USS ''North Carolina'' was a 74-gun

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

in the

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 ...

. One of the "nine ships to rate not less than 74 guns each" authorized by Congress on 29 April 1816, she was laid down in 1818 by the

Philadelphia Navy Yard The Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was an important naval shipyard of the United States for almost two centuries. Philadelphia's original navy yard, begun in 1776 on Front Street and Federal Street in what is now the Pennsport section of the ci ...

, launched on 7 September 1820, and fitted out in 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 t ...

. Master Commandant Charles W. Morgan was assigned to ''North Carolina'' as her first commanding officer on 24 June 1824. While nominally a 74-gun ship, a popular size at the time, ''North Carolina'' was actually pierced (had gunports) for 102 guns, and probably originally mounted ninety-four 42-pounder (19 kg) and 32-pounder (15 kg) cannons. In 1845, she had fifty-six 42-pounders (19 kg), twenty-six 32-pounders (15 kg), and eight cannons, a total of ninety. Considered by many the most powerful naval vessel then afloat, ''North Carolina'' served in the Mediterranean as

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of 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 the ...

for Commodore John Rodgers from 29 April 1825 to 18 May 1827. In the early days of the Republic, as today, a display of naval might brought a nation prestige and enhanced its commerce. This proved to be the case when Rodgers's squadron laid the groundwork for the 1830 commercial treaty with Turkey, opening ports of the Eastern Mediterranean and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

to American traders.

After a period in ordinary at Norfolk, ''North Carolina'' decommissioned on 30 October 1836 to fit out for 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 ...

, the one other area where ships of her vast size could be employed. Only the Mediterranean and the western coast of South America at that time offered ports which could accommodate ships of great draft. Again flagship of her station, flying the pennant of Commodore Henry E. Ballard, ''North Carolina'' reached

Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists of the whole Cal ...

, Peru, on 26 May 1837. With the

War of the Confederation The War of the Confederation ( es, Guerra de la Confederación) was a military confrontation waged by Chile, along with Peruvian dissidents, and the Argentine Confederation against the Peru–Bolivian Confederation between 1836 and 1839. As ...

raging between Chile and Peru, and relations between the United States and Mexico strained, ''North Carolina'' protected the important American commerce of the eastern Pacific until March 1839. Since her great size made her less flexible than smaller ships, she returned to the

New York Navy Yard The Brooklyn Navy Yard (originally known as the New York Navy Yard) is a shipyard and industrial complex located in northwest Brooklyn in New York City, New York (state), New York. The Navy Yard is located on the East River in Wallabout Bay, a ...

in June, and served as a receiving ship until placed in ordinary in 1866. She was sold while at New York on 1 October 1867.

References

External links

Station bills &c. of the U.S. Ship ''North Carolina'', 1824, MS 75
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy * {{DEFAULTSORT:North Carolina 1820 ships Mexican–American War ships of the United States Ships of the line of the United States Navy Victorian-era ships of the line Ships built in Philadelphia