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USS De Soto (1859)

A black-and-white lithograph of the steamship USS De Soto, anchored in the harbor of Ponce, Puerto Rico. De Soto is in the foreground, facing left. De Soto is painted black or a very dark color, with the exception of her upper sidewheel guard which is white or very light in color. The ship has fine sweeping lines, a neatly rounded stern and slight clipper bow. She has two square-rigged masts with no sails, a tall, slim, raking smokestack amidships, just forward of the paddlewheels, and no apparent superstructure apart from what looks like temporarily rigged awnings on the main deck. The ship's walking beam engine can clearly be seen rising between the paddlewheels. In the distance are three sailing ships, one with a military appearance, and behind them two rounded, tree-covered hills which look almost uninhabited.
USS De Soto in the harbor of Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1868. The original print is mounted on a carte de visite.
History
United States
Name: SS De Soto
Namesake: Hernando De Soto (1496-1524), Spanish explorer and conquistador
Owner: Livingston, Crocheron & Co.
Port of registry: United States
Route: New York–Havana–New Orleans
Builder: Lawrence & Foulks, New York, New York
Launched: 25 June 1859
Completed: 1859
In service: August 1859?
Out of service: 12 August 1861
Fate: Sold to U.S. Navy, 12 August 1861
United States
Name: USS De Soto
Namesake: Previous name retained
Acquired: Purchased 21 August 1861
Commissioned: 1861
Decommissioned: 16 June 1864
Recommissioned: 12 August 1865
Decommissioned: 11 September 1868
Fate: Sold 30 September 1868
United States
Name: SS De Soto
Namesake: Previous name retained
Owner: Livingston, Fox & Co.
Port of registry: United States
Route: New York Cit–Havana–New Orleans
Acquired: Purchased from U.S. Navy 30 September 1868
In service: 1868
Out of service: 31 December 1870
Fate: Destroyed by fire 31 December 1870
General characteristics
Displacement: 1,675 tons
Length: 253 ft (77 m)
Beam: 38 ft (12 m)
Draught: 16 ft (4.9 m)
Propulsion: 1 × 65 in (170 cm) cylinder, 11 ft (3.4 m) stroke vertical beam steam engine; 2 × 30 ft (9.1 m) diameter sidewheels; auxiliary sails
Speed: 14 mph (12 knots) in favorable conditions
Complement: 130
Armament:

USS De Soto was a fast wooden-hulled sidewheel steamship that saw service as a U.S. Navy gunboat during the American Civil War.

De Soto was originally a privately owned vessel, built for passenger service between New York and New Orleans. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, she was purchased by the Navy, commissioned as USS De Soto, and sent to assist with the blockade of Confederate ports. De Soto's speed made her an effective pursuit ship, and she would capture or bring about the destruction of a total of eighteen blockade runners during the war.

In the postwar period, De Soto continued to serve with the Navy, mostly in South American waters, until resold to her original owners in 1868 for resumption of service as a passenger ship. She caught fire and was burned to the waterline in December 1870.

De Soto was built by Lawrence & Foulks of Brooklyn, New York in 1859 for Livingston, Crocheron & Co., which ran a line of passenger steamships between New York and New Orleans. At 1,675 tons and 253 feet (77 m) in length, De Soto was quite a large steamer for her time, and considered a fine example of her type. She was named after Hernando De Soto, a Spanish explorer and conquistador.

De Soto was powered by a 65-inch (170 cm) bore, 11-foot (3.4 m) stroke single-cylinder vertical beam engine, built by the Morgan Iron Works of New York. The engine, which drove a pair of 30-foot sidewheels, was capable of delivering up to 14 mph (12 knots)—a good speed for the time, which would soon make De Soto a favorite with the travelling public and which would later prove invaluable for pursuing blockade runners during the Civil War. The ship had a single, raked smokestack forward of the engine, and two masts, one fore and one aft—the fore mast square rigged—to provide auxiliary sail power.


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