USS Swatara (1873)
USS Swatara rigged for mourning in 1885 at the funeral of President Ulysses S. Grant.
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 United States
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| Name: | USS Swatara |
| Namesake: | Swatara Creek in Pennsylvania |
| Operator: | United States Navy |
| Launched: | 18 September 1873 |
| Commissioned: | 11 May 1874 |
| Decommissioned: | 7 February 1891 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap, 2 November 1896 |
| Notes: | Complete re-build of USS Swatara (1865) |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Screw sloop |
| Tonnage: | 1,900 long tons (1,930 t) |
| Length: | 216 ft (66 m) |
| Beam: | 37 ft (11 m) |
| Draught: | 16 ft 6 in (5.03 m) |
| Speed: | 10.2 knots (18.9 km/h; 11.7 mph) |
| Complement: | 230 officers and crew |
| Armament: |
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As part of the Secretary of the Navy George M. Robeson's plans to overhaul and modernize ships of the Navy, the first USS Swatara was taken to the New York Navy Yard in 1872, ostensibly for "repairs". In fact, the "repairs" constituted construction of a new ship, for Swatara was given a new hull and unused machinery which had been in storage since 1865. Embodying only certain fittings and equipment from the first ship, the second Swatara was launched on 17 September 1873 at the New York Navy Yard and commissioned on 11 May 1874, Capt. Ralph Chandler in command.
Departing New York on 8 June, Swatara transported five scientific parties to the South Pacific to observe the transit of Venus. Swatara debarked the first team at Hobart, Tasmania, on 1 October 1874 before touching at Kerguelen Island; Queenstown, Tasmania; New Zealand; and Chatham Island. She returned all but one of the parties, picked up by USS Monongahela, to Melbourne early in 1875 and eventually arrived at New York on 31 May 1875 via the Cape of Good Hope. Assigned to the North Atlantic Squadron, Swatara cruised in Atlantic and Caribbean waters into 1878. While anchored in a harbor of Pará, Brazil, on 1 December 1875, Captain of the Top Michael Deneef jumped overboard and rescued a shipmate from drowning, for which he was later awarded the Medal of Honor.
In 1877, the ship was ordered to Baltimore, Maryland along with the Powhatan, on a peacekeeping mission following the city's riots, which occurred as part of the Great Railroad Strike of 1877.
Entering the Boston Navy Yard on 1 August 1878, Swatara was decommissioned on 5 November and placed in reserve.
Swatara was recommissioned on 24 December 1879 at Boston Navy Yard and departed on 21 January 1880 for the Far East. She visited numerous Mediterranean ports and transited the Suez Canal, eventually arriving at Hong Kong on 17 April 1880. May 19, 1882 1882 - Commodore Robert W. Shufeldt, onboard USS Swatara, arrives in Korea to negotiate the first commerce treaty between Korea and a Western power. The treaty is signed on May 22, opening Korea to United States trade. Swatara called at many east Asian ports during her Asiatic Squadron duty, including long stays at Shanghai, Chefoo, and Yokohama. Departing from Yokohama on 7 July 1882, Swatara headed for home waters, via the Cape of Good Hope, and arrived at Hampton Roads on 4 December 1882 for overhaul.
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Wikipedia