- USS Lackawanna (1862)
The first USS "Lackawanna" was a screw
sloop-of-war in theUnited States Navy during theAmerican Civil War ."Lackawanna" was launched by the
New York Navy Yard 9 August 1862 ; sponsored by Miss Imogen Page Cooper; and commissioned8 January 1863 , CaptainJohn B. Marchand in command. She was named after theLackawanna River inPennsylvania .The new screw sloop-of-war departed New York 20 January to join the Union blockade of the southern coast. She reported to the
West Gulf Blockading Squadron atPensacola, Florida early in February and, for the remainder of the war, served along the gulf coast of the Confederacy, principally offMobile Bay . "Lackawanna" took her first prize, "Neptune", 14 June after a long chase in which the 200-tonGlasgow ship had jettisoned her cargo trying to escape. The Union sloop-of-war scored again the next day, capturing steamer "Planter" as the Mobile blockade runner attempted a dash toHavana, Cuba laden with cotton and resin.Following duty along the
Texas coast near Galveston in March and April 1864, "Lackawanna" returned to the blockade of Mobile early in May to prevent the escape of Confederate ram "Tennessee". During the summer she served in the blockade while preparing for AdmiralDavid Farragut ’s conquest of Mobile Bay.On 9 July, with "Monongahela", "Galena", and "Sebago", she braved the guns of Fort Morgan to shell steamer "Virgin", a large blockade runner aground at the entrance of Mobile Bay. The Union guns forced a southern river steamer to abandon efforts to assist "Virgin", but the next day the Confederates refloated the blockade runner who reached safety in Mobile Bay. Closing this strategic southern port was an important part of the Union strategy to isolate and subdue the South.
At dawn on the morning of 5 August, Farragut’s ships crossed the bar and entered the bay. A Confederate squadron, led by ironclad ram "Tennessee" and a field of deadly mines awaited to block their advance. Farragut’s lead monitor "Tecumseh" struck a mine and went down in seconds. The Confederate flagship "Tennessee" vainly tried to ram "Brooklyn" and the action became general, raging for more than an hour. At one point in the struggle, "Lackawanna" rammed "Tennessee" at full speed, causing the Confederate ram to list, and later she collided with "Hartford" while attempting to ram "Tennessee" again, shortly before the ironclad struck. This daring operation closed the last major gulf port to the South.
Following the Union victory in Mobile Bay, "Lackawanna" continued to operate in the gulf, enforcing the blockade until after the end of the Civil War. She departed
Key West 24 June 1865, reached New York on the 28th, and decommissioned at New York Navy Yard 20 July.Recommissioned 7 May 1866, Commander
William Reynolds in command, "Lackawanna" sailed for the South Atlantic 4 August, transited theStraits of Magellan 9 November, and arrivedHonolulu, Hawaii 9 February 1867. She operated in thePacific , primarily in theHawaiian Islands and along the coast ofCalifornia andMexico until she arrived atMare Island for decommissioning 10 February 1871.Recommissioning 8 May 1872, the steam sloop sailed for the Orient 22 June and served in the
Far East until returning toSan Francisco, California 23 April 1875. In October 1880, in the midst of theWar of the Pacific , the "Lackawanna" sailed for the South Pacific to host a conference of diplomacy proposed by the U.S. to end the war. Officials from the countries involved in the war--Peru, Chile, and Bolivia--did not reach an immediate agreement and U.S. efforts failed. For two brief periods in ordinary, "Lackawanna" continued to operate in the Pacific during the next 12 years. She finally decommissioned at Mare Island7 April 1885 and was sold there toW. T. Garratt & Company 30 July 1887 .References
*DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/l1/lackawanna-i.htm
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