USS Wachusett ( 1861 ) USS " Wachusett " ( 1861 ) – the first U . S . Navy ship to be so named – was a large ( 1 , 032 - ton ) steam sloop - of - war that served the United States Navy during the American Civil War . She was outfitted as a gunboat and used by the Navy as part of the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America . When the war was over , " Wachusett " continued to serve the Navy , protecting American interests in both the Atlantic Ocean as well as the Pacific Ocean until she was finally decommissioned . Built in Boston in 1861 . " Wachusett " — one of seven screw sloops - of - war authorized by the U . S . Congress in February 1861 — was laid down by the Boston Navy Yard , Boston , Massachusetts , in June 1861 ; launched on 10 October ; sponsored by Miss Mary C . Frothingham ; and commissioned at the Boston Navy Yard on 3 March 1862 , Comdr . John S . Missroon in command . Civil War service . North Virginia operations . " Wachusett " s long career began on 10 March 1862 with her assignment to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron . The warship left Boston two days later and arrived in Hampton Roads , Virginia , on the 16th . She was deployed in the York and James rivers , Virginia , and performed service in support of Major General George B . McClellan ' s Peninsular Campaign of spring , 1862 . On 4 May , a boat crew from " Wachusett " raised the Stars and Stripes at Gloucester Point , Virginia , following the Union occupation of Yorktown , Virginia ; and , on the 6th and 7th , the vessel helped to land troops at West Point , Virginia , in the face of Confederate shore fire . Soon thereafter , the screw sloop moved to the James and , on the 15th , participated in the attack on Fort Darling , Drewry ' s Bluff , Virginia . She remained in the York and James rivers through August and later served with the Potomac Flotilla as Commodore Charles Wilkes ' flagship from 29 August to 7 September . Searching for CSS " Alabama " and " Florida " . On 8 September , " Wachusett " was designated flagship of a special " Flying Squadron " under Commodore Wilkes . This squadron of seven vessels was deployed in the West Indies with orders to search for the destructive and elusive Confederate commerce raiders CSS " Alabama " and " Florida " . On 18 January 1863 , " Wachusett " and Sonoma captured the Southern merchant steamer " Virginia " off Isla Mujeres and took the British blockade runner " Dolphin " between Puerto Rico and St . Thomas Island on 25 March . However , all efforts to track down " Alabama " and " Florida " failed ; and " Wachusett " returned to Boston , Massachusetts , in May for badly needed repairs . She was later decommissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 19 June 1863 . Repairs completed , " Wachusett " was recommissioned on 28 January 1864 . On 4 February , she sailed for the coast of Brazil to protect American commerce from the Confederacy ' s " piratical cruisers , " particularly " Alabama " and " Florida " . Many months passed tracking down fruitless leads as to the whereabouts of the two vessels . CSS " Florida " captured in Brazil . Finally , on 4 October , Comdr . Napoleon Collins of " Wachusett " sighted " Florida " , Lt . Charles Manigault Morris , CSN , entering Bahia harbor , Brazil . Comdr . Collins dared Lt . Morris to come out and fight , but the Confederate captain prudently declined . However , Collins was determined not to allow " Florida " to slip away . In the early morning darkness of the 7th , " Wachusett " got underway , steamed past the Brazilian gunboat anchored between his ship and " Florida " , and rammed the raider on her starboard quarter . After a brief exchange of cannon fire , Lt . Porter , commanding " Florida " in Morris ' s absence , surrendered the ship . Aroused by the commotion , the Brazilian coastal fort at Bahia opened fire on " Wachusett " as she towed her prize to sea . The two vessels escaped unscathed , steamed north , and reached Hampton Roads , Virginia , on 11 November . Commander Collins was promptly court - martial ed for the incident , but soon after was restored to his command by U . S . Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles . Post - Civil War service . Seeking CSS " Shenandoah " in Chinese waters . After undergoing repairs at the Boston Navy Yard , " Wachusett " , under its new captain , Commander Robert Townsend , got underway on 5 March 1865 and sailed , via the Cape of Good Hope , for the East Indies . There , she joined " Wyoming " and " Iroquois " in an effort to track down the Confederate commerce raider CSS " Shenandoah " . While in China the ship was engaged in efforts to track down outlaws and pirates who were harming American interests . In mid - August the ship sailed up the Yangtze River in this mission . The heat was reportedly 107 degrees Fahrenheit ( 42 °C ) in the shade and the ship made difficult passage up the river . A number of cases of heat stroke , some of them fatal occurred . At 1 : 45 am on 15 August 1866 , Robert Townsend died of heat stroke . The executive officer John Woodward ( Jack ) Philip , ( later Admiral ) assumed command of the " Wachusett " and sailed it downriver with the goal of making it to Japan for the health of the crew . That evening the ship anchored by the consulate in Shanghai and held a funeral for their commander . She remained in Chinese waters into 1867 . Upon her return to the United States , she was decommissioned on 4 February 1868 and was placed in ordinary at the New York Navy Yard . Atlantic Ocean operations . Recommissioned on 1 June 1871 , " Wachusett " left New York City a week later , bound for the Mediterranean where she cruised until November 1873 . On 7 August 1872 , Landsman Alexander Bradley jumped overboard to rescue another sailor from drowning , for which he was later awarded the Medal of Honor . Returning home , " Wachusett " served along the Atlantic and gulf coasts for a year before she was decommissioned at Boston on 29 December 1874 . She remained laid up at Boston for five years and was recommissioned on 26 May 1879 . She sailed for the Gulf of Mexico on 5 June and visited New Orleans , Louisiana , and Vicksburg , Mississippi , to enlist seamen before returning to Boston in August . On 2 October 1879 , " Wachusett " left Boston for the South Atlantic Station where she cruised until May 1880 . Pacific Ocean operations . " Wachusett " with Alfred Thayer Mahan in command , was stationed at Callao , Peru , protecting American interests during the final stages of the War of the Pacific . The vessel remained on the Pacific Station , cruising extensively until September 1885 when she was decommissioned at the Mare Island Navy Yard , Vallejo , California . " Wachusett " was sold there to W . T . Garratt & Co . on 30 July 1887 .