USS Tuscarora ( 1861 ) The first USS " Tuscarora " was a sloop of war in the United States Navy during the American Civil War . " Tuscarora " was laid down on 27 June 1861 at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , by Merrick & Sons ; launched on 24 August 1861 ; sponsored by Miss Margaret Lardner ; and commissioned on 5 December 1861 , Commander Tunis A . M . Craven in command . Searching for Confederate raiders , 1861 – 1864 . Later that month , " Tuscarora " sailed for Southampton , England , under orders to capture or sink the cruiser . " Nashville " had run the blockade on 21 October and docked at Southampton after crossing the Atlantic , becoming the first vessel to show the Confederate flag in English waters . She finally weighed anchor and departed on 3 February 1862 , but " Tuscarora " was unable to pursue her as English law required that two belligerent vessels leave port separated by not less than 24 hours . Disgusted , Comdr . Craven sailed for Gibraltar where , upon his arrival on 12 February , he found the raider — Comdr . Raphael Semmes in command — anchored . For almost two months , Craven and Semmes exchanged verbal broadsides both with each other and with the British authorities . Semmes then cleverly feigned preparations for departure , only to abandon " Sumter " in port on 11 April . " Tuscarora " remained at Gibraltar until relieved by her sister ship , , on 12 June . She put in at Cadiz , Spain , on 18 June , for repairs . On the 23d , she received orders to sail immediately for England and to deploy off the coast in search of the recently launched Confederate raider . " Tuscarora " reconnoitered the southern coasts of England and Ireland and scoured the Irish channel without finding any trace of the vessel . She returned to Spanish waters in September and cruised off the Azores during October , but again found nothing . On 1 December 1862 , " Tuscarora " was ordered to remain off the European coast and to protect American shipping . On 15 March 1863 , she reported that she had no intelligence that Confederate vessels were operating in her area . She returned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard later that month . " Tuscarora " left Philadelphia on 6 June 1863 , bound for the New York Navy Yard . She got underway again on 14 June to search for the bark and patrolled off Bermuda before putting into Hampton Roads , for supplies on 22 June . Two days later , she headed north and cruised between Cape Henry and the coast of Nova Scotia before arriving at Boston , Massachusetts 12 days later . During her time at sea , she failed to locate " Tacony " . During August , " Tuscarora " searched for Confederate raiders off the Grand Banks , Newfoundland , but encountered none before she returned to Boston on 3 September . Early in October , " Tuscarora " left Boston for duty with the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron . She arrived off Wilmington , North Carolina , on the 7th and was ordered to Beaufort , North Carolina , where she served as a storeship . The vessel subsequently returned to Boston and was decommissioned there on 4 June 1864 . North Atlantic Blockading Squadron , 1864 – 1865 . " Tuscarora " was recommissioned at Boston on 3 October 1864 and reassigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron . She put in at Hampton Roads on 8 October and took up blockade station off Wilmington . " Tuscarora " participated in the unsuccessful attempt to take Fort Fisher , on 24 December and 25 December . In mid - January 1865 , she returned to waters off Wilmington , and a landing party from the vessel helped to capture the fort on the 15th . She suffered three men killed and 12 wounded during the assault . South Atlantic Blockading Squadron , 1865 . The next day , " Tuscarora " was reassigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron . Towing monitor , she sailed for Port Royal , South Carolina , on 17 January , and arrived on the 20th to deploy off Georgetown , South Carolina . She was transferred to the blockade off Ossabaw Sound , Georgia , on 5 March 1865 , and escorted President Jefferson Davis , his family , and other captured Confederate officials aboard the steamer " William P . Clyde " from Port Royal to Hampton Roads on 16 May to 19 May . After disembarking her famous passengers at Fort Monroe , " Tuscarora " continued north to the Boston Navy Yard where she was decommissioned on 30 May . Post - Civil War , 1865 – 1880 . " Tuscarora " was recommissioned later in the year and sailed on 2 November 1865 for the Pacific Ocean via Cape Horn . She served with the South Pacific Squadron from 1866 until May 1869 . She stood off Valparaíso , Chile , during the Spanish bombardment on 31 March 1866 and was also present at Callao , Peru , when the Spanish shelled it on 2 May . In 1867 , " Tuscarora " stopped at Tahiti and other islands of the Society group . She also touched at Fiji , where she received payment of awards made to United States citizens in 1855 and 1858 for injuries and losses sustained as a result of acts of the natives . " Tuscarora " returned to South America in 1868 and was placed at the disposal of the Chilean government to assist victims of the great earthquake which had occurred on 18 November 1867 . In February 1869 , she investigated the imprisonment of the United States consul at Buenaventura , Colombia , and moved to Valparaíso at the end of the month . She departed Valparaíso on 12 May bound for the North Atlantic and arrived at Key West , Florida , on 28 July . " Tuscarora " ended the year stationed at Aspinwall , Colombia , now Colón , Panama . " Tuscarora " remained at Aspinwall until April 1870 ; then returned to Key West . She cruised off the coast of Cuba in June and escorted the ironclad s , , and from New Orleans to Key West . After again cruising the Caribbean , she arrived at Portsmouth , New Hampshire , on 31 January 1871 and was decommissioned there on 10 February . She was recommissioned on 16 May 1872 and assigned to the South Pacific Station . " Tuscarora " left Portsmouth on 22 June and arrived at Valparaiso on 9 September . She remained in South American waters through June 1873 , sailing for San Francisco via Acapulco on 17 May . After her arrival on 25 June , " Tuscarora " departed San Francisco and surveyed the sea floor off the northwest coast to determine a suitable route for a submarine cable . The vessel returned to San Francisco on 6 November . In January 1874 , " Tuscarora " took soundings for a submarine cable route between the United States , Japan , and China . The ship arrived at Honolulu , Oahu , in February . A force of 150 officers , bluejackets , and marines from her and from , under the command of Lt . - Cdr . Theodore F . Jewell , quelled a large riot that followed the election of King David Kalākaua at the request of U . S . Minister Henry A . Peirce . Order was restored by the 20th . After performing additional survey work , " Tuscarora " returned to San Francisco for refitting in October . " Tuscarora " was transferred to the North Pacific Station on 11 October 1874 and left for Honolulu on 1 November with orders to take soundings of the ocean bottom every . She remained at Honolulu through January 1875 . The vessel touched at Samoa in March and returned to Honolulu in June and to San Francisco in July . She left in September and performed survey work in the South Pacific , visiting the Fiji Islands , Australia , and Samoa . She returned to San Francisco and was decommissioned at the Mare Island Navy Yard on 14 September 1876 . " Tuscarora " was laid up for repairs during 1877 . " Tuscarora " was recommissioned at Mare Island on 10 January 1878 , and was assigned special oceanic survey work off the western coasts of both Central and South America . She returned to Mare Island for repairs on 30 June 1879 but headed south again on 25 September to resume her duties . " Tuscarora " again returned to Mare Island on 21 April 1880 and was decommissioned there on 31 May 1880 for repairs . The repairs and modifications were never completed , and the vessel was struck from the Navy List in 1883 . " Tuscarora " was sold at Mare Island to W . E . Mighell on 20 November 1883 .