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Page 23 text:
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ln the past 125 years, four ships of the United States Navy have been named for Albany, the capital city of the state of New York. The keel of the first ALBANY, a sloop-of-war, was laid in 1843 at the New York Navy Yard. She was launched three years later on June 27, 1846. Displacing 1064 tons, her overall length was 163 feet, 6 inches, breadth, 32 feet, 2 inches, and depth of. hold, 17 feet, 3 inches. She was armed with four 8iinch smoothbore rifles and eighteen 32-pounder rifles, and had a complement of 120 officers and men. ALBANY was placed in commission on Novem- ber 6, 1846, and on November 26, under the com- mand of Captain S. L. Breese, she Sailed to ioin the United States Home Squadron in the Gulf of Mex- ico. Shortly after the beginning of the Mexican war, the Navy received orders from the United States government to maintain a vigorous blockade of all Mexican ports on the gulf. In accordance with these instructions, ALBANY was one of several vessels scattered along the entire Mexican coast from the Rio Grande to the Tabasco River. On March 8, 1847, ALBANY took part in the debarkation of troops at Vera Cruz. In response to a request from General Winfield Scott during the at- tack on the town, the ship also sent ashore a 68- pound Paixhan gun as well as seamen to man it. One USS ALBANY. . . 1846 - 7977 of several landed by the fleet, Al-BANY5 QUV' CVGW helped in the destruction of Mexican fortsf the town of Vera Cruz surrendered shortly thereafter, On June 14, 1847, ALBANY participated in an- other maior operation ofthe war as she was part of a large expedition which crossed the bar of the Tabasco River and advanced upstream several miles, supporting Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry in his attack on the town of Tabasco, The ships drove the Mexicans from their entrenchments with accurate gun fire and the town was taken without further fighting. ALBANY sailed for Hampton Roads on July 11, 1847, and after being sent on to Boston for repairs, she departed that city on October 10 for the West Indies and cruised with the Home Squadron until her return home in September of 1848, She made two additional cruises with the Home Squadron, return- ing to Boston from the second on July 21, 1852. ALBANY's capabilities were summed up by her Commanding Officer at the end of this cruise: Steers and lies-to well, and works as well as the average of ships. Stands up well under sails, rolls deep without straining her hull or rigging. She has logged 10 knots on a wind and 13 free. Beat the Decatur in a trial on the wind. I do not re- gard the ALBANY as very weatherly, but under all circumstances in which I have seen her C236 days at is United States Sloop-of-War Albany: 1846 - 1854 19
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Page 22 text:
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Page 24 text:
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sea in the West lndies1, as superior to most ships. On November 29, 1852, ALBANY, under the command of Commander J. T. Gerry, again sailed from Boston to ioin the Home Squadron in the West Indies. After cruising for several months, she re- turned to New York, where she was refitted and put to sea on December 12, 1853, bound again for the the West Indies, Upon arrival, she resumed oper- ations among the numerous ports of the Caribbean and along the coast of Central America, On Septem- ber 28, 1854, Commander Gerry wrote from Aspin- wall lColon1, Panama, informing the Navy Depart- ment that ALBANY would sail under his command the next day for New York. When several weeks had passed without further word being received, the steamer PRINCETON left Pensacola in search of ALBANY on November 21, running down the coast of Cuba, off the islands of Little Cayman and Cay- man's Brac, they by way of Kingston, Jamaica and Aspinwall to Key West. The steamer FULTON also made a rapid searching cruise for ALBANY, departing Norfolk on December 30, 1854 and steam- l l 1 l . I xx X 9 Th 0U9h the Bahama and Caribbeanjslands' a'0'19 the Spanish Main to Aspinwall, off NlCaVa9Ua and Jamaica, along the coast of 'Hondur8S and The 1 YUC.afan to Havana, before returning to Norfolk on April 5,1 1855. Not the slightest information COUld be obtained on the missing ship and ALBANY WGS never heard from again. Pensions to the dependents of the officers and seamen lost in ALBANY were awarded by Act of Congress, Qffgcfive April 18, 1855. The second ALBANY, a screw sloop-of-war, was built by the Portsmouth Navy Yard, POVfSf'n0UTn, New Hampshire, and launched as USS CONTOO- COOK on December 3, 1854. Built according to plans drawn up by the Bureau of Construction for the Navy Department in 1863, CONTOOCOOK was one of a number of large wooden frigates and sloops-of-war in which much green material had to be used, since the supply of seasoned timber had been so drawn upon by the unusual amount of ship building during the war years. Being long and nar- row, the ships were strengthened with diagonal iron bracing amounting almost to an enormous iron l -l li .l 8 -5 . , 1 i 4 i A 1 I F I ' 1 i . , I ,. .s '.f , . -' ' . --1-.11 .- 1- .. .N:e,s-fi':1:,1n-Li-I-i,-g -, if .Lis ,V 4 - 3 42145:-' i t ig: . 1 ' - f . ' 'T7 I' '31 United States Screw Sloop-of-War ALBANY: 1868 - 1879 basket woven over the hull. Although this held the ships together long after the decay of tlie timbers would have caused them to tall in pieces, those that were finished were Sh0VT'llV9d- CONTOOCOOK's overall length was 296 feet, breadth, 41 feet, depth of hold, 7 feet, 8 inches, and she displaced 2348 tons. Costing -563O,538.75, ex- clusive of machinery, she was designed' for atop speed of 13 knots, and was armed with eight 9-inch guns, one 60-pounder rifle, four 24-pound bronze howitzers and one 12-pound bronze howitzer. The ghip was placed in commission Ion March 14, 1868. CONTOOCOOK made her first cruise as flag- ship of Rear Admiral Hoff, Commander ofthe North Atlantic Squadron, her first two cruises were in the West Indies for the protection of American interests during 1868 and 1869. Her name was changed to ALBANY effective May 15, 1869, and in the fall of that year, she made a third cruise to the West Indies. ALBANY was placed out of commission on January 7, 1870 and served as a quarantine ship at New York until sold for 54,800 on December 12, 1872. The third ALBANY, a protected cruiser, was built by Armstrong, Whitworth and Company, New- castle on Tyne, England. Originally the Brazilian cruiser ALMIRANTE ABREU, she was purchased from the government of Brazil while on the ways on March 16, 1898. Renamed ALBANY, she was 1 U U ,'A gi L, 3'!r' '91 R9 'Ai ln 54.- EIC'- sr: ii we , K hoes a 'Cn TOD S: loin' Caribe' DOu'ce TNQ5 'W Crm., A, K :L- NN: 29 'GQ' Nana S lo 5-- i M i W5 5 NQXQNE: iii p. ' to . Weil, ,. -. H. SeDtQ'w.g VHUSQ' sqx. Jill 4 Y vs , lanq Terrairegs Sliiarp f mn' 11:11 Avi Servicer' stay in E of the ' on lie . K i , an Y ! - Q ' 3 ' ' - t' - it A ,- - , A 1 Y A' l A V K V V VR , .. .u.,... ,.. , ... ..
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