after crossing the Atlantic, becoming the first vessel to show the Confederate flag in English waters. She finally weighed anchor and departed on3 February 1862 , but "Tuscarora" was unable to pursue her as English law required that two belligerent vessels leave port separated by not less than 24 hours. Disgusted, Comdr. Craven sailed for Gibraltar where, upon his arrival on12 February , he found the raider CSS "Sumter"—Comdr.Raphael Semmes in command—anchored.For almost two months, Craven and Semmes exchanged verbal broadsides both with each other and with the British authorities. Semmes then cleverly feigned preparations for departure, only to abandon "Sumter" in port on
11 April . "Tuscarora" remained atGibraltar until relieved by her sister ship, "Kearsarge", on12 June . She put in atCadiz ,Spain , on18 June , for repairs.On the 23d, she received orders to sail immediately for
England and to deploy off the coast in search of the recently launched Confederate raider CSS "Alabama". "Tuscarora" reconnoitered the southern coasts of England andIreland and scoured the Irish channel without finding any trace of the vessel. She returned to Spanish waters in September and cruised off theAzores during October, but again found nothing. On1 December 1862 , "Tuscarora" was ordered to remain off the European coast and to protect American shipping. On15 March 1863 , she reported that she had no intelligence that Confederate vessels were operating in her area. She returned to thePhiladelphia Navy Yard later that month."Tuscarora" left Philadelphia on
6 June 1863 , bound for theNew York Navy Yard . She got underway again on14 June to search for the bark CSS "Tacony" and patrolled offBermuda before putting intoHampton Roads , for supplies on22 June . Two days later, she headed north and cruised betweenCape Henry and the coast ofNova Scotia before arriving atBoston, Massachusetts 12 days later. During her time at sea, she failed to locate "Tacony". During August, "Tuscarora" searched for Confederate raiders off theGrand Banks , Newfoundland, but encountered none before she returned to Boston on3 September .Early in October, "Tuscarora" left Boston for duty with the
North Atlantic Blockading Squadron . She arrived offWilmington, North Carolina , on the 7th and was ordered toBeaufort, North Carolina , where she served as a storeship. The vessel subsequently returned to Boston and was decommissioned there on4 June 1864 .North Atlantic Blockading Squadron
"Tuscarora" was recommissioned at Boston on
3 October 1864 and reassigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. She put in at Hampton Roads on8 October and took up blockade station off Wilmington. "Tuscarora" participated in the unsuccessful attempt to takeFort Fisher , on24 December and25 December . In mid-January 1865, she returned to waters off Wilmington, and a landing party from the vessel helped to capture the fort on the 15th. She suffered three men killed and 12 wounded during the assault.outh Atlantic Blockading Squadron
The next day, "Tuscarora" was reassigned to the
South Atlantic Blockading Squadron . Towing monitor "Canonicus", she sailed forPort Royal, South Carolina , on17 January , and arrived on the 20th to deploy offGeorgetown, South Carolina . She was transferred to the blockade offOssabaw Sound, Georgia , on5 March 1865 , and escorted PresidentJefferson Davis , his family, and other captured Confederate officials aboard the steamer "William P. Clyde" from Port Royal to Hampton Roads on16 May to19 May . After disembarking her famous passengers atFort Monroe , "Tuscarora" continued north to the Boston Navy Yard where she was decommissioned on30 May .Post War
"Tuscarora" was recommissioned later in the year and sailed on
2 November 1865 for thePacific Ocean viaCape Horn . She served with theSouth Pacific Squadron from 1866 until May 1869. She stood offValparaíso ,Chile , during the Spanish bombardment on31 March 1866 and was also present atCallao ,Peru , when the Spanish shelled it on2 May . In 1867, "Tuscarora" stopped atTahiti and other islands of the Society group. She also touched atFiji , where she received payment of awards made to United States citizens in 1855 and 1858 for injuries and losses sustained as a result of acts of the natives."Tuscarora" returned to
South America in 1868 and was placed at the disposal of theChile an government to assist victims of the great earthquake which had occurred on18 November 1867 . In February 1869, she investigated the imprisonment of the United States consul atBuenaventura ,Colombia , and moved to Valparaíso at the end of the month. She departed Valparaíso on12 May bound for the North Atlantic and arrived atKey West, Florida , on28 July . "Tuscarora" ended the year stationed atAspinwall , Colombia, nowColón, Panama ."Tuscarora" remained at Aspinwall until April 1870; then returned to Key West. She cruised off the coast of Cuba in June and escorted the
ironclad s "Wyandotte", "Ajax", and "Manhattan" fromNew Orleans to Key West. After again cruising theCaribbean , she arrived atPortsmouth, New Hampshire , on31 January 1871 and was decommissioned there on10 February . She was recommissioned on16 May 1872 and assigned to the South Pacific Station. "Tuscarora" left Portsmouth on22 June and arrived at Valparaiso on9 September . She remained in South American waters through June 1873, sailing for San Francisco viaAcapulco on17 May . After her arrival on25 June , "Tuscarora" departed San Francisco and surveyed the sea floor off the northwest coast to determine a suitable route for a submarine cable. The vessel returned to San Francisco on6 November .In January 1874, "Tuscarora" took soundings for a submarine cable route between the United States,
Japan , andChina . The ship arrived atHonolulu ,Oahu , in February where a force of 150 officers, bluejackets, and marines from her and from Portsmouth, under the command of LCdr Theodore F. Jewell, quelled a large riot that followed the election of King David Kalākaua. Order was restored by the 20th. After performing additional survey work, "Tuscarora" returned toSan Francisco for refitting in October."Tuscarora" was transferred to the
North Pacific Station on11 October 1874 and left for Honolulu on1 November with orders to take soundings of the ocean bottom every convert|30|nmi|km|-1. She remained at Honolulu through January 1875. The vessel touched atSamoa in March and returned to Honolulu in June and to San Francisco in July. She left in September and performed survey work in the South Pacific, visiting the Fiji Islands,Australia , and Samoa. She returned to San Francisco and was decommissioned at the Mare Island Navy Yard on14 September 1876 . "Tuscarora" was laid up for repairs during 1877."Tuscarora" was recommissioned at Mare Island on
10 January 1878 , and was assigned special oceanic survey work off the western coasts of both Central and South America. She returned to Mare Island for repairs on30 June 1879 but headed south again on25 September to resume her duties. "Tuscarora" again returned to Mare Island on21 April 1880 and was decommissioned there on31 May 1880 for repairs. The repairs and modifications were never completed, and the vessel was struck from the Navy list in 1883."Tuscarora" was sold at Mare Island to W. E. Mighell on
20 November 1883 .See USS|Tuscarora for other ships of this name.
References
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