USS Alaska ( 1868 ) The first USS " Alaska " was a wooden - hulled screw sloop of war , built at the Boston Navy Yard . The ship was launched on 31 October 1868 and sponsored by Miss Grace Hull , the daughter of Mayor Liverus Hull of Charlestown , Boston . " Alaska " was commissioned on 8 December 1869 , with Commander Homer C . Blake in command . Service history . Asiatic Squadron , 1870 – 1872 . On 9 April 1870 , " Alaska " got underway from New York in company with Rear Admiral John Rodger ' s flagship , the screw frigate " Colorado " . However , the two warships soon parted company ; and " Alaska " steamed independently to the Far East where she visited many of the more important ports to show the flag until May 1871 . At that time , " Alaska " joined four other ships of the Asiatic Squadron in a visit to Korea in order to secure a treaty to open the " Hermit Kingdom " to the west . The five ships departed Nagasaki , Japan , on 16 May 1871 and arrived at Roze Roads near the mouth of the Salee River on the 24th . Due to her deep draft , " Alaska " herself was unable to ascend the river . Nevertheless , her commanding officer was placed in charge of the surveying expedition — consisting of , , and some steam launches from the larger ships — which ascended the river . When the American vessels drew fire from a trio of Korean forts , Rear Admiral John Rodgers decided upon a punitive action to capture and destroy the forts in reprisal . In the Battle of Ganghwa " Alaska " s captain took command of the enterprise which was made up of 769 sailors and marines , seven 12 - pounder howitzer s , four stern launches , and numerous boats . " Palos " and " Monocacy " provided the distant , heavy support . The force , after initial difficulty getting ashore across tidal mudflats , quickly occupied the first of the three forts — abandoned by its garrison — and consolidated its beachhead in preparation for the assault on the remaining forts the following day . On that morning — thanks to " Monocacy " s , heavy ordnance — the second fort fell just as easily as the first had done . " Palos " had been damaged by an uncharted rock the previous evening and had to be withdrawn from the action . The main fort , however , had to be taken by storm and hand - to - hand combat . Discipline and modern weapons triumphed over greatly superior numbers and , by the end of the day on the 11th , all three Korean forts belonged to the Americans . During the final assault Marine Private Hugh Purvis of " Alaska " was the first to scale the walls of the fort , and with Corporal Charles Brown of , captured the " Sujagi " ( personal flag ) of the Korean commanding General Eo Jae - yeon . Both men subsequently received the Medal of Honor . No less than fifteen Medals of Honor were awarded during the three - day conflict . The next day , officers and men of the landing force re - embarked in their ships to await the Korean government ' s response to the punitive expedition . By 3 July , it became apparent that the Korean government would make no official response to the action and that the desired treaty was not in the offing . Accordingly , Alaska and her consorts got underway to resume their duties on the Asiatic station . That duty continued until 28 October 1872 when the steamer departed Hong Kong , bound for New York . European Squadron , 1873 – 1876 . " Alaska " spent the first seven months of 1873 undergoing repairs at New York , before putting to sea on 28 August for duty with the European Squadron , under the command of Alexander A . Semmes . She arrived at Cadiz , Spain , on 25 September , but remained on station only a little over two months . Long restive under Spanish rule , separatist factions in Cuba had begun fighting for freedom . In 1870 , the rebels had acquired the American sidewheel steamship " Virginius " to carry irregular troops and supplies . Late in October 1873 , the Spanish man - of - war " Tornado " captured the insurgent transport on the high seas and took her to Santiago , where passengers and crew were arrested . Speedily tried by court - martial , most of the prisoners were condemned to death ; and , between 4 and 13 November 53 were executed — of whom eight were American citizens , including the transport ' s master , Capt . Joseph Fry . The United States consul at Santiago cabled reports of this tragic development , requesting the protection of United States warships to protect American lives . Anger at this wanton slaughter flared throughout the United States , and Secretary of the Navy George M . Robeson ordered the European and South Atlantic Squadron s to join the Home Squadron at Key West , Florida , to prepare for the outbreak of war which appeared to be imminent . On 30 November , " Alaska " and the rest of the European Squadron sailed for Key West where she and her sisters three squadrons were combined in a single fleet for several months of operations supporting diplomatic efforts to obtain redress . After negotiations freed the remaining prisoners and indemnities for the families were arranged , " Alaska " headed back to the European Station on 9 April 1874 and , for most of what remained of the year , visited ports along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea . Either late in 1874 or early in 1875 , she put into La Spezia , Italy , for repairs . On 10 May 1875 , the warship departed La Spezia and resumed her schedule of Mediterranean port visits . Near the end of May , however , she exited the Mediterranean Sea for a circuit of calls at northern European and Baltic Sea ports . " Alaska " completed that cruise and reentered the Mediterranean Sea on 19 September . In December 1875 , " Alaska " was ordered by Ulysses S . Grant to Cape Palmas in Maryland County , Liberia , for a show of force to stop the Grebo - Liberian War . The " Alaska " arrived at Cape Palmas on 3 February 1876 . Liberia was in practice an American colony , and U . S . envoy James Milton Turner , the first African - American ambassador , requested a warship to protect American property in Liberia . Turner , bolstered by U . S . naval presence in harbor and the support of the USS " Alaska " s captain , negotiated the incorporation of Grebo people into Liberian society and the ousting of foreign traders from Liberia . The warship continued operations in the Mediterranean for about a year and then returned to the United States early in October 1876 . She was decommissioned at New York on 5 October 1876 for extended repairs . Pacific Squadron , 1878 – 1883 . " Alaska " was placed back in commission on 23 April 1878 and put to sea from New York on 14 June , bound for the $ 3 , under the command of George Brown . After rounding Cape Horn late in the summer of 1878 , she called at Callao , Peru , on the 23rd . Following visits to several other Latin American ports , " Alaska " arrived in San Francisco on 11 March 1879 . On the 22nd , she got underway for Sitka , Alaska where Indian unrest endangered the lives and property of American citizens . She arrived at Sitka on 3 April , and — except for a voyage to Victoria , British Columbia , late in April — she served there until 16 June . The warship returned to San Francisco on 24 June and remained there until 12 August when she began a series of visits to ports along the west coasts of Central and South America . That employment carried her into 1880 . On 22 July 1880 , " Alaska " departed Chimbote , Peru , and headed for the South Pacific . On the outward - bound voyage , she visited the Marquesas before arriving at Pago Pago on 27 August and served there until 7 October when she weighed anchor to return to the west coast of the United States . En route home , she stopped at Honolulu , Hawaii , before arriving back in San Francisco on 2 December . She then entered the Mare Island Navy Yard for repairs which kept her from returning to sea until 14 March 1881 . Under the command of George Belknap , she then began another extended cruise highlighted by calls at a number of Central and South American ports along the Pacific coast . On 14 September 1881 " Alaska " was anchored off Callao , Peru , when a stop - valve chamber in the ships boiler ruptured . Flames began erupting from beneath the boilers , and the crew worked frantically to extinguish the fires . Subsequently two men ; 2nd Class Fireman Edward Barrett and 1st Class Fireman John Lafferty were awarded the Medal of Honor ( Lafferty for the second time ) . The ship carried out hydrographic surveys , sounding the " Alaska Deep " ( now the Peru - Chile Trench ) and the " Alaska Rise " ( now the Chile Rise ) . That mission lasted through the remainder of 1881 and the first half of 1882 . On 29 July 1882 , the warship departed Callao , Peru , bound for the Hawaiian Islands , and arrived at Honolulu on 6 September . She returned to San Francisco late in the year and entered the drydock there in December . Apparently surveyed and found wanting , she was decommissioned at San Francisco on 13 February 1883 and was sold at Mare Island on 20 November 1883 .