USS Richmond (1860)

USS Richmond at Baton Rouge, 1863
History
United States
Name:	USS Richmond
Namesake:	Richmond, Virginia
Builder:	Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia
Launched:	26 January 1860
Commissioned:	1860
Struck:	June 1919
Fate:	sold, 23 July 1919
General characteristics
Displacement:	2604 tons
Length:	225 ft (69 m)
Beam:	42.6 ft (13.0 m)
Draft:	17.45 ft (5.32 m)
Propulsion:	Steam
Speed:	9 kts
Complement:	259 officers and enlisted
Armament:	1 80 pounder Dahlgren smooth bore, 20 9” Dahlgren smooth bore, [1] 30 pounder Parrott rifle

The USS Richmond was a wooden steam sloop in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.

Richmond was launched on 26 January 1860 by the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Virginia; sponsored by a Miss Robb. Richmond, commanded by Captain D. N. Ingraham, departed Virginia 13 October 1860 for the Mediterranean. Upon her return to New York City 3 July 1861, the nation had already been plunged into civil war so she was immediately readied for sea. Her first war service began 31 July 1861 when she sailed for Kingston, Jamaica to search for the elusive Confederate raider Sumter commanded by Raphael Semmes. Leaving Trinidad on 5 September, Richmond cruised along the southern coast of Cuba and around Cape San Antonio. Semmes, however, reached New Orleans, Louisiana; and, by 22 August, Richmond was at Kingston taking on coal again. Departing 25 August, Richmond arrived at Key West on 2 September en route north to join the Gulf Blockading Squadron.

After cruising before Fort Pickens, Richmond was ordered to the Head of the Passes at the mouth of the Mississippi River where she patrolled the river's mouth to maintain the blockade. Richmond's captain became commander of a small flotilla, which included the sloop of war, USS Preble, and the despatch vessel, USS Water Witch. The ships were taken across the bar at the Head of the Passes during the first week of October.