USS Iroquois ( 1859 ) The first USS " Iroquois " was a sloop of war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War . " Iroquois " was launched by the New York Navy Yard on 12 April 1859 and commissioned 24 November 1859 , Commander James S . Palmer in command . Service history . Mediterranean , 1860 – 1861 . " Iroquois " got underway from New York on 19 January 1860 for duty in the Mediterranean . Her service came at a time of political unrest in Europe , with the movement for Italian unification in its beginning stages . " Iroquois " sailed for Palermo , Sicily , to protect American lives and property as Giuseppe Garibaldi began his campaign to capture the island for Piedmont - Sardinia . The Italian patriot came on board " Iroquois " on 20 June 1860 and conferred with Comdr . Palmer . The ship operated in the Mediterranean into 1861 , but the impending Civil War brought greater demands on the Navy and she was recalled . Caribbean , 1861 – 1862 . Arriving 15 June 1861 at New York , she was immediately sent to the Caribbean to search out and destroy southern commerce raiders . At Martinique she found CSS " Sumter " anchored in the harbor . But the Confederate ship , under command of Raphael Semmes , with the assistance of French authorities slipped out on 23 November to resume attacks on Union shipping . " Iroquois " continued her patrol in the Caribbean . On 14 January 1862 she stopped British sloop " Rinaldo " . On board were Confederate ministers James M . Mason and John Slidell , captured earlier by Union ships but released ; Comdr . Palmer allowed them to proceed under surveillance . Mississippi River Squadron , 1862 . " Iroquois " was sent later in 1862 to join Flag Officer David Farragut at the mouth of the Mississippi River , in preparation for his attack on New Orleans , Louisiana . Arriving off Ship Island 28 March , the ship moved to a position below Forts Jackson and St . Philip , guarding New Orleans , 16 April . Comdr . David Dixon Porter ' s mortar boats then began a devastating bombardment , and by 24 April the ships were ready to attack . " Iroquois " moved abreast the forts as part of the 3rd Division under Captain Henry H . Bell and , after a spirited engagement , passed them and pressed on for the capture of New Orleans , the South ' s largest and wealthiest city , and key to the Mississippi Valley . After the great victory " Iroquois " advanced up the river with Farragut , with the aim of eventually joining Flag Officer Andrew Hull Foote , who was driving southward . A landing party was sent ashore at Baton Rouge , Louisiana 8 May 1862 and Comdr . Palmer received the surrender of the Louisiana capital that day . " Iroquois " , along with , also took possession of Natchez on 13 May as the fleet moved steadily toward the Southern stronghold at Vicksburg , Mississippi . Within a week they were below the city and preparing to pass the formidable batteries . After periodic shelling Flag Officer Farragut , supported by the mortar boats , passed the Vicksburg batteries on 28 June after a heavy exchange of gunfire . " Iroquois " survived the action virtually unscathed . With the rest of the fleet she met Flag Officer Charles Davis and his Western Flotilla above Vicksburg . This was but the first step of Abraham Lincoln ' s order to " clear the river . " " Iroquois " remained in the Vicksburg area until late July , helping in the bombardments and preparations for expeditions into the surrounding marshlands . In early September she again entered the Gulf of Mexico to take part in the strangling blockade of Southern commerce , but boiler trouble sent her north on 21 September he arrived New York 2 October and decommissioned 6 October 1862 for repairs . North Atlantic Blockading Squadron , 1863 . " Iroquois " recommissioned on 8 January 1863 , Comdr . Henry Roland in command , and got underway later that month to convoy monitor to Newport News , Virginia . Joining the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron off North Carolina , she captured blockade runner " Merrimac " 24 July and helped in the capture of " Kate " 12 days earlier . After several more months on arduous blockade , she steamed to Baltimore , Maryland for repairs , decommissioning 8 October 1863 . Mediterranean & Pacific , 1864 – 1865 . The ship recommissioned 31 March 1864 , Comdr . Christopher R . P . Rodgers in command . After serving briefly in the North Atlantic , " Iroquois " steamed to the Mediterranean to protect American commerce and interests . She also took part in the giant search for the Confederate raider " Shenandoah " , finally arriving Singapore in May 1865 after a long voyage around South America and across the Pacific . With the war over , she sailed in July for the United States , arriving New York on 1 October 1865 . She decommissioned there 6 October 1865 . Asiatic Squadron , 1867 – 1874 . Upon recommissioning on 7 January 1867 , Comdr . Earl English in command , the veteran ship sailed 3 February for duty with the Asiatic Squadron . She was present at Osaka , Japan , when that port and neighboring Hyōgo were opened to foreign commerce 1 January 1868 ; and she took part in the rescue operations following the overturning of Rear Admiral Henry H . Bell ' s boat in the harbor 11 January . Despite the best efforts of the ships present , the squadron commander and 11 others were drowned . During the local conflicts which engulfed the ports during January , " Iroquois " stood by to protect American interests , and carried the foreign ministers to Hyōgo 1 February when they were expelled from Osaka . She remained on this critical duty until returning to the United States in February 1870 . She was decommissioned at League Island , Pennsylvania , 23 April 1870 . " Iroquois " was recommissioned on 23 August 1871 under Commander H . A . Adams . While in the Delaware River on 7 September of that year , Ordinary Seaman Hugh King jumped overboard and rescued a shipmate from drowning , for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor . " Iroquois " operated on the East Coast until 18 March 1872 . She then sailed for another cruise with the Asiatic Fleet , making the long voyage via the Mediterranean , the Suez Canal , and the Indian Ocean . The ship remained off China and Japan until returning to San Francisco , California on 1 July 1874 . She was again decommissioned for repairs on 23 July 1874 . Pacific Squadron , 1882 – 1892 . Following a long period of inactivity , " Iroquois " recommissioned on 12 April 1882 , Comdr . James H . Sands in command . With the Pacific Squadron , she patrolled to South America , Hawaii , Australia , and Pacific islands protecting American interests and commerce . She took part in naval action in Panama in the spring of 1885 , helping to land Marines to protect American commerce during the revolution . In 1889 , the " Iroquois " was sent to Samoa , to reinforce American forces in the aftermath of the 1889 Apia cyclone . Her engines broke down after leaving Honolulu and she spent the next eighty - two days being blown around the Pacific before washing up in Port Townsend , Washington . After repairs at Mare Island , during which forty of her crew deserted , she again set out for Samoa . Future Marine Corps commandants George Barnett and Ben Fuller served on her during this episode . Returning from Samoa , " Iroquois " arrived Mare Island on 24 April 1892 and decommissioned there 12 May 1892 . Marine Hospital Service , 1892 – 1910 . The ship was transferred to the Marine Hospital Service and served until she recommissioned 13 December 1898 , Lt . Charles F . Pond in command . She cruised in the Pacific for six months before decommissioning at Honolulu , Hawaii 30 June 1899 . " Iroquois " was then transferred again to the Marine Hospital Service . Her name was changed to " Ionie " 30 November 1904 . Her name was struck from the Navy List on 26 August 1910 .