USS Powhatan ( 1850 ) The first USS " Powhatan " was a sidewheel steam frigate in the United States Navy during the American Civil War . She was named for Powhatan , a Native American chief of eastern Virginia . She was one of the last , and largest , of the United States Navy ' s paddle frigates . " Powhatan " s keel was laid on 6 August 1847 at Norfolk Naval Shipyard , Portsmouth , Virginia . Her engines were constructed by Mehaffy & Company of Gosport , Virginia . She cost $ 785 , 000 . She was launched on 14 February 1850 by the Norfolk Navy Yard and commissioned on 2 September 1852 , Captain William Mervine in command . Service history . Home Squadron , 1852 . After shakedown out of the Norfolk Navy Yard , " Powhatan " joined the Home Squadron as flagship of Commodore John T . Newton and sailed for New York where she was visited by the Secretary of the Navy , John P . Kennedy . She departed New York on 16 October 1852 for Vera Cruz with the new Minister to Mexico , Judge Alfred Conkling , on board and returned to Norfolk on 27 November via Havana and Pensacola . East India Squadron , 1853 – 1860 . " Powhatan " , under Comdr . William J . McCluney , was next assigned to the East India Squadron and arrived on station via Cape of Good Hope on 15 June 1853 . Her arrival in Chinese waters coincided with an important phase of Commodore Matthew C . Perry ' s negotiations for commercial relations with the Japanese and the opening of two ports . She was Perry ' s flagship during his November visit to Whampoa . On 14 February 1854 she entered Yedo ( Tokyo ) Bay with the rest of the squadron and the Convention of Kanagawa was signed on 31 March 1854 ( 3 March in the old Japanese calendar ) . During August 1855 , " Powhatan " accompanied in a successful battle against Chinese pirates off Kowloon , and reached the U . S . on 14 February 1856 with the new treaty . The US - Japan Treaty of Amity and Commerce was signed on her deck on 29 July 1858 ( 19 June in the old Japanese calendar ) . On 13 February 1860 , the " Powhatan " accompanied by a Japanese capital ship , that departed on 9 February ( 18 January in the old Japanese calendar ) , left Yokohama , Japan , en route to San Francisco as part of the first official embassy of the Empire of Japan to the United States of America . The Japanese embassy was formally composed of three men : Ambassador Shinmi Masaoki ( 新見正興 ) , Vice - Ambassador Muragaki Norimasa ( 村垣範正 ) , and Observer Oguri Tadamasa ( 小栗忠順 ) . Civil War , 1860 – 1865 . " Powhatan " remained active throughout the Civil War . She served as Flag Officer Garrett J . Pendergrast ' s flagship at Vera Cruz during October 1860 . In April 1861 , while under the command of Lt . David Dixon Porter , she assisted in the relief of Fort Pickens , Florida . President Abraham Lincoln had attempted to countermand the order sending the " Powhatan " to Fort Pickens and send the ship to assist in the relief expedition to Fort Sumter instead , but because Secretary of State William H . Seward signed the order " Seward " rather than " Lincoln , " the order was not obeyed . The " Powhatan " assisted in the establishment of the blockade of Mobile , Alabama on 26 May , capturing schooner " Mary Clinton " on 29 May . During July and August " Powhatan " joined the blockade of the Southwest Pass of the Mississippi River , retaking schooner " Abby Bradford " on 15 August . From late August to October she pursued CSS " Sumter " throughout much of the West Indies . " Powhatan " operated off Charleston , South Carolina from October 1862 to August 1863 , captured schooner " Major E . Willis " on 19 April and sloop " C . Routereau " on 16 May , and deployed for a second time to the West Indies from November 1863 to September 1864 as flagship of Rear Admiral James L . Lardner . She participated in the successful reduction of Fort Fisher , 24 – 25 December 1864 and in its capture on 13 – 15 January 1865 . South Pacific Squadron , 1866 – 1869 . After the war , in October 1865 , she sailed from Boston with and , escorting monitor to California via Cape Horn . She arrived at San Francisco on 22 June 1866 . " Powhatan " was the flagship of the South Pacific Squadron 1866 – 1869 , commanded by Rear Admiral John A . Dahlgren from 12 December 1866 to 14 July 1868 . In March 1866 she was sent to Valparaíso to protect U . S . interests during the Chincha Islands War . Home Squadron , 1869 – 1886 . From 1869 to 1886 , she was attached to the Home Squadron and was flagship from 15 September 1869 until 30 December 1870 and again from 4 July 1877 until 10 December 1879 . During this period , three " Powhatan " crewman earned the Medal of Honor for rescuing fellow sailors from drowning : Landsman George W . Cutter at Norfolk , Virginia , on 27 May 1872 ; Seaman Joseph B . Noil at Norfolk on 26 December 1872 ; and Coxswain William Anderson on 28 June 1878 . The ship ended her long and conspicuous career by making numerous cruises in Cuban waters to protect American commerce : July – August 1880 , February – May 1882 , January – May 1883 , January – May 1885 , and January – February 1886 . " Powhatan " was decommissioned on 2 June 1886 and was sold on 30 July 1886 to Burdette Pond of Meriden , Connecticut , and scrapped 5 August 1887 .