USS Trenton ( 1876 ) The first USS " Trenton " was a wooden - hulled screw steamer in the United States Navy . She was named for Trenton , New Jersey . " Trenton " was laid down by the New York Navy Yard in 1875 ; launched on 1 January 1876 ; sponsored by Ms . Katherine M . Parker ; and commissioned on 14 February 1877 , Captain John Lee Davis in command . The " Trenton " was the first US naval vessel to use electric lights , which were installed in 1883 . Mediterranean , 1877 - 1881 . " Trenton " departed New York on 8 March 1877 and reached Villefranche , France on 18 April . The following day , Rear Admiral John L . Worden broke his flag in her , and she became flagship of the European Station . A week after , she reached the Mediterranean , Russia declared war on Turkey . Consequently , " Trenton " and the other ships of the squadron alternated tours of duty in the eastern Mediterranean protecting U . S . citizens and other foreign nationals resident in or visiting Turkish possessions . On 9 May , she departed Villefranche for Smyrna , Turkey , and — but for a run to Salonika from 9 – 13 June with — remained there until 25 August , when the flagship left the eastern Mediterranean behind to return to Villefranche . Next , " Trenton " visited Marseilles for two weeks in mid - September ; then steamed back to Villefranche on the 18th and remained there until Christmas Day , when she put to sea to return to the eastern Mediterranean . Reentering Smyrna on the second day of 1878 , she showed the flag there until 16 March , when she sailed for Piraeus , the port - city for Athens , Greece . On 2 April , she got underway again for Villefranche , touching at La Spezia and Leghorn in Italy " en route " . On 17 July 1878 , she headed for Gibraltar , and on the 24th exited the Mediterranean . She cruised north , visited Lisbon , Portugal ; Cherbourg , France ; and Yarmouth , England ; and then returned to the Mediterranean , reaching Villefranche in mid - October . " Trenton " resumed her cruises between Mediterranean ports , adding Genoa , Naples , and Tangiers to her itinerary in the spring of 1879 . In June , she again headed out through the Strait of Gibraltar to visit Portsmouth , England ; Terneuzen , Netherlands ; Antwerp , Belgium ; and Copenhagen , Denmark . She was back at Villefranche late in September . In mid - November , she sailed to Gibraltar and waited there until 7 December for to arrive with " Trenton " s replacement crew . The warship remained in the western Mediterranean until early April 1880 . On 3 April 1880 , she headed east once more . After stops at Naples and at Alexandria , Egypt , the warship began cruising the Aegean again . She visited Smyrna , Tenedos , and Chamak Kelessi in Turkey as well as Piraeus before returning to Villefranche on 25 May . After a visit to Marseilles on 7 June , the flagship left the Mediterranean for the third time during this deployment and made another cruise to English , Belgian , and Dutch ports . Four of " Trenton " ' s crew rescued fellow sailors from drowning during this period , for which they were awarded the Medal of Honor : Seamen Philip Moore and John Russell at Genoa , Italy , on 21 September 1880 , and Ordinary Seaman John Davis and Seaman Alexander Haure Turvelin at Toulon , France , in February 1881 . " Trenton " returned to the western Mediterranean in August and operated there until 7 September 1881 , when she sailed for the U . S . She arrived in Hampton Roads on 12 October , and three days later moved up the York River for the Yorktown centennial celebration . On 22 October , the warship departed Yorktown and the following day arrived in the New York Navy Yard . There , she was decommissioned on 9 November 1881 . Far East , 1883 - 1886 . Reactivated on 18 September 1883 , " Trenton " departed New York in November for duty on the Asiatic Station . Steaming via the Mediterranean , the Suez Canal , Ceylon , and Singapore , she arrived at Hong Kong on 1 May 1884 to begin two years of cruising in the Far East . She visited ports in China , Korea , and Japan , carrying out various diplomatic missions . On occasion , " Trenton " sent landing parties ashore in China and Korea to protect American nationals and other foreigners during periods of internal unrest . The warship completed this tour of duty in the spring of 1886 ; departed Yokohama , Japan on 9 May ; retraced her voyage back across the Indian Ocean , through the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea , and across the Atlantic to reach Hampton Roads on 2 September . She entered the Norfolk Navy Yard on 9 September and was decommissioned for repairs on 17 September 1886 . Pacific , 1887 - 1889 . On 16 May 1887 , she was placed in commission once again . On 25 July , she exited Hampton Roads and headed south for Brazil . " En route " , " Trenton " stopped at St . Vincent in the Windward Islands and entered Rio de Janeiro on 10 September for a fortnight visit . After touching at St . Thomas on the return voyage , she dropped anchor in New York harbor on 3 November . Almost three months later , on 30 January 1888 , " Trenton " sailed for the Pacific . The voyage took her more than a year to complete , for she had to steam around Cape Horn at the southern end of South America . After stops at Panama and Tahiti , the warship reached Apia , Samoa , on 10 March 1889 and joined other units of the Pacific Squadron . Six days later , on 16 March 1889 , while still at anchor in Apia harbor , " Trenton " was wrecked by the 1889 Apia cyclone . Before abandoning ship , however , her crew under commander Norman von Heldreich Farquhar assisted in the rescue of ' s ship ' s company . Out of 450 men on the crew of " Trenton " , only one life was lost . " Trenton " was declared a total loss , and her name was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 13 April 1891 . Pioneer in Electricity for US Naval Vessels 1883 . The " Trenton " was the first US navy ship to have electric lights . A dynamo , engine , and lights were installed in the summer of 1883 . The successful use of electricity on this ship led to the installation of electricity on the first ships of the New Steel Navy .