USS Tuscarora (1861)
 |
|
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States
|
|
| Name: | USS Tuscarora |
| Builder: | Merrick & Sons, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Laid down: | 27 June 1861 |
| Launched: | 24 August 1861 |
| Commissioned: | 5 December 1861 |
| Decommissioned: | 4 June 1864 |
| Recommissioned: | 3 October 1864 |
| Decommissioned: | 30 May 1865 |
| Recommissioned: | Later in 1865 |
| Decommissioned: | 10 February 1871 |
| Recommissioned: | 16 May 1872 |
| Decommissioned: | 14 September 1876 |
| Recommissioned: | 10 January 1878 |
| Decommissioned: | 31 May 1880 |
| Struck: | 1883 |
| Fate: | Sold 20 November 1883 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Sloop-of-war |
| Displacement: | 1,457 long tons (1,480 t) |
| Length: | 198 ft 6 in (60.50 m) |
| Beam: | 33 ft 2 in (10.11 m) |
| Draft: | 14 ft 10 in (4.52 m) |
| Speed: | 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) |
| Armament: |
|
The first USS Tuscarora was a sloop of war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.
Tuscarora was laid down on 27 June 1861 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Merrick & Sons; launched on 24 August 1861; sponsored by Miss Margaret Lardner; and commissioned on 5 December 1861, Commander Tunis A. M. Craven in command.
Later that month, Tuscarora sailed for Southampton, England, under orders to capture or sink the cruiser CSS Nashville. Nashville had run the Union blockade on 21 October and docked at Southampton after crossing the Atlantic, becoming the first vessel to show the Confederate flag in English waters. She finally weighed anchor and departed on 3 February 1862, but Tuscarora was unable to pursue her as English law required that two belligerent vessels leave port separated by not less than 24 hours. Disgusted, Comdr. Craven sailed for Gibraltar where, upon his arrival on 12 February, he found the raider CSS Sumter — Comdr. Raphael Semmes in command — anchored.
For almost two months, Craven and Semmes exchanged verbal broadsides both with each other and with the British authorities. Semmes then cleverly feigned preparations for departure, only to abandon Sumter in port on 11 April. Tuscarora remained at Gibraltar until relieved by her sister ship, Kearsarge, on 12 June. She put in at Cadiz, Spain, on 18 June, for repairs.
On June 23, she received orders to sail immediately for England and to deploy off the coast in search of the recently launched Confederate raider CSS Alabama. Tuscarora reconnoitered the southern coasts of England and Ireland and scoured the Irish Channel without finding any trace of the vessel. On 26 August 1862 she docked at Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland, but was ordered to leave despite a gale. Three days later, she came in to Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire)for supplies and repairs. While there, she was under observation from HMS Shannon (1855) and HMS Ajax (1809). She left shortly and returned to Spanish waters in September. She cruised off the Azores during October, but again found nothing. On 1 December 1862, Tuscarora was ordered to remain off the European coast and to protect American shipping. On 15 March 1863, she reported that she had no intelligence that Confederate vessels were operating in her area. She returned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard later that month.
...
Wikipedia