USS Alaska (1868)
USS Alaska during the expedition to Korea, 1871
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| History | |
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 United States
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| Name: | USS Alaska |
| Namesake: | Alaska Territory |
| Builder: | Charlestown Navy Yard |
| Laid down: | 22 August 1867 |
| Launched: | 31 October 1868 |
| Commissioned: | 8 December 1869 |
| Decommissioned: | 5 October 1876 |
| Recommissioned: | 23 April 1878 |
| Decommissioned: | 13 February 1883 |
| Fate: | Sold, 20 November 1883 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Sloop-of-war |
| Displacement: | 2,394 tons |
| Length: | 250 ft 6 in (76.35 m) |
| Beam: | 38 ft (12 m) |
| Draft: | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
| Speed: | 11.5 knots (21.3 km/h; 13.2 mph) |
| Complement: | 273 |
| Armament: |
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| Service record | |
| Commanders: |
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| Operations: | Battle of Ganghwa, 1871 |
The first USS Alaska was a wooden-hulled screw sloop of war, built at the Boston Navy Yard and named for the then-newly acquired territory. The ship was launched on 31 October 1868 and sponsored by Miss Grace Hull, the daughter of Mayor Liverus Hull of Charlestown, Boston. Alaska was commissioned on 8 December 1869, with Commander Homer C. Blake in command.
On 9 April 1870, Alaska got underway from New York in company with Rear Admiral John Rodger's flagship, the screw frigate Colorado. However, the two warships soon parted company; and Alaska steamed independently to the Far East where she visited many of the more important ports to show the flag until May 1871. At that time, Alaska joined four other ships of the Asiatic Squadron in a visit to Korea in order to secure a treaty to open the "Hermit Kingdom" to the west. The five ships departed Nagasaki, Japan, on 16 May 1871 and arrived at Roze Roads near the mouth of the Salee River on the 24th. Due to her deep draft, Alaska herself was unable to ascend the river. Nevertheless, her commanding officer was placed in charge of the surveying expedition—consisting of Palos, Monocacy, and some steam launches from the larger ships—which ascended the river.
When the American vessels drew fire from a trio of Korean forts, Rear Admiral John Rodgers decided upon a punitive action to capture and destroy the forts in reprisal. In the Battle of Ganghwa Alaska's captain took command of the enterprise which was made up of 769 sailors and marines, seven 12-pounder howitzers, four stern launches, and numerous boats. Palos and Monocacy provided the distant, heavy support. The force, after initial difficulty getting ashore across tidal mudflats, quickly occupied the first of the three forts—abandoned by its garrison—and consolidated its beachhead in preparation for the assault on the remaining forts the following day. On that morning—thanks to Monocacy's, heavy ordnance—the second fort fell just as easily as the first had done. Palos had been damaged by an uncharted rock the previous evening and had to be withdrawn from the action.
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Wikipedia