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USS Powhatan (1852)

History of USS Powhatan (1852)

As one of the last sidewheel paddle steamer frigates employed by the United States Navy (USN), the USS Powhatan became a veteran career of the American Civil War (1861-1865) at the end of her glorious ocean voyage. Unlike other warships in conflict caused by wartime contingency plans, Powhatan lived a prewar life, laying down her keel as early as 1847 at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia. She was launched on February 14, 1850, and officially commissioned with the U.S.

Navy on September 2, 1852. Taxpayers cost $785,000 when the federal government bought it.

USS Powhatan is named after Chief Powhatan, a North American tribal leader in the Eastern Virginia/Western Maryland region.

When complete, the Powhatan will have considerable firepower for side wheel paddle wheels with 1 x 11" (280mm) Dahlgren smoothbore, 10 x 9" (230mm) Dahlgren smoothbore and 5 x 12 pounders. Her full crew strength ranges from 290 to 300 men, and her dimensions are 254 x 45 x 11.5 feet, making her one of the largest paddle frigates in service with the U.S. Navy. Their machine consisted of two inclined, direct-acting steam engines driving a pair of shrouded, side-mounted paddle wheels capable of producing up to 1,500 horsepower.

The machine drained its energy through a funnel located almost amidships. In addition to her machinery, Powhatan retains sail power through a three-mast arrangement. The vessel has a total displacement of 3,825 short tons.

After commissioning in early September 1852, Powhatan underwent the necessary "trials" cruises to prove her seaworthiness and train her crew. She then served as the Home Squadron flagship, serving in New York, Veracruz, Mexico, Havana, Cuba, and Pensacola, Florida.

In 1853, she became a member of the East India Squadron and became the flagship of Commodore Matthew Perry while negotiating an important trade treaty with Japan during a stopover in Tokyo Bay on March 31, 1854. She then conducted an anti-piracy operation against Chinese pirates in August 1955 before returning to the United States in February 1856.

Back in Tokyo Bay, Powhatan became the stage for the signing of the U.S.-Japan Treaty on July 29, 1858 - paving the way for Japan's first embassy in the United States.

USS Powhatan in Veracruz, Mexico when war breaks out between the states in the country. She was recalled to her hometown to help rescue besieged federal troops at Fort Sumter, South Carolina.

Instead, she was moved to Fort Pickens in Pensacola, Florida, which reduced the available weapons for the situation at Fort Sumter (while Florida supported the South, Fort Pickens remained under federal control).

Powhatan arrived on the shores of Fort Pickens on April 20 with the aim of challenging the Confederate port defenses. However, the mission changed again and Powhatan was exiled to a police station in nearby waters for Confederate activities.

With the situation at the fort under control, Powhatan was commandeered on May 26 as part of the blockade of Mobile, Alabama, and the Mississippi River. Between May and August, she managed to capture two schooners (Mary Clinton and Abby Bradford) and chase CSS Sumter through the West Indies during October (though the latter's actions did not success).

From October 1862 to August 1863, Powhatan was in the waters off Charleston, South Carolina, in two separate operations, where she captured another enemy schooner (Major E. Willis) and A dhow (C. Routereau).

From November 1863 to September 1864, she served as the flagship of Rear Admiral James L. Radner before engaging the enemy at Fort Fisher, North Carolina (Battle of Fort Fisher, December 23, 1864). 27th). The fort fell the following January.

The American Civil War officially ended (via a statement) on May 9, 1865, and Powhatan was a survivor of a long and bloody conflict. She left Boston waters for San Francisco in October 1865, before being appointed flagship of the South Pacific Squadron in 1866. She held this role until 1869. Returning to the Home Squadron as the flagship, Powhatan held the post until December 1870. She made numerous voyages in the Caribbean before her official retirement on June 2, 1886.

Her hull was scrapped shortly thereafter.