USS John Hancock (1850)
| History | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Name: | USS John Hancock |
| Builder: | Boston Navy Yard |
| Launched: | 26 October 1850 |
| Commissioned: | 6 September 1851 |
| Decommissioned: | 23 August 1856 |
| Fate: | Sold, 17 August 1865 |
| General characteristics (before 1853 rebuild) | |
| Type: | Steam Tug |
| Displacement: | 230 long tons (234 t) |
| Length: | 113 ft (34 m) |
| Beam: | 22 ft (6.7 m) |
| Draft: | 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) |
| Propulsion: | Steam engine, screw-propelled |
| Speed: | 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) |
| Complement: | 20 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | 1 × 6-pounder gun |
USS John Hancock was a steam tug in the United States Navy during the 1850s. She was named for the early patriot, John Hancock.
John Hancock was launched by Boston Navy Yard on 26 October 1850 for service as a steam tug and water tank in that yard. However, she was soon manned by a temporary crew and dispatched to New Bedford, Massachusetts, to aid in quelling riots. When order had been restored, she returned to Boston, where she served until summer 1851 when she steamed to Annapolis, Maryland, for duty as a practice ship at the United States Naval Academy. At the end of the summer's midshipmen cruises, she sailed to New York, where she commissioned 6 September 1851, Lieutenant J. W. Livingston in command.
Three days later, John Hancock departed New York for Havana, Cuba, to assist in suppressing the last filibustering expedition led by Narciso López which had been launched from the United States in violation of American neutrality laws. She arrived Havana on 29 September, but her duty there terminated four days later when extremely stormy weather damaged the vessel causing her to return to Boston via Charleston, South Carolina and New York.
She was placed in ordinary at the Boston Navy Yard and rebuilt almost entirely. The vessel received a new bow and stern increasing her length to 165 ft 6 in and her weight to 382 tons but not affecting her beam or draft. John Hancock was relaunched on 24 February 1853 and commissioned 19 March 1853, Lt. John Rodgers in command.
She stood out of New York Harbor on 3 May and joined Commander Cadwallader Ringgold's North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition at Hampton Roads three days later. Secretary of the Navy James C. Dobbin visited the ship at Norfolk, Virginia on 2 June, nine days before the squadron sailed for the Pacific. After stopping at Funchal, Madeira Islands; Porto Praya; and Simonstown, False Bay; the expedition arrived Batavia, Java, 12 December.
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