USS Levant (1837)
| History | |
|---|---|
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| Name: | USS Levant |
| Builder: | New York Navy Yard |
| Launched: | 28 December 1837 |
| Commissioned: | 17 March 1838 |
| Fate: | Lost at sea, 1860 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Sloop-of-war |
| Displacement: | 792 long tons (805 t) |
| Length: | 132 ft 3 in (40.31 m) |
| Beam: | 34 ft 3 in (10.44 m) |
| Draft: | 15 ft 9 in (4.80 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Complement: | 200 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: |
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The first USS Levant was a second-class sloop-of-war in the United States Navy.
Levant was launched on 28 December 1837 by New York Navy Yard; and commissioned on 17 March 1838, with Commander Hiram Paulding in command.
Levant sailed from New York on 1 April 1838 for four years’ service in the West Indies Squadron protecting American interests in the Caribbean and South Atlantic. Returning to Norfolk, Virginia, the sloop-of-war decommissioned 26 June 1842.
She recommissioned 27 March 1843, Comdr. Hugh N. Page in command, and departed Norfolk to join the Pacific Squadron under Commodore John D. Sloat. From 1843 to 1845 Levant cruised between Panama and Latin American ports carrying diplomats and dispatches and generally furthering American national policy.
With the Mexican-American War impending, Levant was ordered to the California coast to protect American citizens and property, and was en route when Mexico declared war on 12 May 1846. The sloop arrived off Monterey, California on 1 July, and six days later a landing force from Levant, Savannah, and Cyane took possession of the recently proclaimed Republic of California.
On 23 July, Commodore Sloat relinquished command of the Pacific Squadron because of illness, and sailed 29 July in Levant for the east coast. Upon arriving at Norfolk on 28 April 1847, the sloop was placed in ordinary.
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