USRC Bibb (1843)
| History | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Name: | USRC George M. Bibb, USS Bibb |
| Namesake: | George M. Bibb |
| Owner: | U.S. Revenue Marine, 1845-47; U.S. Coast Survey, 1847-1852 |
| Laid down: | 1843 |
| Launched: | 1845 |
| Commissioned: | 1845 |
| Decommissioned: | 1852 |
| Maiden voyage: | 1845 |
| In service: | 1845-1852 |
| Out of service: | 1852 |
| Refit: | 1846 |
| Struck: | 1852 (est.) |
| Homeport: | New Orleans, Boston |
| Fate: | Engines salvaged for use in USS Bibb (1853) |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Three-masted barquentine |
| Displacement: | 409 tons |
| Length: | 160 ft (49 m) |
| Beam: | 24 ft (7.3 m) |
| Draft: | 9.5 ft (2.9 m) |
| Propulsion: | (as built) Hunter's wheel; (in service) side wheel |
| Complement: | 58 |
| Armament: | 1x long 18-pounder, 4x 32-pounders |
The revenue cutter George M. Bibb was an iron-hulled steamboat built at Pittsburgh in 1845, named after the then-Secretary of the Treasury George M. Bibb, which served on blockade duty during the war with Mexico in 1846, and was transferred to the U.S. Coast Survey in 1847. Its engines were salvaged for a second Bibb that is sometimes considered to be a rebuild of the George M. Bibb.
The shipbuilding industry in Pittsburgh and the rest of the United States had declined after the War of 1812. The advent of steam propulsion and iron hulls put Pittsburgh back in the business, however, and the federal government would take a leading role in reviving Pittsburgh's role as a builder of ships for both fresh- and salt-water service.
On 9 September 1841, Congress authorized the construction of an iron-hulled steamboat for Great Lakes service. This led to the construction of USS Michigan (1843) by the firm of Stackhouse and Tomlinson, ordered May 19. 1842. It would be completely assembled, then broken down and hauled in sections to Erie along the Beaver Division of the Pennsylvania Canal. Michigan would be the first iron warship in the United States Navy.
Soon after construction on Michigan began, the Revenue Marine ordered three iron steamers from the firm of Freeman, Knapp and Totten; these would be built at the Fort Pitt Foundry, across the Allegheny from Pittsburgh. The first of these, the screw-driven USRC Jefferson (1843) was constructed in a fashion similar to that used for Michigan; plates and frames were assembled at the Fort Pitt works, then transported by canal boat to Oswego on Lake Ontario. A second, USRC John Tyler (1843) was completed at Pittsburgh, then towed to New Orleans to be fitted out for service in the Gulf of Mexico.
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Wikipedia