The first USS Ossipee was a wooden, screw 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 American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. She was named for the Ossipee River

Ossipee River

The Ossipee River is an river in eastern New Hampshire and western Maine in the United States. It is a tributary of the Saco River, which flows southeast to the Atlantic Ocean at Saco, Maine....

 of New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

 and Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

.

Ossipees keel was laid down in June 1861 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine

Kittery, Maine

Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals...

; launched 16 November 1861; sponsored by Mrs. McFarland, wife of the editor of the Concord Statesman; and commissioned 6 November 1862 Lieutenant Commander Robert Boyd

Robert Boyd

-Noblemen:* Robert Boyd, 1st Lord Boyd , Scottish statesman* Robert Boyd, 4th Lord Boyd , Scottish nobleman, grandson of the 1st Lord Boyd* Robert Boyd, 5th Lord Boyd , Scottish nobleman* Robert Boyd, 7th Lord Boyd...

 in command. Ossipee was one of four sister ships which included USS Adirondack

USS Adirondack

USS Adirondack may refer to:* USS Adirondack , was a gunboat during the American Civil War that sank off the Bahamas* USS Adirondack , was an iron-hulled screw tug originally known as the Underwriter....

, USS Housatonic

USS Housatonic

Three ships of the United States Navy have been named Housatonic after the Housatonic River., was launched 20 November 1861 and sunk by the Confederate submarine H. L...

 and USS Juniata

USS Juniata

USS Juniata has been the name of more than one United States Navy ship, and may refer to:, a sloop of war in commission from 1862 to 1867, from 1869 to 1872, from 1873 to 1876, and from 1882 to 1889, a patrol vessel in commission from 1917 to 1918, a schooner in service from 1942 to 1945See...

.

Civil War, 1862–1865

Ten days later Captain John P. Gillis

John P. Gillis

John P. Gillis was an Commodore in the United States Navy, whose service extended from the mid-1820s through the end of the American Civil War.-Biography:...

 took command of the ship and she got underway for Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...

 to join the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron in which she served until departing Newport News, Virginia

Newport News, Virginia

Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...

, 18 May 1863 to join the West Gulf Blockading Squadron off Mobile, Alabama

Mobile, Alabama

Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...

. She captured schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

 Helena there 30 June and with seized steamers James Battle and William Bagley in the 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...

 on 18 July. The former, "the finest packet on the Alabama River...altered to suit her for a blockade runner," was laden with cotton and rosin while the latter carried cotton which they hoped to sell abroad.

In September Ossipee steamed to the coast of Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 for blockade duty until returning to station off Mobile in mid-March 1864 as Admiral David Farragut

David Farragut

David Glasgow Farragut was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. He is remembered in popular culture for his order at the Battle of Mobile Bay, usually paraphrased: "Damn the...

 built up his forces for the invasion of Mobile Bay

Battle of Mobile Bay

The Battle of Mobile Bay of August 5, 1864, was an engagement of the American Civil War in which a Federal fleet commanded by Rear Adm. David G. Farragut, assisted by a contingent of soldiers, attacked a smaller Confederate fleet led by Adm...

. On 5 August, with alongside, she passed the forts and entered Mobile Bay with Farragut and participated in the ensuing naval battle, playing a large role in the struggle with Tennessee which finally forced the well fought, heavy southern ironclad ram to surrender.

In September Ossipee returned to blockade duty off the Texas coast and, but for repairs at Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...

 late in 1864, served there until moving to New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

 in April 1865. She was one of the Federal ships to pursue CSS Webb

CSS Webb

CSS Webb, a 655-ton side-wheel steam ram, was originally built in New York City in 1856 as the civilian steamship William H. Webb. She received a Confederate privateer's commission at New Orleans in May 1861, but was instead employed as a transport until January 1862...

 during the Confederate steamer’s daring attempt to race down the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 and escape to sea.

Following duty off Mobile, Ossipee sailed North late in June and decommissioned at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

 on 3 July.

Pacific, 1866–1872

Recommissioned 27 October 1866, Captain George F. Emmons

George F. Emmons

George Foster Emmons was a rear admiral of the United States Navy, who served in the early to mid 19th century.-Biography:Born in Clarendon, Vermont, Emmons began his distinguished career as a midshipman on 1 April 1828...

 in command, Ossipee served in the north Pacific protecting American interests along the coasts of 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...

 and Central America

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

. She departed San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

 27 September 1867 for Sitka, Alaska, carrying Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n Commissioners for the ceremony transferring that valuable and strategic territory to the United States 18 October.

After serving in the Pacific into the spring of 1872, Ossipee headed home on 6 June. On 20 June, Seaman James Benson jumped overboard to rescue a shipmate, for which he was 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...

. Ossipee arrived in New York on 18 November, and was decommissioned there on the 30th.

North Atlantic, 1873–1878

Recommissioned 10 October 1873, the veteran sloop of war served in the North Atlantic. She departed Key West

Key West

Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....

 15 December for Tortugas to await filibustering steamer Virginius which had been seized on the high seas by Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 cruiser

Cruiser

A cruiser is a type of warship. The term has been in use for several hundreds of years, and has had different meanings throughout this period...

 Tornado

Spanish cruiser Tornado

The Tornado, was a 2100-ton and maneuverable at 13 knots bark-rigged screw steam cruiser of the Spanish Navy, first launched at Clydebank, Scotland in 1863, as the Confederate raider CSS Texas...

 under fraudulent American registry. To help ease tension caused by the Virginius Affair

Virginius Affair

The Virginius Affair was a diplomatic dispute that occurred in the 1870s between the United States, the United Kingdom and Spain, then in control of Cuba, during the Ten Years' War....

, Spain had turned the prize over to the United States, represented by Captain Whiting, commander of at Bahia Honda, Cuba

Bahia Honda, Cuba

Bahía Honda is a municipality and city in the Artemisa Province of Cuba. Before 2011 belonged to Pinar del Río Province. It is located on the northern shore of the island, in an inlet of the Florida Straits, west of Havana. The sheltered bay that gives the name of the municipality contains an...

. Despatch took Virginius to Tortugas. Ossipee departed Tortugas 19 December towing Virginius north, but the notorious prize foundered off Cape Hatteras

Cape Hatteras

Cape Hatteras is a cape on the coast of North Carolina. It is the point that protrudes the farthest to the southeast along the northeast-to-southwest line of the Atlantic coast of North America...

 a week later. Ossipee continued operations in the North Atlantic until decommissioning at Boston 25 May 1878.

Asiatic Squadron, Atlantic, 1884–1891

Recommissioned 28 January 1884, Ossipee departed Hampton Roads 30 April for the Far East via Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

 and 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 served on the Asiatic station until returning to New York 15 February 1887. She then served along the Atlantic coast and in the West Indies until decommissioning at Norfolk, Virginia

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....

 12 November 1889. She was sold there 25 March 1891 to Herbert H. Ives.

External links

• The Journal of the U.S.S. Ossipee, October 27, 1866 to December 31, 1867 Alaska's Digital Archives. Includes transfer ceremony of Alaska from Russia to the United States on October 18, 1867.