The fifth USS ''Enterprise'', a

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...

-rigged

screw sloop A screw sloop is a propeller-driven sloop-of-war. In the 19th century, during the introduction of the steam engine, ships driven by propellers were differentiated from those driven by paddle-wheels by referring to the ship's ''screws'' (propelle ...

, was launched 13 June 1874 at

Portsmouth Navy Yard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Founded in 1800, PNS is U.S. Navy's oldest continuo ...

Kittery, Maine Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals. The southernmost town i ...

, US, by John W. Griffiths, a private contractor; and commissioned 16 March 1877, Commander George C. Remey in command. She was later commanded by Bowman H. McCalla around 1890, followed by Commander Albert S. Barker from 1892 to 1896.

Overview

''Enterprise'''s first duty after fitting out at Norfolk, Virginia, took her to the mouth of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

for surveying operations. Returning to Norfolk in April 1878, she remained there only briefly, sailing 27 May for surveying duty up the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

and Madeira Rivers. On 1 October 1878 off the coast of

Pará Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, Seaman Thomas Smith rescued a fellow sailor from drowning, for which he was awarded the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...

. This surveying duty completed, she repaired at

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, then in December 1878 joined the U.S. naval forces in European waters, calling at numerous ports in northern Europe and in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

. She returned to the

Washington Navy Yard The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is the former shipyard and Weapon, ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy. The Yard currently serv ...

on 9 May 1880 and was placed out of commission. Recommissioned on 12 January 1882, she cruised the east coast until 1 January 1883 when she sailed on a three-year

hydrographic survey Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/ offshore oil drilling and related activities. Strong emphasis is placed ...

that took her completely around the world. During this time, she was commanded by Albert S. Barker. Her findings on this cruise added materially to the knowledge of the oceans, their currents, and their bottoms. During the journey she was a neutral witness of the Battle of Fuzhou on 23 August 1884 during the Sino-French War. ''Enterprise'' was decommissioned at New York on 21 March 1886. Placed back in commission on 4 October 1887, ''Enterprise'' sailed from

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in January 1888 for two years in the waters of Europe, the Mediterranean, and the east coast of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, where she showed the flag and looked out for United States' interests. She returned to New York in March 1890 and was decommissioned on 20 May. Enterprise by Walter Lofthouse Dean

''Enterprise'' was again commissioned 8 July 1890, and for the next year operated principally in the Caribbean. From September 1891 until September 1892, she served as training and practice ship at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

, Annapolis, Maryland. On 17 October 1892 at Boston, she was lent to the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

for duty as a school ship at the

Massachusetts Maritime Academy Massachusetts Maritime Academy (Mass Maritime) is a public university in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, focused on maritime-related fields. It was established in 1891 and is the second oldest state maritime academy in the United States. Originall ...

. In that capacity she trained cadets for some 17 years (the current MMA

training ship A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house class ...

was named USTS ''Enterprise'' in honor of her until the name was changed to USTS ''Kennedy''). Returned to the Navy on 4 May 1909, ''Enterprise'' was sold on 1 October 1909. The hulk was burned for salvage near Boston in 1910.Navsources
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References

*
Entry on ship
at hazegray.org.

External links

U.S.S. ''Enterprise'', Log for Cruise of '97, 1897, MS 179
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Enterprise (1874) Sloops of the United States Navy 1874 ships Research vessels of the United States Navy Ships of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy Exploration ships

Overview

See also

References

External links