USS San Jacinto (1850)

USS San Jacinto (1850) was a screw frigate of the United States Navy that served from the antebellum period through the American Civil War. Commissioned in 1851, the ship was notable for its early use of steam propulsion combined with a full sailing rig. It gained historical prominence for its role in the Trent Affair and for capturing the Confederate commerce raider CSS Florida during the Civil War.

Construction and commissioning

The ship's keel was laid down in August 1847 at the New York Navy Yard in Brooklyn. Designed by naval constructor Samuel Hartt, the San Jacinto was one of the first generation of U.S. steam frigates intended to modernize the fleet. It was launched on 16 April 1850 and commissioned into active service in 1851 under the command of Captain Charles H. Bell. The vessel was named in commemoration of the Battle of San Jacinto, the decisive engagement of the Texas Revolution.

Service history

Following its shakedown cruise in the Atlantic Ocean, the San Jacinto was assigned to the African Slave Trade Patrol, a squadron tasked with suppressing the illegal slave trade under the Webster–Ashburton Treaty. In 1853, it joined the East India Squadron, sailing to Asia under Commodore Matthew C. Perry during the historic Perry Expedition to Japan. The frigate returned to the United States in 1855 and underwent repairs before resuming patrol duties in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

The ship's most famous pre-war action occurred in November 1861 during the American Civil War. While under the command of Captain Charles Wilkes, the San Jacinto intercepted the British mail packet RMS Trent in the Bahama Channel. Wilkes removed two Confederate diplomats, James Murray Mason and John Slidell, an act that sparked the international diplomatic crisis known as the Trent Affair. Later in the war, reassigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, the San Jacinto actively enforced the Union blockade. On 7 October 1864, under Commander John C. Febiger, it captured the Confederate commerce raider CSS Florida off the coast of Brazil near Bahia, in a controversial action that violated Brazilian neutrality.

Fate

After the conclusion of the Civil War, the aged and worn-out San Jacinto was decommissioned at the Boston Navy Yard in 1865. It was subsequently placed in ordinary. The vessel was sold at public auction on 23 March 1867 to Thomas H. Perkins of Boston. The ship was then broken up for scrap, ending the career of a vessel that had played a significant role in two of the most tense international incidents of the mid-19th century for the United States.

Category:Steam frigates of the United States Navy Category:Ships built in New York City Category:1850 ships