The first USS Southampton was a store ship 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 Mexican-American War.

Southampton was laid down 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....

 as a side wheel steamer in October 1841, but her machinery proved to be unsatisfactory and was removed. Apparently purchased by the United States Government in 1845, the ship was commissioned on 27 May 1845, Lieutenant Henry W. Morris in command.

Africa Squadron, 1845–1846

The ship departed Norfolk on 27 June 1845 and sailed for the coast of Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 where she served as a store ship for the 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...

s of the Africa Squadron

Africa Squadron

The Africa Squadron was a unit of the United States Navy that operated from 1819 to 1861 to suppress the slave trade along the coast of West Africa...

. Southampton returned to 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...

 on 16 December 1846 and was repaired at the Norfolk Navy Yard.

California, 1847–1850

Recommissioned on 9 February 1847, Southampton sailed south on 22 February, rounded 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...

, and proceeded up the Pacific coast of the Americas to the California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 coast. For the next two years, she supplied the ships which protected the newly won territory of the United States on the west coast. She returned to New York on 2 September 1850 and was decommissioned on the 15th.

Pacific Squadron, 1851–1852

Recommissioned on the last day of 1850, Southampton departed 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...

 on 2 February 1851 for another tour of duty 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...

, and returned to New York on 5 August 1852. She was decommissioned five days later to be fitted out for duty in the Far East

Far East

The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...

.

Japan, 1852–1855

The ship was recommissioned on 4 November 1852 and she sailed on 8 December for the Pacific. The following September, she joined Commodore Matthew C. Perry's squadron and was part of his expedition 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...

. Southampton returned to New York on 31 March 1855, was decommissioned on 6 April, and was sold later that year. She subsequently entered merchant service.