USS Relief (1836)
| History | |
|---|---|
 
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| Name: | USS Relief |
| Builder: | Philadelphia Navy Yard |
| Laid down: | 1835 |
| Launched: | 14 September 1836 |
| Decommissioned: | 1878 |
| Fate: | Sold, 27 September 1883 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Supply ship |
| Displacement: | 468 long tons (476 t) |
| Length: | 109 ft (33 m) |
| Beam: | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 12 ft (3.7 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Armament: |
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The first USS Relief was a supply ship in the United States Navy.
Relief was laid down in 1835 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and launched on 14 September 1836. Designed by Samuel Humphreys, she was built along merchant vessel lines and included trysail mast and gaffsail on all three masts to enable her to work to windward in strong winds. Her hull was pierced for 16 small guns, but she usually carried only four to six 18-pounder and two 12-pounders.
In early December 1836, Relief, commanded by Lieutenant Thomas A. Dornin, left Philadelphia for Norfolk, Virginia to join the ships assigned to the United States South Sea Surveying and Exploring Expedition. However, that expedition, held up by lack of money, ships, equipment, and trained personnel - and by administrative feuding since its first authorization in 1828 - continued to be delayed until the summer of 1838. During her 19-month wait, Relief remained at Norfolk or engaged in runs along the east coast.
On 19 August 1838, the squadron, commanded by Lt. Charles Wilkes, cleared Hampton Roads and set a course for Rio de Janeiro. Sailing with the prevailing winds - westerlies and northeast trades - their planned course took them across the Atlantic to Madeira; then straight to Brazil. However, Relief, under Lt. A. K. Long, proved to be a slow sailer. She soon fell behind and was detached with orders to rejoin the other five vessels in the Cape Verde Islands. The rendezvous was accomplished in early October and the squadron sailed for Brazil. Relief, the last to arrive, reached Rio on 26 November.
On 6 January 1839, the squadron sailed for the Río Negro and Cape Horn. Relief, bypassing the former where surveys were conducted, rounded the Cape and reached Orange Harbor, on the Hardy Peninsula, Hoste Island, on the 30th. There for almost three weeks, her crew kept hourly registers of the tides, placed navigation lights, and cut wood. On 18 February, the others arrived and toward the end of the month they were dispersed on various missions. Two followed James Weddell's course to Antarctica; others traced James Cook's path. Relief was ordered north to the Straits of Magellan, via the Cockburn Channel, to survey harbors in the straits. Caught in storms, however, she was unable to penetrate the channel and, in mid-March, was almost wrecked off Noir Island. The loss of her anchor during her battle with the sea off Noir, prohibited further attempts to enter the channel and she headed for Valparaíso.
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