USS Wyoming ( 1859 ) The first USS " Wyoming " of the United States Navy was a wooden - hulled screw sloop that fought on the Union side during the American Civil War . Sent to the Pacific Ocean to search for the CSS " Alabama " , " Wyoming " eventually came upon the shores of Japan and engaged Japanese land and sea forces . On 16 July 1863 , " Wyoming " won the first - ever United States naval victory over Japan in the Naval battle of Shimonoseki . Service history . The ship was laid down at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in July 1858 , launched on 19 January 1859 , sponsored by Mary Florida Grice , and commissioned in October 1859 , Commander John K . Mitchell in command . She was named for the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania , not the state of Wyoming which did not yet exist . West Coast , 1859 – 1862 . " Wyoming " soon sailed via Cape Horn for the Pacific and arrived off the coast of Nicaragua in April 1860 . There , she relieved and operated along the Pacific coast of the United States and Central America into the spring of 1861 . During that time , she participated in the search for " Levant " when that warship disappeared in the late autumn of 1860 . The outbreak of the Civil War found " Wyoming " at San Francisco , California , preparing for another cruise . She was instructed to remain in the vicinity of the Golden Gate to protect mail steamer s operating off the California coast , but CDR Mitchell — a naval officer of Southern origin and persuasion — defied his orders and took his ship to Panama instead . Mitchell ' s flagrant disobedience cost him his command and also resulted in his dismissal from the service . As a result , " Wyoming " came under the temporary command of her executive officer , Lt . Francis K . Murray , on 4 July 1861 . While returning to Monterey , California , " Wyoming " was plagued by mishaps . First , her bottom struck a coral head off La Paz , Baja California Sur , and was pulled free only after three days aground during which she lost her false keel . She then ran short of coal and arrived at Monterey with empty bunkers . " Wyoming " subsequently shifted to San Francisco where , on 9 August , she received a new commanding officer , Commander David McDougal . The warship then proceeded to the coast of Lower California to protect American whaling interests against possible incursions by Confederate cruisers . After that service , she operated in South American waters into 1862 . Far East , 1862 – 1863 . Following repairs at Mare Island , " Wyoming " received orders — dated 16 June 1862 — to proceed immediately to the Far East in search of " armed piratical cruisers fitted out by the rebels " and soon headed west , bound for the Orient . Word of the Union ship ' s subsequent appearance in Far Eastern waters spread fast and far . In the Sunda Strait , off Java , Captain Raphael Semmes , the commanding officer of Confederate cruiser " Alabama " , learned from an English brig of " Wyoming ' s " arrival in the East Indies ; and a Dutch trader later confirmed this report . On 26 October , Semmes wrote confidently in his journal that " " Wyoming " is a good match for this ship , " and " I have resolved to give her battle . She is reported to be cruising under sail — probably with banked fires — and anchors , no doubt , under Krakatoa every night , and I hope to surprise her , the moon being near its full . " Although in their search for each other , " Wyoming " and " Alabama " unknowingly came close to each other , they never met ; and it would be up to another Union warship , the sloop , to destroy the elusive Confederate raider . Yet , despite being unsuccessful in tracking down Confederate cruisers , " Wyoming " did render important service to uphold the honor of the American flag in the Far East the following year , 1863 . Ordered to Philadelphia that spring — after what had been a largely fruitless cruise — " Wyoming " was in the midst of preparations to leave the East Indies Station when an event occurred that changed her plans . The Battle of the Straits of Shimonoseki , 1863 . In May 1863 , " Wyoming " had " showed the flag " to Yokohama , standing by to protect American lives and property during an outbreak of anti - foreign agitation in Japan . Nevertheless , that agitation continued into the early summer months , as the Japanese began to resent all foreigners in their country . Urged by his advisors , the Japanese Mikado had set 25 June 1863 as the date for the expulsion of all aliens . Although he was largely powerless to force compliance with his directive , some officials took it literally and tried to implement it . One attempt of this kind was made by the powerful local ruler of the clan of Choshu , the Prince of Nagato . That clan , the most warlike in Japan and the one which could be said to have been the forerunner of the Imperial Japanese Army , threw down the gauntlet to western nations on 26 June . At one o ' clock that morning , two armed vessels — illegally flying the flag of the Japanese central government , or shogunate , attacked the American merchantman " Pembroke " , bound for Nagasaki and Shanghai , as she lay anchored in the Strait of Shimonoseki . Fortunately , " Pembroke " suffered no casualties ; got underway ; and moved out of danger , escaping via Bungo Strait and continuing her voyage for Shanghai , post - haste , without making her scheduled stop at Nagasaki . Word of the incident did not reach Yokohama from Japanese sources until 10 July . That evening , mail from Shanghai brought " authentic information " confirming the Japanese report . The United States Minister in Japan , Robert H . Pruyn , sent for the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Japanese government and informed him — in the presence of Comdr . McDougal — of the gravity of the situation , stressing that an insult to the American flag was a serious matter . After being told by Pruyn that the United States government would demand satisfaction and expect a statement from the Japanese concerning the offense , the Japanese diplomat begged that the Americans do nothing until his government at Yedo ( later named Tokyo ) would take action . After the Japanese left , McDougal told Pruyn that he had decided to proceed instantly to the Shimonoseki Strait to seize and , if necessary , to destroy , the offending vessels . The two men agreed that failure to punish the outrage properly would encourage further anti - foreign incidents . Accordingly , " Wyoming " prepared for sea . At 4 : 45 a . m . on 13 July , CDR McDougal called all hands ; and the sloop got underway 15 minutes later , bound for the strait . After a two - day voyage , " Wyoming " arrived off the island of Hime Shima on the evening of 15 July and anchored off the south side of that island . At five o ' clock the following morning , " Wyoming " weighed anchor and steamed toward the Strait of Shimonoseki . She went to general quarters at nine , loaded her pivot gun s with shell , and cleared for action . The warship entered the strait at 10 : 45 and beat to quarters . Soon , three signal guns boomed from the landward , alerting the batteries and ships of the daimyo Choshiu of " Wyoming ' s " arrival . At about 11 : 15 , after being fired upon from the shore batteries , " Wyoming " hoisted her colors and replied with her 11 - inch pivot guns . Momentarily ignoring the batteries , McDougal ordered " Wyoming " to continue steaming toward a bark , a steamer , and a brig at anchor off the town of Shimonoseki . Meanwhile , four shore batteries took the warship under fire . " Wyoming " answered the Japanese cannon " as fast as the guns could be brought to bear " while shells from the shore guns passed through her rigging . " Wyoming " then passed between the brig and the bark on the starboard hand and the steamer on the port , steaming within a pistol shot ' s range . One shot from either the bark or brig struck near " Wyoming ' s " forward broadside gun , killing two men and wounding four . Elsewhere on the ship , a Marine was struck dead by a piece of shrapnel . " Wyoming " , in hostile territory , then grounded in uncharted waters shortly after she had made one run past the forts . The Japanese steamer , in the meantime , had slipped her cable and headed directly for " Wyoming " — possibly to attempt a boarding . The American man - of - war , however , managed to work free of the mud and then unleashed her 11 - inch Dahlgren gun s on the enemy ship , hulling and damaging her severely . Two well - directed shots exploded her boilers and , as she began to sink , her crew abandoned the ship . " Wyoming " then passed the bark and the brig , firing into them steadily and methodically . Some shells were " overs " and landed in the town ashore . As Comdr . McDougal wrote in his report to Gideon Welles on 23 July , " the punishment inflicted ( upon the daimyo ) and in store for him will , I trust , teach him a lesson that will not soon be forgotten . " After having been under fire for a little over an hour , " Wyoming " returned to Yokohama . She had been hulled 11 times , with considerable damage to her smokestack and rigging . Her casualties had been comparatively light : four men killed and seven wounded — one of whom later died . Significantly , " Wyoming " had been the first foreign warship to take the offensive to uphold treaty rights in Japan . Hunting the raiders , 1863 – 1864 . However , the ship ' s projected return to Philadelphia did not materialize due to the supposed continued presence of " Alabama " in Far Eastern waters . She repaired her damages , resumed the search and sailed to the Dutch East Indies . She subsequently voyaged to Christmas Island , examining it to determine whether or not it was used as a supply base for " the use of rebel cruisers . " Finding the island uninhabited and the report of its use as a supply base unfounded , " Wyoming " returned to Anjer , Java , where McDougal found out , to his surprise , that " Alabama " had passed the Sunda Strait on 10 November — only a day after " Wyoming " had sailed for Christmas Island . At noon that day , " Alabama " and " Wyoming " had been only 25 miles apart . Writing from Batavia on 22 November , McDougal later reported that " Wyoming " had scoured the waters of the East Indies , visiting " every place in this neighborhood where she ( " Alabama " ) would likely lay in case she intended to remain in this region . " Although acknowledging that the condition of " Wyoming ' s " boilers prevented a heavy pressure of steam from being carried , McDougal promised to make every effort in his power to find and capture " Alabama " . " Wyoming " then cruised to Singapore in search of the Confederate raider , but found nothing , and continued on to the Dutch settlement of Rhio , near Sunda Strait . She subsequently sailed north , putting into Cavite , Luzon , in the Philippine Islands , on Christmas Eve . There , through the courtesy of the Spanish Navy , " Wyoming " underwent much - needed boiler repairs and coaled . She then sailed for Hong Kong and Whampoa , China . " Wyoming " continued her search for the elusive " Alabama " into February 1864 . She sailed to Foochow , China , to protect American interests and proceeded thence , via Hong Kong , to the East Indies . When the sloop - of - war reached Batavia , however , CDR McDougal found that there was now no alternative but to return to the United States for repairs , because the ship ' s boilers were in such poor condition . Accordingly , " Wyoming " began her long - delayed return voyage to the United States , via Anjer , the Cape of Good Hope , St . Helena , and St . Thomas . After a voyage of almost three months , she arrived at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 13 July 1864 ; having completed a circumnavigation of the globe begun when she left that port following her commissioning . The presence of CSS " Florida " off the East Coast , however , meant another change in plans for the weary " Wyoming " . Commodore Cornelius Stribling , Commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard , ordered the newly arrived screw sloop to sea to search for " Florida " . " It is with regret that I send you on this service , " Stribling wrote McDougal , " After so long a cruise , and one in which you have rendered such important service , yourself , officers and crew , were entitled to a respite from active service ; but the great importance of capturing the rebel privateer will , I hope , be an incentive to all under your command cheerfully to perform this service . " Although " Wyoming " required extensive repairs , she nevertheless sailed . As events proved , however , " Wyoming ' s " machinery — so long from repairs in an American Navy Yard — proved unequal to the strain . For five days , the ship attempted to carry out the orders given her — contending with fresh northeast winds and a head sea — but returned to Philadelphia on 19 July , due to a leaky boiler . She was decommissioned on 23 July for a complete overhaul . East Indies Station , 1865 – 1868 . Recommissioned on 11 April 1865 , Comdr . John P . Bankhead in command , " Wyoming " proceeded to the East Indies Station , via Cape Horn , and reached Singapore on 25 September 1865 , in time to participate in the search for CSS " Shenandoah " , a Confederate raider which remained at sea for one month after the end of the Civil War . Following service on the East Indies Station into 1866 , the screw sloop - of - war was made part of the Asiatic Squadron with that unit ' s establishment in 1867 . Sailing from Yokohama on 28 April 1867 , " Wyoming " headed for the island of Formosa ( Taiwan ) . On 13 June , she participated in a punitive expedition against Formosan natives who had murdered the crew of the American merchant bark " Rover " that had been wrecked off the coast of Formosa a short time before . During that action , she sent a landing party ashore in company with one from the sloop . Subsequently returning to the United States having performed her last service in the Far East , " Wyoming " was decommissioned on 10 February 1868 and placed " in ordinary " at Boston , Massachusetts . After extensive repairs at Portsmouth Navy Yard , during 1870 and into 1871 , " Wyoming " was recommissioned on 14 November 1871 , Comdr . John L . Davis in command . North Atlantic Station , 1872 – 1878 . From 1872 to 1874 , " Wyoming " operated on the North Atlantic Station . Her ports of call included Havana , Cuba ; Key West , Florida . ; Aspinwall , Panama ; Santiago , Cuba ; Kingston , Jamaica ; San Juan , Puerto Rico ; Key West ; Hampton Roads , Va . ; and New Bedford , Mass . After that tour of duty , cruising and " showing the flag " in the West Indies and Gulf of Mexico , " Wyoming " was decommissioned at the Washington Navy Yard on 30 April 1874 and remained laid up there for the next two years . The veteran screw sloop - of - war became the receiving ship at Washington in 1877 and apparently served in that capacity into early the following year . Recommissioned on 20 November 1877 , " Wyoming " left Washington , loaded articles for the Paris Exposition , and departed the East Coast of the United States on 6 April 1878 , bound for France . After discharging the cargo at Le Havre , France , the ship visited Rouen , France , and Southampton , England , before she departed the latter port on 25 June and headed for the United States . She reached Norfolk on 22 August , shifted to Washington in mid - September , and to New York in early November , before she sailed on 26 November for the European Station . European Station , 1878 – 1881 . " Wyoming " reached Villefranche , France , near the port of Nice , on Christmas Eve 1878 and remained there into 1879 before getting underway for Smyrna on 24 January 1879 . " Wyoming " remained in the Mediterranean into November 1880 , touching at many of the more famous ports in that historic body of water — and in the Black Sea — before heading home late in 1880 . " Wyoming " returned to the United States in early 1881 , arriving at Hampton Roads on 21 May . She sailed for Beaufort , S . C . , on 15 June and thence proceeded to Annapolis , Md . Naval Academy , 1882 – 1892 . Decommissioned on 30 October 1882 and turned over to the Superintendent of the Naval Academy , " Wyoming " spent the next decade employed as a practice ship for midshipmen . Later taken to Norfolk , Va . , she was sold at the port on 9 May 1892 to E . J . Butler , of Arlington , Massachusetts .