The first USS ''Columbia'' of 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 ...

to be commissioned was a three-masted, wooden-hulled sailing

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

, built at the

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

and carrying 54 guns (an earlier ''Columbia'' was destroyed during the

burning of Washington The Burning of Washington was a British invasion of Washington City (now Washington, D.C.), the capital of the United States, during the Chesapeake Campaign of the War of 1812. It is the only time since the American Revolutionary War that a ...

in 1814 whilst it was still under construction). Her

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was laid in 1825, but as was typical of much Navy construction during this period, she was not launched until much later, on 9 March 1836. On her first cruise, from May 1838 – June 1840 with Lieutenant George A. Magruder in command, ''Columbia'' rounded the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...

to become

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 fi ...

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

George C. Read George Campbell Read (January 9, 1788August 22, 1862) was a United States Naval officer who served on Old Ironsides during the War of 1812 and commanded vessels in actions off the Barbary Coast and India. Read eventually rose to the rank of r ...

in the

East India Squadron The East India Squadron, or East Indies Squadron, was a squadron of American ships which existed in the nineteenth century, it focused on protecting American interests in the Far East while the Pacific Squadron concentrated on the western coast ...

. She returned to the United States by way of

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 Ramírez ...

, becoming one of the first U.S. naval ships to circumnavigate the globe. She participated in the 1838

Second Sumatran Expedition The Second Sumatran expedition was a punitive expedition by the United States Navy against inhabitants of the island of Sumatra. After Malay warriors or pirates had massacred the crew of the American merchant ship ''Eclipse'', an expedition of t ...

in response to a Maylay attack on an American merchant vessel. ''Columbia'' served as flagship of the

Home Squadron The Home Squadron was part of the United States Navy in the mid-19th century. Organized as early as 1838, ships were assigned to protect coastal commerce, aid ships in distress, suppress piracy and the Atlantic slave trade, make coastal surveys, ...

from January–May 1842; cruised on Brazil Squadron from July 1842 – February 1844 and in the Mediterranean Squadron from May–December 1844. She returned to the Brazil Squadron as flagship from November 1845 – October 1847, and was placed

in ordinary ''In ordinary'' is an English phrase with multiple meanings. In relation to the Royal Household, it indicates that a position is a permanent one. In naval matters, vessels "in ordinary" (from the 17th century) are those out of service for repair o ...

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 ...

upon her return home. Except for a cruise as flagship of the Home Squadron from January 1853 – March 1855, she remained at Norfolk until the outbreak of 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 th ...

. ''Columbia'' was scuttled and burned by Union forces to avoid her capture by Confederates upon the surrender of Norfolk Navy Yard on 21 April 1861. Following the close of the war she was raised and sold at Norfolk on 10 October 1867.

References

External links

*
Journal of the U.S.S. ''Columbia'' and U.S.S. ''Mississippi'', 1843–1846 MS 272
held by Special Collection & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy
Watch, Quarter, and Station Bill of the U.S.S. ''Columbia'', 1844–1907 (bulk 1844) MS 77
held by Special Collection & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Columbia (1836) Sailing frigates of the United States Navy Ships built in the District of Columbia Ships of the Union Navy 1836 ships Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Shipwrecks of the Virginia coast Ship fires Scuttled vessels Maritime incidents in April 1861

See also

References

External links