USS Vanderbilt (1862)
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USS ''Vanderbilt'' was a heavy (3,360-ton) passenger
steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
obtained by the Union Navy during the second year 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 ...
and utilized as a cruiser. ''Vanderbilt''—with her high speed of 14 knots—was outfitted with a large battery of heavy guns and sent out on the high seas in a futile search for commerce raiders of the
Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...
which were inflicting serious damage to Union commercial shipping. Later she served as part of the Union blockade of the Confederacy, and, post war, she had the honor of transporting the Queen of Hawaii from
San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, to
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.


Launched in New York in 1857

''Vanderbilt''—originally a transatlantic passenger and mail steamer—was built by Jeremiah Simonson of Greenpoint, Long Island, New York, in 1856 and 1857. On 31 October 1858, the ship ran aground in the
Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...
while on a voyage from Bremen to
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
,
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and New York. ''Vanderbilt'' was refloated and taken in to Southampton in a severely leaky condition. The ship was chartered by the Union Army shortly after the start of the Civil War in April 1861; offered to the Army by her owner, Commodore
Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...
, in early 1862; and transferred to the Navy on 24 March. Popularly known as "Vanderbilt's Yacht", the former flagship of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt's North Atlantic Mail Steamship Line began her military career in Hampton Roads, Virginia, intended for use as a ram against the Confederate ironclad CSS ''Virginia''. Commodore Vanderbilt, himself, suggested filling the bow of the vessel with concrete and reinforcing it with iron plating.


Civil War service


Searching for the CSS ''Alabama''

This was not done, however, and ''Vanderbilt'' was turned over to the Union Navy on 24 March and fitted with a heavy battery of 15 guns at the New York Navy Yard during the summer of 1862. She left New York on 10 November and—after conducting a brief search for CSS ''Alabama'', the most destructive Confederate commerce raider of the entire war—put into Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 17 January 1863. Ten days later, ''Vanderbilt'' received orders to conduct a much longer and more thorough search for ''Alabama''. This year-long cruise took the vessel to the
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, eastern coast of
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,
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, St. Helena,
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, the
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,
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and
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. During the West Indies portion of her deployment, ''Vanderbilt'' served as
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 ...
of Commodore Charles Wilkes' Flying Squadron. During the search, ''Vanderbilt'' captured the blockade-running British steamer ''Peterhoff'' on 25 February, off St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, causing a dispute between the British and Americans as to the disposition of mail carried aboard the steamer. President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
eventually ordered the mail returned to the British. ''Vanderbilt's'' captures also included the British blockade runner ''Gertrude'', taken off Eleuthera Island in
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on 16 April, and the British bark ''Saxon'', seized at Angra Peguena,
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, on 30 October. ''Saxon'' was suspected of having rendezvoused with and taken cargo off CSS ''Tuscaloosa'' earlier. However, pursuing leads as to the whereabouts of ''Alabama'', herself, became increasingly frustrating as ''Vanderbilt'' would often arrive at a port only to discover that her quarry had departed only a few hours earlier. She eventually returned to New York City in January 1864 for repairs without ever having sighted the Confederate vessel.


North Atlantic operations

''Vanderbilt'' left
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in September and cruised off
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, searching for blockade runners. The Halifax-
Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, eighth-most populous city in the st ...
, route for blockade runners was used heavily at this time owing to outbreaks of yellow fever at
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and Nassau, Bahamas. Nevertheless, the Union cruiser failed to take any prizes and put into
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, Massachusetts, on 13 October. She was deployed with the blockade off Wilmington in November and participated in the unsuccessful first amphibious assault upon Confederate Fort Fisher in the Cape Fear River,
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, on 24 and 25 December. The Fleet took the fort during a second amphibious assault on 13 and 15 January 1865. ''Vanderbilt'' returned to New York in late January, remaining until 24 March when she left for 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 ...
ferrying new recruits. From there, she proceeded to
Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...
, towing the uncompleted Confederate ram ''Columbia'' from Charleston to
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, in May, and towed ''Onondaga'' from Norfolk to New York in June. ''Vanderbilt'' served as a receiving ship at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (
Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
) during the summer of 1865.


Post-war operations


Circumnavigating the Americas

The Civil War now over, ''Vanderbilt'' sailed from
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on 14 August and put into the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 27 August to be fitted put for a cruise around Cape Horn. She left
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, on 25 October and arrived in Hampton Roads three days later. There, she was designated
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 ...
of a special squadron consisting of herself, ''Tuscarora'', ''Powhatan'', and ''Monadnock''. The squadron was commanded by Commodore John Rodgers and intended to increase the Pacific Squadron to a 14-ship force. The vessels left Hampton Roads on 2 November and arrived at
San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, on 21 June 1866 after stopping at most major
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n ports while circumnavigating the South American continent.


Carrying Queen Emma to Hawaii

''Vanderbilt'' was decommissioned at
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, California, on 30 June, but was soon recommissioned and, on 13 October, sailed from San Francisco to
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, with the Hawaiian monarch, Queen Emma of Hawaii, on board.


Final decommissioning and subsequent career

The cruiser returned to San Francisco on 3 December and remained there at anchor until placed in ordinary at Mare Island on 24 May 1867. She lay there, in ordinary, until sold on 1 April 1873 to Howe & Company of San Francisco. Her new owners removed her machinery, gave her a graceful clipper bow, and full rigging. Renamed ''Three Brothers'', she spent most of her time in the
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between San Francisco,
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,
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, and New York City where she acquired an enviable reputation for speed and handling. "Vanderbilt's Yacht" served successive owners until 1899, at which time the vessel, now a coal hulk, was sold for scrap at
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
.


See also

* Confederate States Navy * Union blockade


References


Bibliography

* * Sanger, George P. (Ed.) (1866): ''The Statutes at Large, Treaties, and Proclamations, of the United States of America, From December 1863, To December 1865'', p. 401, Little, Brown and Company, Boston.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vanderbilt 1857 ships Merchant ships of the United States Passenger ships of the United States Maritime incidents in October 1858 American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States Coal hulks Gunboats of the United States Navy Ships built in Brooklyn Ships of the Union Navy Steamships of the United States Navy