USS ''Congress''—the fourth

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 to carry that name—was a sailing frigate, like her predecessor, . ''Congress'' served in the Mediterranean, South Atlantic Ocean, and in the Pacific Ocean. She continued to operate as an American warship until the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, when she was sunk by the ironclad CSS ''Virginia'' in battle of Newport News, Virginia.

Service history

''Congress'' was launched at the

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 ...

on August 16, 1841 and placed in commission under Captain

Philip Voorhees Philip Falkerson Voorhees (23 February 1792 – 23 February 1862) was an officer in the United States Navy, who served during the War of 1812, and later commanded the East India Squadron. Biography Voorhees was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, t ...

on May 7, 1842. Her first cruise, starting on July 15, took her to 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 ...

for service with the Squadron of Commodores Charles W. Morgan and Charles Morris. In December 1843, Voorhees joined Commodore Daniel Turner's Brazil Squadron blockading Montevideo in safeguarding U.S. trade during the

Uruguayan Civil War The Uruguayan Civil War, also known in Spanish as the ''Guerra Grande'' ("Great War"), was a series of armed conflicts between the leaders of Uruguayan independence. While officially the war lasted from 1839 until 1851, it was a part of armed c ...

. On September 29, 1844, Voorhees captured an armed Argentine schooner that delivered a mail to the Argentine commanding officer.Written on September 11, 1844 to Mrs. Philip F. Voorhees by American author James Fenimore Cooper, http://www.fulkerson.org/jersey.html This overreaction damaged the US-Argentina relation and resulted in a court martial for Voorhees. His impetuosity resulted in a few months suspension, for Voorhees, but did little damage to his career.David Foster Long, ''Gold Braid and Foreign Relations: Diplomatic Activities of U.S. Naval Officers, 1798–1883'', pg 157–160, Naval Institute Press, 1988 ''Congress'' remained active in the theatre until January 1845. She was then placed in ordinary at Norfolk, Virginia in March. ''Congress'' was recommissioned on September 15, 1845, as flagship of Commodore

Robert F. Stockton Robert Field Stockton (August 20, 1795 – October 7, 1866) was a United States Navy commodore, notable in the capture of California during the Mexican–American War. He was a naval innovator and an early advocate for a propeller-driven, steam-p ...

and sailed for the Pacific Ocean in late October. After landing the U.S. Commissioner to the

Sandwich Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Ku ...

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

on June 10, she proceeded to

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area and its major city at the south of the bay, San Jose. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by ...

where she joined the

Pacific Squadron The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval s ...

. Captain

Elie A. F. La Vallette Elie Augustus Frederick La Vallette (May 3, 1790 – November 18, 1862) was an American military officer who served in the United States Navy from 1812 to 1862. He served during the War of 1812, in the Mediterranean and Africa Squadrons, and ...

assumed command on July 20 and employed her along the west coast 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 ...

. Large detachments of her crew participated in battles on Rio San Gabriel and the plains of La Mesa, and in the occupation of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. She assisted in the bombardment and capture of Guaymas in October 1847, and in November furnished a detachment that aided in the occupation of Mazatlán. On August 23, 1848, she departed

La Paz, Baja California Sur La Paz (, en, Peace) is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur and an important regional commercial center. The city had a 2020 census population of 250,141 inhabitants, making it the most populous city in the state. Its ...

for Norfolk, Virginia, arriving the following January to be placed in ordinary. In May 1850, she was assigned a threefold mission; protect U.S. interests between the mouth of the Amazon River and

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) 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 are the Diego Ramí ...

, prevent the use of the American flag to cover the

African slave trade Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa. Systems of servitude and slavery were common in parts of Africa in ancient times, as they were in much of the rest of the ancient world. When the trans-Saharan slave trade, Indian Ocean ...

, and maintain neutral rights during hostilities among the South American countries. Departing

Hampton Roads, Virginia Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic O ...

on June 12, she arrived at

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, Brazil on September 1 and assumed duty as flagship of the Brazil Squadron under Commodore Issac McKeever until June 1853. She returned to New York City on July 20 for decommissioning. On June 19, 1855, ''Congress'' sailed for the Mediterranean and there followed two years as flagship of Commodore

Samuel Livingston Breese Samuel Livingston Breese (August 6, 1794 – December 17, 1870) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. His active-duty career included service in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, and the American Civil War. Early life He was ...

. Sailing from

Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest cit ...

, Italy on November 26, 1857, she arrived at

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

on January 13, 1858, and was placed out of commission. In 1859, ''Congress'' was reassigned as flagship of Commodore Joshua R. Sands and the Brazil Squadron, remaining in that area until the Civil War precipitated her return to Boston, Massachusetts on August 22, 1861.

American Civil War service

On September 9, 1861, she was ordered to duty under command of Capt.

Louis M. Goldsborough Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough (February 18, 1805 – February 20, 1877) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He held several sea commands during the Civil War, including that of the North Atlantic Blockadi ...

in the

Atlantic Blockading Squadron The Atlantic Blockading Squadron was a unit of the United States Navy created in the early days of the American Civil War to enforce the Union blockade of the ports of the Confederate States. It was formed in 1861 and split up the same year for th ...

, later to serve under commanding officer W. Smith, and executive officer

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Joseph B. Smith. ''Congress'' was anchored off Newport News, Virginia, as part of the

Union blockade The Union blockade in the American Civil War was a naval strategy by the United States to prevent the Confederacy from trading. The blockade was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln in April 1861, and required the monitoring of of Atlanti ...

of that port on March 8, 1862, when she fell under attack by the Confederate ironclad, CSS ''Virginia'' (ex-USS ''Merrimack'') and five other small ships. Serving aboard ''Congress'' at this time was McKean Buchanan, brother of the commanding officer of the ''Virginia'',

Franklin Buchanan Franklin Buchanan (September 17, 1800 – May 11, 1874) was an officer in the United States Navy who became the only full admiral in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War. He also commanded the ironclad CSS ''Virginia''. Early lif ...

.Davis, 1996, ''The Civil War'', p.216 After exchanging broadsides with ''Virginia'', ''Congress'' slipped her moorings and ran aground in shallow water. The ironclad and her consorts attacked from a distance and inflicted great damage on the ship, killing 120, including the commanding officer, Joseph B. Smith. Executive officer Austin Pendergrast assumed command. Ablaze in several places and unable to bring guns to bear on the enemy, ''Congress'' was forced to strike her colors and raise a white flag. Heavy shore batteries prevented ''Virginia'' from taking possession. Instead she fired several rounds of hot shot (red-hot cannonballs) and incendiary causing ''Congress'' to burn to the water's edge, and her magazine to explode. Lt. Smith, having been in command at the time, died in the action. Eventually, during the battle, ''Congress'' sank by the stern. In September 1865, ''Congress'' was raised and taken to the

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

where she was later sold. She later was stripped for the valuable wood and metal near her mast. The sails later were used to make a flag in memory of the ship.

References

External links

Watch-, Quarter-, and Station-Bill of the U.S.S. Congress, 1842-1873 (bulk 1842-1845) MS 86
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Congress 4

Sailing frigates of the United States Navy Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cours ...

Mexican–American War ships of the United States Ships of the Union Navy American Civil War patrol vessels of the United States Shipwrecks of the Virginia coast Ships built in Kittery, Maine Maritime incidents in March 1862 1841 ships Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Naval magazine explosions

Service history

American Civil War service

See also

References

External links