USS Falmouth was a sloop of war in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 during the mid-19th century.

Falmouth was launched on 3 November 1827 by 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...

, and declared ready for sea 19 January 1828, Commander C. W. Morgan in command.

Between 1828 and 1840, Falmouth made two cruises with the West Indies Squadron

West Indies Squadron (United States)

The West Indies Squadron, or the West Indies Station, was a United States Navy squadron that operated in the West Indies in the early nineteenth century. It was formed due to the need to suppress piracy in the Caribbean Sea, the Antilles and the Gulf of Mexico region of the Atlantic Ocean...

 and two with the Pacific Squadron

Pacific Squadron

The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval supplies and purchased food and obtained water from local...

. Between cruises, she was in ordinary for repairs and refittings at either New York or Norfolk

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

 or Norfolk Navy Yard.

Recommissioned after such a period in ordinary 16 December 1841, Falmouth joined the recently organized Home Squadron

Home Squadron

The Home Squadron was part of the United States Navy in the mid-19th century. Organized as early as 1838, ships were assigned to protect coastal commerce, aid ships in distress, suppress piracy and the slave trade, make coastal surveys, and train ships to relieve others on distant stations...

. Falmouth cruised from the Banks of Newfoundland to the mouth of the Amazon

Amazon River

The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...

 and in the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 and Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

 with this squadron until 1846, aside from necessary repair periods. She operated chiefly in the Gulf of Mexico, carrying messages and Government officials, convoying Army transports to Texas, and protecting American interests in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. From September 1845 to March 1846, she was flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 for the Squadron's commander, Commodore David Conner

David Conner (naval officer)

Commodore David Conner was an officer of the United States Navy, whose service included the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War. During the 1840s, he served on the Board of Navy Commissioners and as the first Chief of the Bureau of Construction, Equipment, and Repair.Conner was born in...

. During the opening months of the Mexican-American War, from April to September 1846, she blockaded Mexican ports, then sailed north for repairs. She lay in ordinary at Boston from 22 November 1846 until recommissioned on 26 April 1849.

Sailing for the Pacific on 16 May 1849, Falmouth protected the new American settlements on the west coast, and voyaged to various Pacific islands before returning to Norfolk on 29 January 1852. Again she lay in ordinary, from 4 February 1852 until 18 November 1854.

Between 16 December 1854 and August 1855 Falmouth cruised through the West Indies in an unsuccessful search for news of , missing since September. Returning to New York, she was in ordinary until 12 January 1857, when she was recommissioned for service on the Brazil Station. Falmouth joined in the Paraguay expedition

Paraguay expedition

The Paraguay Expedition was a United States Naval mission sent to Asunción, Paraguay in 1858 to demand indemnity and apology from the Paraguayan Government for the 1 February 1855 firing on the US Navy vessel...

 to Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

 late in 1858, when relations with the United States were strained, and cruised in the Paraná River

Paraná River

The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some . It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language...

 and the Río de la Plata

Río de la Plata

The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...

 until tension eased. She sailed into New York Harbor on 19 May 1859, and on the 24th was decommissioned.

Fitted out as a stationary storeship, Falmouth departed New York on 1 April 1860 for Aspinwall, Panama

Panama

Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

, the port later known as Colón

Colón, Panama

Colón is a sea port on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. The city lies near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city....

. She served there as store ship for operating in the Gulf of Mexico, until sold in October 1863.