USS ''Scourge'' was a steamer warship in service during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

(1846–1848). She was the third

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 ...

ship of that name.

Acquisition

The ship was launched on 29 May 1845 by Betts, Harlan, and Hollingsworth of

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

as merchant steamer ''Bangor''. She was powered by twin screws and was the first iron-hulled, sea-going merchant vessel in the United States. She ran between Bangor and Boston in 1845 and 1846. On 1 September 1846 ''Bangor'' caught on fire and was run aground. She was rebuilt and continued the Bangor-Boston route and she was bought by the U.S. Government on 30 December 1846 for the

Mexican War Mexican War may refer to: *Mexican War of Independence (1810–21) *Mexican–American War (1846–48) *Second French intervention in Mexico (1861–67) *Mexican Revolution (1910–20) *Cristero War (1926–1929) See also *List of wars involving Me ...

. Once equipped, she was renamed ''Scourge.''

Service

USS ''Scourge'' joined the forces of Commodore

Matthew C. Perry Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a United States Navy officer who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. He led the Perry Expedition that Bakumatsu, ended Japan' ...

in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

on March 29, 1847. She was part of the " Mosquito Flotilla" and was immediately assigned to take part in a concerted sea-land attack upon the port of Alvarado. *On 7 March 1847, commanded by Lt Charles G. Hunter USS ''Scourge'' took part in the attack on the city of

Vera Cruz, Mexico Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. *On 30 March, USS ''Scourge'' anchored near the port of Alvarado. Lt Hunter demanded unconditional surrender of the port next morning and Alvarado surrounded the same day, letting Hunter know that the Mexican troops left the town before his arrival. USS ''Scourge'' ran up the river, capturing four vessels on her way. Among them was schooner ''Relampago''. Next morning USS ''Scourge'' arrived to city of Flacotalpam, its authorities complied with Lt Hunter's demand to surrender the city too. During the course of capturing Alvarado and

Tlacotalpan Tlacotalpan is a city in Tlacotalpan Municipality in the Mexican state of Veracruz, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998 primarily for its architecture and colonial-era layout. The town was established in 1550 on what was originally an ...

Lt Hunter was found by the

Court Martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the mili ...

guilty of disobeying orders and treating his superior with contempt and relieved of the command of USS ''Scourge''. *On 18 April, USS ''Scourge'' commanded by Lt S. Lockwood took part in the capture of the city of

Tuxpan Tuxpan (or Túxpam, fully Túxpam de Rodríguez Cano, for Enrique Rodríguez Cano) is both a municipality and city located in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The population of the city was 89,557 and of the municipality was 154,600 inhabitants, ...

. *In June, USS ''Scourge'' took part in the

Second Battle of Tabasco The Second Battle of Tabasco, also known as the Battle of Villahermosa, was fought in June 1847 during the Mexican–American War as part of the U.S. blockade of Mexican Gulf ports. Background Commodore Matthew C. Perry, commander of the U.S. ...

.''Richmond enquirer.'' (Richmond, Va.), 27 July 1847.
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
'. Lib. of Congress. Previous to the attack on Tabasco, Lt Lockwood became one of the first officers to protect a vessel's exposed machinery by using

sandbag A sandbag or dirtbag is a bag or sack made of Hessian (cloth), hessian (burlap), polypropylene or other sturdy materials that is filled with sand or soil and used for such purposes as flood control, military fortification in trenches and bunke ...

s. *On 30 June, the village of Tamultay, Mexico, which was reported to be the headquarters of General Echegaray, was taken by U.S. naval land forces with support from USS ''Scourge'' and USS ''Vixen''''.'' * In March 1848, USS ''Scourge'' (under the command of Lt A. Taylor) captured the Mexican merchant vessel ''San Pablo''. USS ''Scourge'' also participated in the captures of La Peña, Palma Sola, and Hospital Hill.

After the war

''Scourge'' was sold in

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to the Venezuelan revolutionaries on 7 October 1848. She was seized by

State of Venezuela The State of Venezuela was the official name of Venezuela adopted by the constitution of 1830, during the government of José Antonio Páez. The name was maintained until 1856 when in the constitution promulgated in that year it changes the offi ...

later that year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scourge Steamships of the United States Navy Ships built by Harlan and Hollingsworth Gunboats of the United States Navy 1845 ships