The first USS Shenandoah was a wooden screw sloop

Screw sloop

A screw sloop is a propeller-driven sloop-of-war. In the 19th century, during the introduction of the steam engine, ships driven by propellers were differentiated from those driven by paddle-wheels by referring to the ship's screws...

 of 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...

.

Shenandoah was built by the Philadelphia Navy Yard

Philadelphia Naval Shipyard

The Philadelphia Naval Business Center, formerly known as the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard and Philadelphia Navy Yard, was the first naval shipyard of the United States. The U.S. Navy reduced its activities there in the 1990s, and ended most of them on September 30, 1995...

 and launched on 8 December 1862. She was sponsored by Miss Selina Pascoe; and was commissioned on 20 June 1863, Captain Daniel B. Ridgeley in command.

Civil War duty, 1863–1865

Shenandoah departed Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, on the 25th, keeping a sharp lookout for Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 raider, , as she made her trial run to Boston to fill out her complement. On 11 July, she sailed in search of Confederate raider, Florida, cruised off George's and Nantucket shoals, thence preceded toward Block Island

Block Island

Block Island is part of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and is located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately south of the coast of Rhode Island, east of Montauk Point on Long Island, and is separated from the Rhode Island mainland by Block Island Sound. The United States Census Bureau defines Block...

 and Cape Sable

Cape Sable

Cape Sable, Florida is the southernmost point of the US mainland and mainland Florida. It is located in southwestern Florida, in Monroe County, and is part of the Everglades National Park. The cape is a peninsula issuing from the southeastern part of the Florida mainland, running west and curving...

. She returned to Boston on 27 July and spent from 4 August to 8 September in the Philadelphia Navy Yard. On 12 September, she arrived off New Inlet, North Carolina, to join the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.

Shenandoah spent the greater part of the next fifteen months patrolling off Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...

 and searching on the blockade runner routes between Nassau and Wilmington. This cruising took her as far as 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....

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, and to the Bahamas and Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

. During a four-hour chase on 30 July 1864, she fired heavily into Confederate blockade runner, Lilian, which escaped in the darkness to the safety of Cape Lookout shoals. At daylight of 7 August, blockade runner

Blockade runner

A blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...

, Falcon, narrowly escaped Shenandoah and by throwing cotton overboard to lighten load and then outsailing her pursuers in the direction of Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

.

The Battle of Fort Fisher

Shenandoah reached Green Bay in the Bahamas on 13 December 1864 to investigate reports that Confederate privateers were being fitted out there to prey on Union commerce. Finding no trace of such activity, she hurried north to join the great Federal Fleet poised on the coast of North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 for the attack on Fort Fisher

Battle of Fort Fisher

Two battles were fought over Fort Fisher during the American Civil War. The first battle was a failed attempt by the Union army and Navy to capture the fort. The second battle was a successful operation which led to the fall of the fort and the city of Wilmington, North Carolina.* First Battle of...

 which protected Wilmington, North Carolina. On Christmas Eve, she closed to within 1,500 yards of the shore to bombard the works of Fort Fisher with all guns that could be brought to bear. In little more than an hour, the Confederate fort had been silenced, two of its magazines had been blown up, and the fort set afire in several places. The bombardment was kept up with good effect until after nightfall.

One shot from the Confederates carried away Shenandoah's stern ladder. She renewed the action with other ships of the fleet on Christmas morning to cover the landing of about 3,000 Army troops. Her deliberate and well directed fire silenced a four-gun battery to the west of Fort Fisher. She then turned her attention to a two-gun casemated battery. One shell from this battery fell a few yards short, and another passed over Shenandoah which retaliated by exploding a 150-pounder rifle shell near the top of the mound.

Nevertheless, the amphibious assault failed to capture the fort and the Union troops re-embarked during the night, save for about 1,000 soldiers who found themselves stranded on the beach by heavy surf. These were safely returned to their transports during the following two days as Shenandoah patrolled off New Inlet.

The amphibious assault on Fort Fisher was renewed on 13 January 1865. Shenandoah's boats assisted in the landing of about 8,000 Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 troops under cover of a severe bombardment. The next day, she joined the fleet in a quick fire on the face of the works which lasted from 1300 till well after dark. That day, 1,600 sailors and 400 marines were detached from various shins to join the Army troops in the assault. Fifty-four sailors and fourteen marines

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 under Lieutenant Smith W. Nichols, armed with cutlasses and revolvers, were landed from Shenandoah. The furious bombardment support continued until 1500 on 15 January 1865. By this time, the sailors and marines were entrenched within 200 yards of the fort and ready for the final assault. The ships now shifted their fire to the upper batteries as troops and sailors dashed toward the top of the parapet.

The advancing sailors and marines were swept by concentrated Confederate gunfire; but Army troops, who had gained the highest parapet to the rear, opened with a volley of musketry to save them. Now the fighting progressed through seventeen immense bomb-proof traverses until the Confederates were finally forced to the end of Federal Point. Finding themselves hopelessly surrounded, the Confederate remnants surrendered, and Fort Fisher fell to the largest amphibious operation in American history prior to World War II.

Shenandoah's landing force returned with six wounded and five missing in action. Lt. Nichols reported: "Each and all deserve the highest commendation for their coolness and courage under the most trying circumstances, and fully sustained the hard earned reputation of the American sailor..."

After Fort Fisher was captured, Shenandoah spent a few days carrying wounded men from transports to shore hospitals. She then joined in the final days of the Union siege of Charleston

Battle of Charleston

The Battle of Charleston can refer to several historical battles:* The Siege of Charleston - American Revolution, arguably the worst in the southern theatre.* The Battle of Charleston Harbor I...

 which fell on 17 February. She returned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 15 March and was decommissioned there on 15 April.

Officers of Shenandoah, Civil War

Captain, Daniel B. Ridgely

Lieutenant, Smith W. Nichols

Surgeon, James McMaster

Acting Assistant Paymaster, C. M. Guild

Acting Master, John S. Watson

Acting Master, W. H. Brice

Acting Master, Joseph A. Bullard

Ensign, Yates Sterling

Ensign, J. H. Sands

Acting Master’s Mate, L. H. White


Acting Master’s Mate, Thomas H. Wheeler

Acting Master’s Mate, T. D. Wendell

Engineers: Acting Chief; Nelson Winans

Second Assistant, E. A. Magee

Acting Second Assistant, James S. Kelleper

Third Assistant, D. M. Fulmer

Third Assistant, F. W. Towner

Third Assistant, Wm. Bond

Boatswain, James H. Polly

Gunner, George Edmond

Service in South America and Asia 1865–1869

Shenandoah recommissioned at Philadelphia on 20 November 1865, Captain John R. Goldsborough in command. She put to sea on 8 December for the Azores

Azores

The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...

. Thence, she sailed to Bahia

Salvador, Bahia

Salvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and the capital of the Northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Salvador is also known as Brazil's capital of happiness due to its easygoing population and countless popular outdoor parties, including its street carnival. The first...

 and Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, for service with the South American Squadron. On 28 April 1866, she departed Rio de Janeiro to join the Asiatic Squadron

Asiatic Squadron

The Asiatic Squadron was a squadron of United States Navy warships stationed in East Asia during the latter half of the 19th century, it was created in 1868 when the East India Squadron was disbanded...

. After rounding the Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope

The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...

, she visited Bombay and Calcutta; then touched at Penang

Penang

Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...

 before arriving at Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 on 31 December 1866. She next proceeded to Bangkok

Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

 where she received a friendly greeting from the King of Siam

Mongkut

Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramenthramaha Mongkut Phra Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua , or Rama IV, known in foreign countries as King Mongkut , was the fourth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, ruling from 1851-1868...

 and his ministers before sailing via Saigon for Japan. She arrived at Yokohama

Yokohama

is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...

 on 5 April 1867.

There, on the 27th, Shenandoah embarked General Robert B. Van Valkenburgh, U.S. Minister to Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, for transport to Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

 where he landed on 1 May for an interview with the Tycoon

Taikun

Taikun is an archaic Japanese term of respect derived from Chinese I Ching which once referred to an independent ruler who did not have an imperial lineage. Its literal meaning is "Great Lord/Prince" or "Supreme Commander". In the Edo Period, this word was used as a diplomatic title designating...

. There he learned that the Japanese government proposed to open additional ports to foreign trade. His mission was completed by 20 May when he returned on board Shenandoah to return to Yokohama. The ship was then placed at General Van Valkenburgh's disposal, to assist him in examining the different ports most suitable for commercial purposes. She left Yokohama on 25 June and reached Hakodate

Hakodate, Hokkaido

is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture.Hakodate was Japan's first city whose port was opened to foreign trade in 1854 as a result of Convention of Kanagawa, and used to be the most important port in northern Japan...

 on the 28th. The first salute that was ever fired there in honor of a foreign minister marked the occasion. The minister and officers of Shenandoah were received by the governor with cordial politeness.

On 12 July, Shenandoah entered the port of Niigata

Niigata, Niigata

is the capital and the most populous city of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. It lies on the northwest coast of Honshu, the largest island of Japan, and faces the Sea of Japan and Sado Island....

 where similar courtesies were extended. Nahon was reached the following day. No American ship had ever before entered that harbor. On the 17th, Shenandoah visited Mikuni and also Tsurunga

Tsuruga, Fukui

is a city located in southern Fukui Prefecture, Japan.-Outline:One of city of Wakasa Area, present southern Fukui Prececture. Municipalized on April 1, 1937....

, where no foreign warship had ever previously anchored. On 20 July, she arrived at Miyadsu

Miyazu, Kyoto

is a city located in Kyoto, Japan.As of May 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 21,512 with 8,360 households and the density of 127.06 persons per km². The total area is 169.31 km²....

, the most beautiful of the bays visited. Commodore Goldsborough and officers under his command made surveys of most of these new harbors, and prepared sailing directions for their entrance.

Shenandoah was part of the naval force before the ports of Osaka and Hyōgo

Hyogo Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :...

 which were quietly opened to foreigners on 1 January 1868. The event was celebrated by American and British ships, their mastheads being dressed with the respective national flags and the Tycoon's flag at the main. Each ship simultaneously fired a salute of twenty-one guns

21-gun salute

Gun salutes are the firing of cannons or firearms as a military or naval honor.The custom stems from naval tradition, where a warship would fire its cannons harmlessly out to sea, until all ammunition was spent, to show that it was disarmed, signifying the lack of hostile intent...

, which the Japanese promptly returned.

On the morning of 11 January, Shenandoah sent her boats to assist in the search for Rear Admiral Henry H. Bell

Henry H. Bell

Henry Haywood Bell was an admiral in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.-Biography:Bell was born in Orange County, North Carolina. Appointed a Midshipman on 4 August 1823, during the next two decades he served afloat in U.S...

, Commander-in-Chief of the Asiatic Squadron, whose boat had capsized while attempting to cross the bar on the way into Osaka from flagship . The admiral was drowned along with his flag-lieutenant and ten of the boat's thirteen crewmen. Command of the Asiatic Squadron now devolved upon Commodore John R. Goldsborough, as senior officer, until the arrival of Rear Admiral Stephen C. Rowan. Commodore Goldsborough transferred his pennant from Shenandoah to Hartford on 31 January 1868.

Korea

Lieutenant Commander Chester Hartford took temporary command of Shenandoah until 22 February 1868 when Cdr. John C. Febinger assumed command at Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

. From there Shenandoah proceeded to Chefoo

Yantai

Yantai is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. Located on the southern coast of the Bohai Sea and the eastern coast of the Laizhou Bay, Yantai borders the cities of Qingdao and Weihai to the southwest and east respectively.The largest fishing...

, China, where she received orders to sail for Korea to attempt to rescue the crew of the American schooner, General Sherman

General Sherman Incident

The General Sherman Incident was the destruction of an armed merchant marine side-wheel steamer that visited Korea in 1866. It was an important catalyst to the end of Korean isolationism in the 19th century...

, which had been destroyed in the Ping Yang River

Taedong River

The Taedong River is a large river in North Korea. It rises in the Rangrim Mountains of the country's north. It then flows southwest into Korea Bay at Namp'o. In between, it runs through the country's capital, Pyongyang. Along the river are landmarks such as the Juche Tower and Kim Il-sung...

 some eighteen months previously. It had been rumored that some of the crew or passengers were alive and in captivity. Korea, at that time, sought to exclude all strangers or foreigners.

Shenandoah departed Chefoo on 7 April 1868 and arrived off Chodo Island, Korea, on 9 April. After proceeding around to the southeast side, she arrived at the mouth of the Ping Yang River on the 16th. Commodore Goldsborough concluded from the information gathered that none of the passengers and crew of General Sherman had survived. He succeeded, however, in making a survey of the Ping Yang River and its approaches and in securing other useful data on that part of the Korean coast where no previous surveys had been made.

On 18 May, Shenandoah departed the mouth of the Ping Yang River to join the Asiatic Squadron in visiting the principal commercial ports of China and Japan to counter difficulties that arose out of opposition to contact with foreigners. Certain ships of the squadron stationed themselves in areas where roving Chinese pirates had attacked the American merchantmen. They protected foreign settlements in Yokohama as well as in the newly opened ports of Osaka and Hyōgo. They continued their service until local authorities assured the American officers that foreigners would receive respectful and peaceful treatment. The Chinese Viceroy at Canton

Guangzhou

Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...

 promised Commodore Goldsborough that he would issue a proclamation prohibiting fishing junks from carrying extra men, or arms, or munitions of war which might be used to prey upon American commerce.

After calling at Chefoo, Shanghai, Yokohama, and Hong Kong, Shenandoah departed the latter port on 10 November. She visited Batavia, Java (1 to 8 December); thence proceeded, via the Cape of Good Hope and the island of St. Helena

Saint Helena

Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...

, to Boston where she arrived on 25 April 1869. She decommissioned there on 2 May 1869.

The European station 1870–1874

Shenandoah was recommissioned at Boston on 15 August 1870, and sailed on 4 September for service on the European Station. After a call at Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

 and station duty at Le Havre

Le Havre

Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...

, she touched Southampton on her way to the Mediterranean to show the flag at such ports as Ville Franche

Villefranche-sur-Mer

Villefranche-sur-Mer is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera.-Geography:...

, Toulon

Toulon

Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....

, Marseille

Marseille

Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...

, Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

, Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

, and Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

. While at Ville Franche on December 15, 1871, Seaman Isaac Sapp

Isaac Sapp

-External links:...

 jumped overboard and rescued a shipmate from drowning, for which he was 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...

. On 1 June 1872, she set course north for Lisbon, Queenstown, Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

, and Southampton

Southampton

Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

; thence proceeded to Lisbon, Cadiz

Cádiz

Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....

, Algiers

Algiers

' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...

, Tunis

Tunis

Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....

, Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

, and Piraeus

Piraeus

Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....

. In the last named port, Christmas Day of 1872, she was host to the King

George I of Greece

George I was King of Greece from 1863 to 1913. Originally a Danish prince, George was only 17 years old when he was elected king by the Greek National Assembly, which had deposed the former king Otto. His nomination was both suggested and supported by the Great Powers...

 and Queen of Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

. The following months found her at such ports as Smyrna, Turkey; Syracuse, Sicily; Ville Franche, France; and Barcelona, Spain. She departed the Mediterranean on 12 December 1873 for Tangiers; thence proceeded, via Funchal

Funchal

Funchal is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira. The city has a population of 112,015 and has been the capital of Madeira for more than five centuries.-Etymology:...

, Madeira

Madeira

Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...

, and St. Thomas

Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of...

 in the West Indies, to Florida. She arrived in Key West on 22 January 1874 and sailed on 4 April for New York where she decommissioned on 23 April 1874.

The South Atlantic 1879–1882

Shenandoah was recommissioned in the New York Navy Yard on 8 September 1879. On 4 October, she sailed for Brazil, and arrived at Rio de Janeiro on 1 December 1879 to serve as flagship of Rear Admiral Andrew Bryson who commanded the South Atlantic Squadron. She watched over American interests in that quarter while cruising between Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Montevideo

Montevideo

Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...

, Uruguay

Uruguay

Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

; and Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

. While at Rio de Janeiro on 19 September 1880, Seamen William Morse

William Morse

-External links:...

 and John Smith rescued a fellow sailor from drowning, for which they were later awarded the Medal of Honor. This duty terminated on 4 February 1882 when Shenandoah departed Montevideo on a homeward-bound cruise that included calls at Barbados in the West Indies, Cartagena, Colombia

Cartagena, Colombia

Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...

 and Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

, Cuba. She arrived at New York on 29 April and was decommissioned in the New York Navy Yard on 27 May 1882.

Final days 1883–1887

Her last cruise took Shenandoah to the Pacific coasts of South

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 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 was recommissioned at Boston on 5 November 1883 and sailed on 29 December for the Cape Verde Islands. Thence, she steamed via Montevideo and around Cape Horn

Cape Horn

Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...

 to Valparaíso

Valparaíso

Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...

, Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

, where she arrived on 5 May 1884 — one day after the Treaty of Valparaíso marked Chile's victory in her war with Peru and Bolivia

War of the Pacific

The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...

.

Shenandoah cruised among parts of Peru, Chile, and Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

 protecting American interests until 6 April 1885 when she arrived off 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...

. Her landing party protected American property there during revolt against the Colombian Government that resulted in insurgent occupation of Panama. Aspinwall, on the Atlantic side, was attacked by insurgents who also occupied the greater portion of the isthmus, blocking the transit of the railroad. Obliged by the treaty of 1846 to guarantee the neutrality of the isthmus as well as rights of sovereignty by Colombia, the United States took immediate action. A naval force of eight ships and 2,648 sailors and marines under Rear Admiral James Edward Jouett

James Edward Jouett

Rear Admiral James Edward Jouett , known as "Fighting Jim Jouett of the American Navy", was an officer in the United States Navy during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War...

 arrived at Aspinwall and protected that town while a landing expedition proceeded across the isthmus to reestablish free passage for trains.

On 24 May 1885, Shenandoah departed Panama for Callao

Callao

Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...

, Peru. She continued to cruise for protection of the American mercantile marine and other interests for the next seventeen months. Besides showing the flag at the principal ports of Chile and Peru, she called from time to time at San Jose, Guatemala; Corinto, Nicaragua; Panama, and Alcapulco, Mexico. She arrived in Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara, California

Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...

, from the Mexican

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...

 coast on 30 September 1886. After a visit to Monterey

Monterey, California

The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...

, she was decommissioned in the Mare Island Navy Yard on 23 October 1886. She was sold on 30 July 1887 to W. T. Garratt & Company, 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...

.