  {|    |} the first uss pawnee was a sloop-of-war in the united states navy during the american civil war. she was named for the pawnee indian tribe. pawnee was laid down in 1858 at the philadelphia navy yard; launched 8 october 1859, sponsored by miss grace tyler; and commissioned 11 june 1860, commander h. j. hartstene in command. ==service history== ===home squadron, 1860=== after shakedown, she departed philadelphia 24 september with flag officer garrett j. pendergrast embarked to assume command of the home squadron operating off the coast of mexico. she arrived off vera cruz 15 october, and, after a short cruise, returned to philadelphia 12 december. ===civil war, 1861â1865=== pawnee spent the first three months of 1861 in washington, d.c. and was sent on an expedition to charleston, south carolina 6 april to relieve major robert anderson's garrison at fort sumter. delayed by a severe storm, she arrived only to find that the fort had been surrendered to confederate forces. she returned to washington and was immediately dispatched to norfolk to secure the ships and stores of the gosport navy yard. arriving at norfolk the night of 20 april, she found that all ships, save , had been scuttled, so an attempt was made to destroy the naval stores and the dry dock. their efforts were largely unsuccessful, but she took cumberland in tow and saved the frigate. from may 
1859_ships American_Civil_War_patrol_vessels_of_the_United_States Gunboats_of_the_United_States_Navy Hospital_ships_of_the_United_States_Navy Ships_built_in_Pennsylvania Ships_designed_by_John_W._Griffiths Ships_of_the_Union_Navy Sloops_of_the_United_States_Navy