USS Allegheny ( 1847 ) USS " Allegheny " ( 1847 ) — the first United States Navy ship to be so named — was a large ( ) iron - hulled steamer that served as an American gunboat in the South Atlantic Ocean as well as in the European area . When the American Civil War occurred , " Allegheny " served the Union cause honorably , doing her part by supporting the Union Navy — because of her large size and operational condition — as a receiving ship . " Allegheny " was somewhat different from other gunboats of the time as she was propelled by two eight - bladed horizontal wheels invented by Lieutenant William W . Hunter . Eventually this design proved impractical , and " Allegheny " was rebuilt as a conventional screw steamer . Launched in Pennsylvania in 1847 . " Allegheny " was laid down at Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania sometime in 1844 prior to 11 November by Joseph Tomlinson and Company ; built under the supervision of Lt . Hunter , launched on 22 February 1847 ; and commissioned the same day , Lt . Hunter in command . The naval steamer soon departed Pittsburgh and arrived at Memphis , Tennessee on 1 March . She remained there until her 3 June fitting out , and reached New Orleans , Louisiana on the 12th for more work before sailing for the east coast on 26 August . After her arrival at Norfolk , Virginia on 16 October , her wheels were modified by the removal of every other paddle , leaving each with four . South Atlantic operations . On 26 February 1848 , " Allegheny " departed Hampton Roads and headed south for service on the Brazil station . She served along the Atlantic Coast of South America until early autumn when the sloop of war arrived with orders sending the steamer to the Mediterranean Sea . European operations . Earlier that year , the fall of Louis Philippe from the throne of France had triggered a series of revolutions which shook Europe for the remainder of the decade , and " Allegheny " was charged with showing the American flag and affording protection to American citizens during this time of unrest . However , repeated problems with her engines caused her to head home in June 1849 ; and she reached the Washington Navy Yard on 1 August . Design problems delay operations . Following a fortnight ' s repairs , the ship sailed for the Mississippi passes to join the Home Squadron . However , continued failures with her propulsion system cut short her duty in the Gulf of Mexico ; and she returned to Washington where she was placed in ordinary . In 1851 , " Allegheny " was towed to Portsmouth , Virginia , where the firm of Mehaffy and Company removed her Hunter Wheel s and rebuilt her as a screw steamer . She was slated to join Commodore Matthew C . Perry ' s expedition which sailed for the Far East in November 1852 , but failed to pass sea trials and — instead of helping to open Japan to the outside world — was placed back in ordinary at Washington , D . C . Four years later , the ship was fitted out for service as a receiving ship ; and she was taken to Baltimore , Maryland where she took up this new role . She was still there and , surprisingly , again under the command of her designer , William W . Hunter — now a commander — when the Civil War broke out in mid - April 1861 . Civil War service . President Abraham Lincoln answered the Southern attack on Fort Sumter , South Carolina , by calling out " . . . the militia of the several states . . . to suppress . . . " the rebellion . This move alienated many undecided citizens of the border states , prompting Virginia to secede from the Union and pushing Maryland dangerously close to withdrawing . These developments left both Washington , D . C . , the Federal capital , and Norfolk , Virginia , the home of the Nation ' s most important naval base , isolated and all but defenseless . Union ships trapped at Norfolk . Moreover , several important American warships were then in the Norfolk Navy Yard in varying stages of disrepair . Wishing to withdraw these men - of - war to safer waters , the Navy Department scoured Northern coastal cities for seamen to reactivate and to man them so that they might be moved out of immediate danger of falling into Confederate hands . Thus , on 18 April , Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles wired Hunter to Hunter obtained the men ; but , when he attempted to send them to Norfolk the following day , the Baltimore Steam Packet Company refused to embark them . This same day , 19 April , a violently pro - Southern mob in Baltimore , Maryland , attacked the 6th Massachusetts Regiment as it was moving between railroad stations on its journey to Washington to defend the Federal capital , thereafter known as the Baltimore riot of 1861 . Scuttling Union ships at Norfolk . On the next day , 20 April , since they were unable to man and move most of the Federal warships in the Norfolk Navy Yard , Federal naval authorities there abandoned , scuttled , or burned all but three of these desperately needed vessels as they put the torch to the yard and fled . The former ship of the line — with no crew to get her underway — was among the vessels which went up in flames and was burned to her waterline . Saving Allegheny from destruction . The situation in Baltimore was so unstable that , on the 22nd , Welles ordered Hunter to hire a tugboat to assist " Allegheny " across the harbor to Fort McHenry where she would be moored under the protection of Federal guns . Once this had been accomplished , Hunter was to send the tug to Annapolis , Maryland under " . . . a trusty officer . . . " to carry the men originally recruited for " Pennsylvania " and deliver them to the commanding officer of . That venerable and revered former frigate was then serving on the Severn River as a midshipmen schoolship . According to the Naval Academy historian , " Old Ironsides " , as the veteran man - of - war was affectionately called , To make matters worse , almost no seamen were on board to man and refloat the frigate or to defend the ship from pro - Southern attackers , if it proved impossible to work her free . However , on the following day , when Hunter attempted to hire a tug to carry out this order , he learned that the city ' s mayor and board of police had issued an order forbidding the use of any steamers in Baltimore harbor " . . . without the permit of the board of police . " Hunter then immediately applied for such a permit , but his request was denied on the grounds that Sometime between 23 and 26 April , Hunter — who had been born in Louisiana — resigned his commission as a commander in the United States Navy and joined the Confederacy . On the latter day , Welles ordered Cdr . Daniel B . Ridgely — who had recently succeeded Hunter in command of " Allegheny " Allegheny escapes , reaches Annapolis . On 1 May , Ridgely attempted to have " Allegheny " towed to Annapolis in compliance with his orders , but rough water and a useless rudder frustrated his plans . Instead , " Allegheny " moored at Fort McHenry . Ridgely transferred his recruits — by then 70 in number — to the lighthouse schooner for passage to Annapolis . " Allegheny " herself finally reached Annapolis on 3 May to be in position to help to protect that city which had become the principal port of debarkation for troops sent from the North to defend Washington . There she took over the defensive role formerly assigned " Constitution " which had recently sailed for Newport , Rhode Island , with the Naval Academy midshipmen . Service as a receiving ship . During the ensuing month , she remained at Annapolis protecting the port and acting as the receiving ship at that port . Late in the year , after conditions in Maryland had stabilized , " Allegheny " returned to Baltimore where she resumed her duty as receiving ship . After continuing this service through the end of the Civil War , she was moved to Norfolk , Virginia in 1868 . Post - war deactivation and sale . She was sold at auction there on 15 May 1869 to a Sam Ward . No record of her subsequent career has been found