USS Scourge (1846)
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USS ''Scourge'' was a steamer warship in service during the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
(1846–1848). She was the third
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
ship of that name.


Acquisition

The ship was launched on 29 May 1845 by Betts, Harlan, and Hollingsworth of
Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...
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. 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 commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). He played a leading role in the op ...
in the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
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 ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
. *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 Lt Hunter was found by the Court Martial 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) is both a municipality and city located in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The population of the city was 78,523 and of the municipality was 134,394 inhabitants, according to the INEGI census o ...
. *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 a battle 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 t ...
.''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 sandbags. *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
New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
to the Venezuelan revolutionaries on 7 October 1848. She was seized by
State of Venezuela ("God and Federation") (since 1863) , national_anthem = , common_languages = Spanish , religion = , currency = Venezuelan peso , leader1 = José Antonio Páez , leader2 = Ju ...
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