The first USS ''Columbia'' of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

to be commissioned was a three-masted, wooden-hulled sailing

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

, built at the

Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is a ceremonial and administrative center for the United States Navy, located in the federal national capital city of Washington, D.C. (federal District of Columbia). It is the oldest shore establishment / base of ...

and carrying 54 guns (an earlier ''Columbia'' was destroyed during the

burning of Washington The Burning of Washington, also known as the Capture of Washington, was a successful United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British Amphibious warfare, amphibious attack conducted by Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, Georg ...

in 1814 whilst it was still under construction). Her

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

was laid in 1825, but as was typical of much Navy construction during this period, she was not launched until much later, on 9 March 1836. On her first cruise, from May 1838 – June 1840 with Lieutenant George A. Magruder in command, ''Columbia'' rounded the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

to become

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

George C. Read in the

East India Squadron The East India Squadron, or East Indies Squadron, was a Squadron (naval), squadron of American ships that existed in the nineteenth century. It focused on protecting American interests in the Far East, while the Pacific Squadron concentrated on ...

. She returned to the United States by way of

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. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...

, becoming one of the first U.S. naval ships to circumnavigate the globe. She participated in the 1838

Second Sumatran Expedition The Second Sumatran expedition was a punitive expedition by the United States United States Navy, Navy against inhabitants of the island of Sumatra. After Malay Peninsula, Malay warriors or pirates had massacred the crew of the American merchant ...

in response to a Maylay attack on an American merchant vessel. The ''Columbia'' served as flagship of the

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 Atlantic slave trade, make coastal surveys ...

from January–May 1842; cruised on

Brazil Squadron The Brazil Squadron, the Brazil Station, or the South Atlantic Squadron was an overseas military station established by the United States in 1826 to protect American commerce in the South Atlantic during a war between Brazil and Argentina. When t ...

from July 1842 – February 1844 and in the Mediterranean Squadron from May–December 1844. She returned to the Brazil Squadron as flagship from November 1845 – October 1847, and was placed

in ordinary ''In ordinary'' is an English phrase with multiple meanings. In relation to the Royal Household and public officials more generally, it indicates that a position is a permanent one (in contrast to positions that are extraordinary). In naval matt ...

Norfolk Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a United States Navy, U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest ...

upon her return home. Except for a cruise as flagship of the

from January 1853 – March 1855, she remained at Norfolk until the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. During her 1854-1855 cruise as flagship of the

, the USS ''Columbia'' crew suffered repeated outbreaks of disease such as

Smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

Cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

and Yellow Fever, see thumbnail image of 27 March 1855 petition from the frigate crew to Secretary of the Navy

James C. Dobbin James Cochran Dobbin (January 17, 1814 – August 4, 1857) was a nineteenth-century politician and lawyer who served as United States Secretary of the Navy from 1853 to 1857. Born in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1814, the grandson of co ...

. Their petition complained of mounting mortally and illness,and requested their discharge. A separate report (exert below) of 19 March 1855, from Home Squadron Commander, Commodore John Thomas Newton to the Secretary Dobbin explained his decision to return to Norfolk Virginia and to seek medical care at the Naval Hospital for his crew. :"our recent trip to the unhealthy climate of San Juan and our :subsequent long cruise added to the debility produced by two summers :in the tropics, llegibleour men for the reception of fever, and it :is not at all strange that the sickness should have made its :appearance on board - It is remarkable, however, up to our recent loss of seven men but three deaths have occurred on board the ''Columbia'' :since she has been in commission now over two years – There are at :present 50 sick men on board, many of whom will be immediately removed :to the Hospital ..." The Navy Department previous experience in 1822 with an outbreak of Yellow Fever aboard the frigate

USS Macedonian (1810) HMS ''Macedonian'' was a 38-gun fifth-rate in the Royal Navy, later captured by the during the War of 1812. Construction and commissioning ''Macedonian'' was built at Woolwich Dockyard, England in 1809, launched 2 June 1810, and commissione ...

that killed 74 of the frigates officers and crew, revealed how quickly they devastated morale and operational efficiency.Sharp, John G.M. ''The Disastrous Voyage: Yellow Fever Aboard the USS Macedonian & USS Peacock, 1822'' http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/portsmouth/shipyard/sharptoc/yf1822.html Secretary Dobbin notated his approval of Newton's request and had the sick crew men moved to the naval hospital

Naval Medical Center Portsmouth The Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (NMCP), formerly Naval Hospital Portsmouth, and originally Norfolk Naval Hospital, is a United States Navy hospital, medical center in Portsmouth, Virginia, Portsmouth, Virginia, United States. It is the oldest ...

Crew Columbia petition to James Dobbin SecNav dated 27 mar 1855 reYellow Fever and duty in West Indies

''Columbia'' was scuttled and burned by Union forces to avoid her capture by Confederates upon the surrender of Norfolk Navy Yard on 21 April 1861. Following the close of the war she was raised and sold at Norfolk on 10 October 1867.

See also