USS Richmond ( 1860 ) The USS " Richmond " was a wooden steam sloop in the United States Navy during the American Civil War . Service in the Caribbean . " Richmond " was launched on 26 January 1860 by the Norfolk Naval Shipyard , Portsmouth , Virginia ; sponsored by a Miss Robb . " Richmond " , commanded by Captain D . N . Ingraham , departed Virginia 13 October 1860 for the Mediterranean . Upon her return to New York City 3 July 1861 , the nation had already been plunged into civil war so she was immediately readied for sea . Her first war service began 31 July 1861 when she sailed for Kingston , Jamaica to search for the elusive Confederate raider " Sumter " commanded by Raphael Semmes . Leaving Trinidad on 5 September , " Richmond " cruised along the southern coast of Cuba and around Cape San Antonio . Semmes , however , reached New Orleans , Louisiana ; and , by 22 August , " Richmond " was at Kingston taking on coal again . Departing 25 August , " Richmond " arrived at Key West on 2 September en route north to join the Gulf Blockading Squadron . Mississippi River blockade . After cruising before Fort Pickens , " Richmond " was ordered to the Head of the Passes at the mouth of the Mississippi River where she patrolled the river ' s mouth to maintain the blockade . " Richmond ' s " captain became commander of a small flotilla , which included the sloop of war , , and the despatch vessel , . The ships were taken across the bar at the Head of the Passes during the first week of October . In the early morning darkness of the 12th , the Confederate ram " Manassas " and three armed steamers of Commodore Hollins ' s Mosquito Fleet attacked the " Richmond " and her consorts in an attempt to break the blockade in what became the Battle of the Head of Passes . Steaming under cover of darkness , the Confederate ships took the Union squadron by surprise . " Richmond " was taking on coal from the schooner , " Joseph N . Toone " , when " Manassas " rammed " Richmond " tearing a hole in the sloop ' s side . Passing aft , the ram tried but failed to hit " Richmond " again before disappearing astern . " Richmond ' s " gunners got away one complete broadside from the port battery though , somewhat evening the score . While and " Preble " retired down the southwest Pass , " Richmond " covered their retreat . Three Confederate fire rafts were then sighted floating down river , and several large steamers were seen astern of them . In attempting to cross the bar , both " Vincennes " and " Richmond " grounded and were taken under fire by Confederate gunners afloat and ashore . Fortunately , the Army transport , " McClellan " , arrived with long range rifled guns on loan from Fort Pickens ; and halted the second Confederate attack . " Richmond " then cruised off the mouth of the river , blockading Confederate forces and aiding Army engineers erecting batteries on the banks of the South and Southwest passages . In mid - November 1861 , she returned to Pensacola Bay for temporary repairs . On 22 November " Richmond " joined the steam sloop of war " Niagara " and the guns of Fort Pickens to bombard Pensacola Navy Yard , the Confederate defenses at Fort McRee , and the town of Warrington . On the second day of firing " Richmond " had one man killed and seven wounded when hit twice by shore fire . One shell hit forward , destroying railing and hammock nettings , and one aft on the starboard side glanced under her counter , exploding 4 feet underwater , damaging her bottom and causing serious leaks . " Richmond " retired to Key West , Florida , and stood out from that port 27 November 1861 for repairs at the New York Navy Yard . Capture of New Orleans . " Richmond " departed New York on 13 February 1862 . " Richmond " joined the West Gulf Blockading Squadron off Ship Island on 5 March as Flag Officer David Farragut prepared to seize New Orleans , Louisiana . " Richmond " crossed the bar on 24 March with the fleet and began making preparations for battle . On 16 April , Farragut ' s fleet moved to a position below Forts Jackson and St . Philip . Mounting over 100 guns , these forts were the principal shore defenses of New Orleans . The Confederates had also gathered a flotilla of requisitioned gunboats and were trying to complete the powerful casemate ram " Louisiana " as well . They further counted on using fire ships to disrupt the large Union squadron . Hidden by intervening woods , the Union mortar flotilla under Commander David D . Porter began a 6 - day bombardment of the Confederate forts on 18 April 1862 . The Confederates began sending fire rafts downstream , and " Richmond " reported dodging one in the early morning of 21 April which " passed between us and the " Hartford " , the great flames shooting as high as the masts . " On 24 April Farragut ' s fleet ran past the forts , engaged and defeated the Confederate flotilla , and continued upriver for about 12 miles . Though " Richmond " was hit 17 times above the waterline , her chain armor kept out many rounds and limited her casualties to two killed and three wounded . " Richmond " landed her Marine detachment at New Orleans to help keep order until General Benjamin Franklin Butler ' s Army troops arrived . " Richmond " helped take possession of military installations at Baton Rouge , Louisiana on 10 May 1862 . Four days later she cruised upriver , first to a point 12 miles below the juncture of the Red River , thence off Natchez River and finally to a position below the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg on 18 June 1862 . Vicksburg and Port Hudson . Farragut ' s squadron , with " Richmond " in company , successfully passed Vicksburg exchanging heavy fire on 28 June 1862 and was present when Farragut ' s fleet joined with Commodore Charles H . Davis ' Western Flotilla above Vicksburg on 1 July 1862 . " Richmond " again suffered two killed and was damaged almost as severely as during the New Orleans campaign . On 15 July 1862 the Confederate casemate ram " Arkansas " came out of the Yazoo River and ran past the Union Fleet above Vicksburg . Although hotly pursued by " Richmond " and other ships , the ram escaped to shelter under the Confederate batteries at Vicksburg . Farragut ' s fleet again raced past Vicksburg and " Richmond " continued to provide escort for supply steamers and shore bombardment support . In one of the fiercest engagements of the war , Farragut ' s squadron attempted to pass the Confederate fortifications at Port Hudson some 15 miles upriver from Baton Rouge on 14 March 1863 . Only and succeeded in running the gauntlet , the remainder of the fleet having to turn back . " Richmond " , lashed alongside , found she could make no headway against the strong current as she came under fire from the shore batteries . Her executive officer , Comdr . Andrew B . Cummings , was mortally wounded . " Richmond " was struck soon afterward by a 42 pounder shell which ruptured her steam lines , filling the engine room and berth deck with live steam . As " Genesee " was unable to tow " Richmond " against the current , the two ships reversed course , passing again through heavy shore fire . Attempts by General Nathaniel P . Banks ' Union Army troops to take Port Hudson on 27 May were no more successful and Federal forces afloat and ashore settled down for a long siege . " Richmond " continued to perform exacting duties , occasionally providing guns and their crews for use ashore . Meanwhile strenuous efforts to take Vicksburg finally forced that city to surrender to General Grant on 4 July 1863 . Five days later , the " Richmond " and other ships below Port Hudson helped Union ground forces to take possession of that last Confederate bastion on the Mississippi . Mobile Bay . " Richmond " departed New Orleans on 30 July 1863 for a much - needed overhaul at New York Navy Yard . On 12 October 1863 , she sailed south , calling at Port Royal , South Carolina , and Key West , Florida , before rejoining Admiral Farragut ' s squadron at New Orleans on 1 November ; a fortnight later she began blockade duty off Mobile , Alabama . " Richmond " was present with Farragut ' s fleet when the epic naval assault against Mobile Bay was mounted on 5 August 1864 . For this attack , " Richmond " was lashed to the starboard side of , and proceeded with the fleet across the bar . Fort Morgan opened fire and the action was soon general . Fifteen minutes later as the monitor s were preparing to meet the defending Confederate casemate ram " Tennessee " , struck a moored " torpedo " or mine and sank in seconds . Then , just ahead of " Richmond " , backed athwart " Richmond ' s " bow in order to clear " a row of suspicious looking buoys . " " Richmond " and " Port Royal " in turn went hard astern , causing the entire line of wooden ships to fall into disarray . Admiral Farragut in decided the boldest course through the torpedo fields was the only one possible and gave his famous command " Damn the torpedoes . . . full speed ahead ! " Moving into the bay , " Richmond " opened fire on the Confederate steamers " Selma " , " Morgan " , " Gaines " , and " Tennessee " . At the same time the gunboat , cast off from " Hartford " , captured " Selma " . Soon afterward " Port Royal " was sent after the disabled " Gaines " . " Tennessee " attempted in vain to ram " Brooklyn " . Capable of only a very small speed , the southern ram was subjected to heavy fire from " Hartford " and " Richmond " . " Tennessee " passed astern toward Fort Morgan as Farragut ' s fleet proceeded into the bay away from the fort ' s fire . " Tennessee ' s " commander , Franklin Buchanan , chose to follow and engaged the entire Union squadron . Farragut attacked her with his strongest ships . " Richmond " proceeded in line abreast with " Hartford " and " Brooklyn " . For over an hour the Confederate ship was battered and even rammed by " Hartford " . By midmorning , Buchanan could see that his ship was a floating hulk and was surrounded by much stronger forces . Accordingly , a white flag was raised and the twin - turret monitor went alongside . " Richmond " suffered no casualties in the action and only slight damage . Fort Morgan still put up determined resistance , however , and " Richmond " joined the squadron in a steady day and night bombardment . Invested by Union troops ashore , the fort finally capitulated on 23 August . " Richmond " continued to operate in Mobile Bay and also in Pensacola Bay for a time before arriving at the Southeast Pass of the Mississippi River on 23 April 1865 . That same evening , the Confederate ram " Webb " dashed down river from the Red River in an attempt to reach the open sea . Successfully passing Union ships at the mouth of the Red River and at New Orleans , " Webb " ran out of luck some 25 miles below New Orleans . Closely pursued by Union gunboats behind her , Webb found " Richmond " guarding the estuary leading to the Gulf of Mexico . Trapped , Webb was run ashore , set afire , and blown up by her crew . A total of 33 sailors and marines earned the Medal of Honor while serving aboard " Richmond " during the Civil War , more than on any other ship . The first medals went to four members of the ship ' s engineering department for their efforts after an engine room was damaged by shellfire during the 14 March 1863 attack on Port Hudson . The remaining medals went to three marines and twenty - six sailors for their actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay . Post - war service . " Richmond " departed New Orleans on 27 June , arrived at the Boston Navy Yard on 10 July , and was decommissioned there on the 14th . In 1866 she was fitted out with a new set of engines . Recommissioned at Boston on 11 January 1869 , " Richmond " departed on the 22d for European waters . Arriving at Lisbon on 10 February , she called at various Mediterranean ports during the remainder of the year and during 1870 was stationed at Villefranche and Marseilles to protect U . S . citizens potentially endangered by the Franco - Prussian War . After the peace was made at Versailles , " Richmond " cruised the Mediterranean again . She returned to Philadelphia on 1 November 1871 and decommissioned there on the 8th . Selected for service with the West Indies Squadron , " Richmond " was recommissioned on 18 November 1872 and stood out from Hampton Roads on 31 January 1873 . Arriving at Key West 11 February , she surveyed shoals near Jupiter Inlet , then cruised in the West Indies . On 7 April she was at Santiago de Cuba to assist in securing the release of U . S . seamen held by the Spanish . She then called at Havana and Matanzas before returning to Key West at the end of the month . Ordered to the Pacific in May , " Richmond " rounded Cape Horn and arrived at San Francisco on 28 November . After repairs , she departed California , 14 January 1874 , as flagship of the South Pacific Station . Throughout 1874 and 1875 she cruised the west coast of Latin America . In September 1876 she again doubled Cape Horn and , after cruising off Uruguay and Brazil , reached Hampton Roads on 22 August 1877 . On 18 September she was decommissioned for repairs at the Boston Navy Yard . Recommissioned on 19 November 1878 , " Richmond " ' s next duty was as flagship of the Asiatic Fleet . Departing Norfolk 11 January 1879 , " Richmond " passed into the Mediterranean and through the Suez Canal , hoisting the flag of Rear Admiral Thomas H . Patterson at Yokohama on 4 July 1879 . For four years " Richmond " cruised among the principal ports of China , Japan , and the Philippines , serving as flagship until 19 December 1883 when " Trenton " relieved her . While at Shanghai on 17 November 1879 , Landsman Thomas Mitchell rescued a shipmate from drowning , for which he was later awarded the Medal of Honor . Receiving a new crew at Panama in September 1880 , " Richmond " remained on station until departing Hong Kong for the United States on 9 April 1884 . Again transiting the Suez Canal , " Richmond " reached New York on 22 August and was decommissioned for repairs . Completely overhauled , " Richmond " was recommissioned at New York on 20 January 1887 for duty on the North Atlantic Station . Into 1888 she cruised from Halifax to Trinidad . On 27 June 1888 she was detached for foreign service . Departing Norfolk on 2 January 1889 , " Richmond " was assigned to the South Atlantic Station . Again serving as squadron flagship , she cruised off Uruguay and Brazil for over a year , returning to Hampton Roads on 28 June 1890 . On 7 October , she arrived at Newport , Rhode Island , where she served as a training ship until 1893 . The following year she steamed to Philadelphia ; served there as a receiving ship until 1900 ; then remained moored at League Island until ordered to Norfolk in 1903 . At Norfolk , she served as an auxiliary to the receiving ship until after the end of World War I . " Richmond " was struck from the Navy list in June 1919 and sold to Joseph Hyman & Sons , Philadelphia , on 23 July . She was delivered to that firm on 6 August for breaking up .