USS Scourge (1846)

For other ships of the same name, see USS Scourge.
Career
Name: USS Scourge
Builder: Betts, Harlan, and Hollingsworth
Acquired: by purchase, 30 December 1846
Commissioned: 1846
Decommissioned: 1848
Fate: Sold, 7 October 1848
General characteristics
Type:Gunboat
Displacement:231 long tons (235 t)
Length:120 ft (37 m)
Beam:23 ft (7.0 m)
Draft:9 ft (2.7 m)
Propulsion:Steam engine
Speed:10.5 knots (19.4 km/h; 12.1 mph)
Complement:50 officers and enlisted
Armament:• 1 × 32-pounder gun
• 2 × 24-pounder carronades

USS Scourge was a steamer warship in service during the Mexican-American War (1846–1848). She was the third United States Navy ship of that name.

Acquisition

The ship was built as merchant steamer Bangor, by Betts, Harlan, and Hollingsworth of Wilmington, Delaware. She was powered by twin screws and was the first iron-hulled, sea-going merchant vessel in the United States.

She was bought by the U.S. on December 30, 1846 for service in the Gulf of Mexico. Once equipped, she was renamed Scourge under the command of Lieutenant Charles G. Hunter.

Service

Scourge joined the forces of Commodore Matthew C. Perry in the Gulf of Mexico on March 29, 1847. She was part of the "Mosquito Flotilla" and was immediately assigned to take part in a concerted sea-land attack upon the port of Alvarado. On 31 March 1847, Scourge, acting alone, captured the port, which had been abandoned by its garrison.

After this action, the vessel participated in the captures of La Peña, Palma Sola, Hospital Hill, Tuxpan and Tabasco. Previous to the attack on Tabasco, Lieutenant Lockwood, officer in command, became one of the first officers to protect a vessel's exposed machinery by using sandbags.

Sale

Scourge was sold in New Orleans, Louisiana to another country on 7 October 1848.

See also

References