USS Lackawanna ( 1862 ) The first USS " Lackawanna " was a screw sloop - of - war in the Union Navy during the American Civil War . " Lackawanna " was launched by the New York Navy Yard on 9 August 1862 ; sponsored by Ms . Imogen Page Cooper ; and commissioned on 8 January 1863 , Captain John B . Marchand in command . She was named after the Lackawanna River in Pennsylvania . Civil War . The new screw sloop - of - war departed New York on 20 January , to join the Union blockade of the southern coast . She reported to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron at Pensacola , Florida early in February and , for the remainder of the war , served along the gulf coast of the Confederacy , principally off Mobile Bay . " Lackawanna " took her first prize — " Neptune " — on 14 June after a long chase in which the Glasgow ship had jettisoned her cargo trying to escape . The Union sloop - of - war scored again the next day , capturing steamer " Planter " as the Mobile blockade runner attempted a dash to Havana , Cuba laden with cotton and resin . Following duty along the Texas coast near Galveston in March – April 1864 , " Lackawanna " returned to the blockade of Mobile early in May to prevent the escape of Confederate ram " Tennessee " . During the summer she served in the blockade while preparing for Admiral David Farragut ' s conquest of Mobile Bay . On 9 July , with , , and , she braved the guns of Fort Morgan to shell steamer " Virgin " , a large blockade runner aground at the entrance of Mobile Bay . The Union guns forced a southern river steamer to abandon efforts to assist " Virgin " , but the next day the Confederates refloated the blockade runner who reached safety in Mobile Bay . Closing this strategic southern port was an important part of the Union strategy to isolate and subdue the South . At dawn on the morning of 5 August , Farragut ' s ships crossed the bar and entered the bay . A Confederate squadron , led by ironclad ram " Tennessee " and a field of deadly mines awaited to block their advance . Farragut ' s lead monitor struck a mine and went down in seconds . The Confederate flagship " Tennessee " vainly tried to ram and the action became general , raging for more than an hour . At one point in the struggle , " Lackawanna " rammed " Tennessee " at full speed , causing the Confederate ram to list , and later she collided with while attempting to ram " Tennessee " again , shortly before the ironclad struck . This daring operation closed the last major gulf port to the South . Twelve of " Lackawanna ' s " sailors received the Medal of Honor for their actions during this battle : Following the Union victory in Mobile Bay , " Lackawanna " continued to operate in the gulf , enforcing the blockade until after the end of the Civil War . She departed Key West on 24 June 1865 , reached New York on the 28th , and decommissioned at New York Navy Yard on 20 July . Post - war . Pacific , 1866 – 1885 . Recommissioned on 7 May 1866 , Commander William Reynolds in command , " Lackawanna " sailed for the South Atlantic on 4 August , transited the Straits of Magellan on 9 November , and arrived Honolulu , Hawaii on 9 February 1867 . She operated in the Pacific , primarily in the Hawaiian Islands and along the coast of California and Mexico until she arrived at Mare Island for decommissioning on 10 February 1871 . Recommissioning on 8 May 1872 , the steam sloop sailed for the Orient on 22 June and served in the Far East until returning to San Francisco on 23 April 1875 . In October 1880 , in the midst of the War of the Pacific , " Lackawanna " sailed for the South Pacific to host a conference of diplomacy proposed by the U . S . to end the war , such conference took place at the port of Arica , Peru . Officials from the countries involved in the war – Peru , Chile , and Bolivia – did not reach an immediate agreement and U . S . efforts failed . For two brief periods , " Lackawanna " continued to operate in ordinary in the Pacific during the next 12 years . On 16 March 1883 at Honolulu , Captain of the Hold Louis Williams jumped overboard and rescued a fellow sailor from drowning , for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor . A year later , at Callao , Peru , on 13 June 1884 , Williams again rescued a man from drowning , along with Ordinary Seaman Isaac L . Fasseur . Both Williams and Fasseur were awarded a Medal of Honor for this act , making Williams one of the few two - time recipients of the award . " Lackawanna " finally decommissioned at Mare Island on 7 April 1885 and was sold there to W . T . Garratt & Company on 30 July 1887 .