USS Vandalia ( 1828 ) The first Vandalia was an 18 - gun sloop - of - war in the United States Navy during the Second Seminole War and the American Civil War . She was named for the city of Vandalia , Illinois . Service history . " Vandalia " was laid down at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in 1825 ; launched in 1828 ; and commissioned on 6 November of that year , Commander John Gallagher in command . Brazil Squadron , 1828 – 1831 . " Vandalia " left Philadelphia on 16 December 1828 , bound for duty with the Brazil Squadron off the eastern seaboard of South America . She remained off the coasts of Brazil and Argentina for the next three years , during a period of political unrest on the continent of South America . She returned to Norfolk , Virginia , on 18 December 1831 ; was decommissioned the next day . West Indies Squadron , 1832 – 1839 . " Vandalia " remained inactive until 4 October 1832 when she was recommissioned for service with the West Indies Squadron . " Vandalia " again put into Norfolk in August 1834 and was decommissioned there on the 24th for major repairs . Recommissioned on the last day of the year , she joined the West Indies Squadron in January 1835 and served with that organization into the summer of 1838 ; cooperating with land forces in Florida during the Second Seminole War ; and helping to suppress piracy and the slave trade . After almost three months laid up undergoing repairs from 30 August to 24 November , the ship was reactivated and returned to duty for a year in the Caribbean . Nearing five years in its current service , and now being unseaworthy , it returned to Hampton Roads , Virginia , where her commissioning pennant was again hauled down at Norfolk on 23 November 1839 . Home Squadron , 1842 – 1845 . Following more than two years on the stocks , the ship was returned to commission on 3 February 1842 , joined the newly created Home Squadron in 1842 , and performed routine patrol and reconnaissance duties at scattered points as far north as Newfoundland and as far south as the mouth of the Amazon River . During a visit to Haiti in the early spring of 1845 , an epidemic of yellow fever broke out in the ship . She returned immediately to Norfolk , was decommissioned on 30 April , and was laid up . Pacific Squadron , 1849 – 1852 . During the sloop ' s period in ordinary which lasted until 1849 , she was lengthened by 13 feet in 1848 . The renovated " Vandalia " was re - commissioned on 9 August 1849 and joined the Pacific Squadron on 5 September 1849 as that organization was expanding to service the territory which the United States had recently acquired on the Pacific coast . She made several visits to the Hawaiian Islands in 1851 before returning to the New York Navy Yard on 6 October 1852 and going out of commission again on the 14th . East Indies Squadron , 1853 – 1856 . " Vandalia ' s " rest ended on 14 February 1853 , and the ship soon joined Commodore Matthew C . Perry ' s East Indies Squadron . She was present at Commodore Perry ' s historic entrance into Tokyo Bay on 13 February 1854 and in 1855 helped to protect American interests in China during the Taiping Rebellion . " Vandalia " was decommissioned at the Portsmouth Navy Yard on 30 September 1856 . Pacific Squadron , 1857 – 1860 . " Vandalia " was recommissioned on 11 November 1857 for duty with the Pacific Squadron . In 1859 , the warship rescued survivors of the American clipper ship " Wild Wave " , wrecked off Oeno Island in the Pitcairn Islands , and conducted an expedition against natives at Waya , Fiji Islands , following the murder of two American citizens . " Vandalia " returned to the New York Navy Yard early in 1860 and was decommissioned on 6 January of that year . Commodore Matthew C . Perry , leader of the East Indies Squadron died on 4 March 1858 a year after his return to the U . S . The last known survivor of the Vandalia ' s crew to have been present at the Taiping Rebellion , and the " opening " of Japan in 1854 was Able Seaman Patrick C . McFadden , a native of Ireland , he died in Canton , Illinois 16 February 1901 . Civil War , 1860 – 1863 . " Vandalia " was recommissioned on 8 November 1860 and assigned to duty with the East Indies Squadron . With the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861 , " Vandalia " was called back home and assigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron on 31 May for blockade duty off Charleston and Bull ' s Bay , South Carolina . There , she captured the schooner " Henry Middleton " on 21 August and assisted in the capture of the sailing ship " Thomas Watson " in 15 October . The vessel also participated in the successful amphibious assault upon Roanoke Island , North Carolina , on 7 and 8 November . This victory closed the supply lines to Confederate - held Norfolk Navy Yard and was largely responsible for the evacuation of that vital naval facility six months later . " Vandalia " put into New York on 24 November to deliver the officers and crew of the wrecked steamer " Governor " . " Vandalia " soon returned to duty with the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron and was deployed off Tybee Roads , Georgia , in December . She remained at Tybee until April 1862 , at which time she was ordered to proceed to the blockade at Wassaw Sound , Georgia . The sloop returned to Port Royal , South Carolina , in late June and took up blockade duty off Charleston in July . She served at Port Royal as a guardship in September and was repaired and resupplied there in November . Later that month and in December , she cruised along the outside line of the blockade off Charleston and Port Royal Bay , performing reconnaissance duties as well as giving practical sailing experience to recent Naval Academy graduates . On 29 December , the vessel was ordered north for major structural repairs at New York , having sprung a leak under her magazine . " Vandalia " was decommissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 4 February 1863 and then sailed for Portsmouth , New Hampshire , on 17 October for use as a receiving and guard ship . She remained at Portsmouth until broken up there sometime between 1870 and 1872 .