USS Saginaw (1859)
USS Saginaw, probably at Mare Island Navy Yard in 1862.
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| History | |
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  United States
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| Name: | USS Saginaw |
| Laid down: | 16 September 1858 |
| Launched: | 3 March 1859 |
| Commissioned: | 5 January 1860 |
| Decommissioned: | 3 January 1862 |
| Recommissioned: | 23 March 1863 |
| Fate: | Wrecked 29 October 1870 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | sloop-of-war |
| Displacement: | 453 long tons (460 t) |
| Length: | 155 ft (47 m) |
| Draft: | 4 ft 5 in (1.35 m) |
| Complement: | 50 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | 1 × 50 pdr (23 kg) gun, 1 × 32 pdr (15 kg) gun, 2 × 24 pdr (11 kg) rifles |
See USS Saginaw for other ships of this name.
The first USS Saginaw was a sidewheel sloop-of-war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.
The first vessel built by the Mare Island Navy Yard, Saginaw was laid down on 16 September 1858; launched as Toucey on 3 March 1859; sponsored by Miss Cunningham, daughter of the commandant of the Navy Yard; renamed Saginaw; and commissioned on 5 January 1860, Commander James F. Schenck in command.
The new side-wheel ship sailed from San Francisco Bay on 8 March 1860, headed for the western Pacific, and reached Shanghai, China on 12 May. She then served in the East India Squadron, for the most part cruising along the Chinese coast to protect American citizens and to suppress pirates. She visited Japan in November but soon returned to Chinese waters. On 30 June 1861, she silenced a battery at the entrance to Qui Nhon Bay, Cochin China, which had fired upon her while she was searching for the missing boat and crew of American bark Myrtle.
On 3 January 1862, Saginaw was decommissioned at Hong Kong and returned to Mare Island on 3 July for repairs.
Relaunched on 3 December 1862 and recommissioned on 23 March 1863, saginaw was attached to the Pacific Squadron and operated along the United States West Coast to prevent Confederate activity. She visited Puget Sound in the spring of 1863 to investigate reports that Confederate privateers were being outfitted in British Columbia, but returned after learning that the scheme had no chance of success.
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Wikipedia