USS Wabash ( 1855 ) USS " Wabash " ( 1855 ) was a steam screw frigate of the United States Navy that served during the American Civil War . She was based on the same plans as . Post - war she continued to serve her country in European operations and eventually served as a barracks ship in Boston , Massachusetts , and was sold in 1912 . Pre - Civil War service . " Wabash " — the first U . S . Navy ship to bear that name — was laid down on 16 May 1854 by the Philadelphia Navy Yard ; launched on 24 October 1855 , sponsored by Miss Pennsylvania Grice ; and commissioned there on 18 August 1856 , Captain Frederick K . Engle in command . " Wabash " departed Philadelphia , Pennsylvania on 7 September 1856 , stopping at Portsmouth , New Hampshire , to embark President Franklin Pierce for passage to Annapolis , Maryland . She arrived at New York on 23 October 1856 , sailing on 28 November 1856 to become flagship of Commodore Hiram Paulding ' s Home Squadron . The squadron was instrumental in foiling the expedition against Nicaragua underway by American filibuster , William Walker , who had dreamed of uniting the nations of Central America into a vast military empire led by himself . Through insurrection , he became president of Nicaragua in 1855 only to have Cornelius Vanderbilt — who controlled the country ' s shipping lifelines — shut off supplies and aid . A revolt toppled Walker from power , and he was trying for a military comeback before he was captured in 1857 by the Home Squadron . Stateside controversy over the questionable legality of seizing American nationals in foreign , neutral lands prompted President James Buchanan to relieve Commodore Paulding of his command . " Wabash " was decommissioned on 1 March 1858 at the New York Navy Yard . First recommissioning , 1858 - 1859 . " Wabash " was recommissioned on 25 May 1858 , Captain Samuel Barron in command , and became the flagship of Commodore Elie A . F . La Vallette ' s Mediterranean Squadron . The future naval hero of the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish - American War , George Dewey — then a midshipman — served aboard the " Wabash " when she touched at her first port of call , Gibraltar , on 17 August 1858 . Dewey would later write in his autobiography that “ The Wabash was quite the finest ship of the foreign fleet and also the largest . ” " Wabash " returned to the New York Navy Yard on 16 December 1859 and decommissioned there on 20 December 1859 . Civil War service , 1861 - 1865 . Early War . With the outbreak of the American Civil War , " Wabash " was recommissioned on 16 May 1861 , Captain Samuel Mercer in command , and departed New York on 30 May 1861 as flagship of the Atlantic Blockading Squadron under Rear Admiral Silas H . Stringham . " Wabash " captured the brigantine " Sarah Starr " off Charleston , South Carolina , on 3 August 1861 , and recaptured the American schooner " Mary Alice " , taken earlier by . By this date , she had also captured the brigantines " Hannah " , " Balch " , and " Solferino " , along with 22 Confederate prisoners from the four vessels . On 26 August 1861 , " Wabash " departed Hampton Roads , bound for Hatteras Inlet , North Carolina , to take part in the first combined amphibious assault of the war . " Wabash " accompanied , , revenue cutter , the tug " Fanny " , and two transports , carrying over 900 troops under Major General Benjamin Butler . Union forces secured Hatteras Inlet with the capture of Forts Hatteras and Clark on 29 August 1861 . The attacking force suffered no casualties and took over 700 prisoners . Among these was Captain Samuel Barron of the Confederate Navy , the former commander in the United States Navy of " Wabash " when she served under Rear Admiral La Vallette . South Atlantic Blockading Squadron . " Wabash " was later designated the flagship of Flag Officer Samuel Francis du Pont , the new commander of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron , and was sent to the New York Navy Yard for repairs on 21 September 1861 . After refit , " Wabash " departed Fort Monroe on 29 October 1861 to spearhead the Federal assault on Port Royal , South Carolina . The assembled invasion fleet was the largest yet organized by the Navy , containing 77 vessels and 16 , 000 Army troops under Brigadier General Thomas W . Sherman . The combined force secured Port Royal Sound on 7 November 1861 after a furious four - hour battle . " Wabash " led the battle line in this major strategic Union victory . " Wabash " now took up permanent station on the Charleston blockade , operating out of Port Royal . On 11 March 1862 , a landing party led by ship ' s commanding officer , Commander C . R . P . Rodgers , occupied St . Augustine , Florida . A detachment of seamen and officers from " Wabash " landed and manned a battery which bombarded Fort Pulaski , Georgia , on 10 April and 11 April 1862 and was instrumental in forcing that Southern fort to surrender . A naval battery of three 12 pounder howitzers from " Wabash " supported Union troops at the Battle of Pocotaligo , on 22 October 1862 . Confederate vessels twice harassed " Wabash " while on duty in Port Royal Sound . On 5 August 1863 , , a small steamer on picket duty below Fort Sumter , fired upon and ran down a launch from " Wabash " , capturing 10 sailors and drowning two . The submarine torpedo boat also attacked " Wabash " on 18 April 1864 . Ensign Charles H . Craven , officer of the deck , spotted the cigar - shaped vessel in time for " Wabash " to get underway . The " David " disengaged from the attack in the face of musket fire and round shot discharged from " Wabash " . North Atlantic Blockading Squadron . " Wabash " departed her station on 1 October , bound for the Norfolk Navy Yard and an overhaul . En route , she grounded briefly on Frying Pan Shoals , suffering minor damage to her rudder . Repairs and overhaul were completed by 16 December , in time for " Wabash " to join the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and to participate in the first attack on Fort Fisher , North Carolina , on 24 December and 25 December 1864 . The failure of this initial attempt to take the fort necessitated a second , successful combined operation between 13 January and 15 January 1865 . It was during this second attack on Fort Fisher , that corporal Andrew J . Tomlin and ordinary seamen Louis C . Shepard earned the Medal of Honor . " Wabash " returned to Hampton Roads on 17 January 1865 , receiving orders on 25 January 1865 to proceed to the Boston Navy Yard . " Wabash " was decommissioned at Boston on 14 February 1865 . Post - Civil War service , 1866 - 1912 . " Wabash " was placed in ordinary from 1866 to 1869 ; overhauled during 1870 to 1871 ; and recommissioned on 24 October 1871 , Captain Robert W . Shufeldt commanding . " Wabash " departed the Boston Navy Yard on 17 November 1871 and served as the flagship of Rear Admiral James Alden , commanding the Mediterranean Squadron . She arrived at Cadiz , Spain , on 14 December 1871 and cruised throughout the Mediterranean until 30 November 1873 when she departed Gibraltar , bound for Key West , Florida . " Wabash " arrived in Key West on 3 January 1874 . She was decommissioned on 25 April 1874 at the Boston Navy Yard . In 1875 , she was placed in ordinary and served as a housed - over receiving ship from 1876 to 1912 . " Wabash " was struck from the Navy list on 15 November 1912 and sold that same day to the Boston Iron and Metal Company , Boston , Massachusetts . The following year , she was burned to facilitate salvage of her metal parts . Surviving Guns . Five IX - inch Dahlgren smooth - bore cannon which served on the " Wabash " survived at the Boston Navy Yard . They were transferred in 2010 to the National Civil War Naval Museum in Columbus , Georgia , where they are on display . Four of the guns are Tredegar Iron Works pieces . One is registry # 45 , one is either # 50 or 51 , one is probably # 34 , and the number of the fourth is unknown . All were cast in 1855 . The fifth Dahlgren gun was cast by Cyrus Alger & Co . , Boston , Massachusetts , in 1864 , registry # 852 . Additionally , a 6 . 4 - inch ( 100 - pounder ) Parrott rifle which served on the " Wabash " survives in Danvers , Massachusetts . It is a West Point Foundry foundry piece , registry # 116 , cast in 1863 .