USS Essex, the third ship of that name, a wooden screw steamer, was built on contract for the United States by Donald McKay

Donald McKay

Donald McKay was a Canadian-born American designer and builder of sailing ships.He was born in Jordan Falls, Shelburne County on Nova Scotia's South Shore. In 1826 he moved to New York, working for shipbuilders Brown & Bell and Isaac Webb...

 at East Boston, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

; commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard

Boston Navy Yard

The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...

 on 3 October 1876, Commander W. S. Schley commanding; and reported to the North Atlantic Squadron.

Service history

During the following year Essex cruised to Liberia

Liberia

Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...

 and along the west coast of Africa and in 1878-79 joined the South Atlantic Squadron. While at Monrovia

Monrovia

Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...

, Liberia, on 31 October 1877, Ordinary Seaman John Millmore

John Millmore

-External links:...

 and First Class Fireman Henry Lakin Simpson rescued a shipmate from drowning, for which they were later awarded the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

. Essex sailed on the Pacific Station from November 1881 to December 1882 and thence on the Asiatic Station for two years during which she took on board Captain S. H. Morrison and crew members of the shipwrecked Ranier. Following repairs' she returned to the Asiatic Station under command of Commander T.F. Jewell

Theodore Frelinghuysen Jewell

Theodore Frelinghuysen Jewell was a rear admiral of the United States Navy.-Biography:Jewell was appointed an acting midshipman on November 29, 1861 when he entered the United States Naval Academy. His class of 1865 graduated early on November 22, 1864. He served on the , at the Naval Observatory...

 in June 1886 and in October anchored at Ponape

Pohnpei

Not to be confused with Pompeii, the ancient city destroyed by Vesuvius in AD 79.Pohnpei "upon a stone altar " is the name of one of the four states in the Federated States of Micronesia , situated among the Senyavin Islands which are part of the larger Caroline Islands group...

, Caroline Islands

Caroline Islands

The Caroline Islands are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia in the eastern part of the group, and Palau at the extreme western end...

, to afford protection to American missionaries during a native uprising. She returned to New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 via the Suez Canal

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...

 and was placed out of commission in May 1889.

Regarded as one of the finest ships of the fleet, Essex was designated next as a training ship. A three-month cruise with cadets at the Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 at Annapolis in 1893 was followed by two lengthy tours to train naval apprentices (January 1894-April 1898, and September 1898 to December 1903.)

Essex was lent to the Ohio Naval Militia

Ohio Naval Militia

The Ohio Naval Militia is an organized, unarmed unit that has been serving the State of Ohio and the United States since 1896. It is the naval arm of the State of Ohio's Adjutant General's Department, and is therefore part of Ohio's State Defense Forces....

 (1904–16) and served in the Ninth Naval District from 1917 to 1926. During that period she underwent a major refit, receiving new boilers and engine. The number of masts was reduced to two, and were not used as a means of propulsion. The Naval Reserve of the State of Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 used her as training and receiving ship from 1921 until 27 October 1930 when she was stricken from the Navy List. She was sold for scrap on 23 December 1930 and subsequently burned near Duluth

Duluth

Duluth may refer to:*Duluth, Minnesota*Duluth, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta*Duluth , an album by Trampled by Turtles*Duluth , by Gore Vidal...

: the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

lists her remains.

External links

• National Register of Historic Places information on the remains