USS ''Contoocook'' was a

screw A screw and a bolt (see '' Differentiation between bolt and screw'' below) are similar types of fastener typically made of metal and characterized by a helical ridge, called a ''male thread'' (external thread). Screws and bolts are used to fa ...

sloop-of-war In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...

built for 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 ...

during 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 ...

. She is named after a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

and

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in New Hampshire. She was launched 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 continuou ...

and commissioned , commanded by Captain

George Balch George Beall Balch (3 January 1821 – 18 April 1908) was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy who served during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. Biography Early career Balch was born in Shelbyville, Tennessee, on 3 Janu ...

. Her first cruise, 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 fi ...

of the

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, took her to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

, where she patrolled extensively for the protection of American interests during 1868 and 1869. Her name was changed to ''Albany'' on . After another cruise to the West Indies in the fall of that year, ''Albany'' was placed out of commission on . She served as a quarantine ship at New York until sold .

''Cootoocook''-class sloop

* USS ''Contoocook'' (1864) * * * Cancelled ships include: * * * * The ''

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships The ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships'' (''DANFS'') is the official reference work for the basic facts about ships used by the United States Navy. When the writing project was developed the parameters for this series were designed to ...

'' has no entry for ''Mondamin'', but refers to all members of her class as sloops.Per ''Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905'', whether ''Tahgayuta'' and ''Mondamin'' would have been considered sloops or frigates depended on whether or not they would have been built with a spar deck, without which they have been a sloop, but it is unknown whether they would have had a spar deck or not because they were never built and because their completed sisters differed in this regard. * *

References

Sloops of the United States Navy 1864 ships {{US-mil-ship-stub