USS Vandalia ( 1876 ) The second USS " Vandalia " was a screw sloop in the United States Navy . She was laid down at the Massachusetts Boston Navy Yard in 1872 and was commissioned there on 10 January 1876 . Service history . European Squadron , 1876 – 1878 . " Vandalia " was soon deployed with the European Squadron and spent most of the next three years cruising in the Mediterranean along the coasts of Africa , the Middle East , and Turkey . The ship put into Villefranche , France , in October 1877 , and left on 13 December with the former President , General Ulysses S . Grant , as a passenger . During the next three months , the screw sloop of war touched at ports in Italy , Egypt , Turkey , and Greece before President Grant disembarked at Naples on 18 March 1878 . After making several more Mediterranean cruises , " Vandalia " received orders to return to the United States later that year . She put into Boston on 13 January 1879 and departed on 7 April , bound for Norfolk , Virginia , and duty with the North Atlantic Squadron . North Atlantic Squadron , 1879 – 1884 . " Vandalia " remained with the North Atlantic Squadron for five years . During this time , she performed patrol , reconnaissance , and convoy escort duty off the eastern seaboard of the United States . The vessel was also active off the Grand Banks , the Gulf of Mexico , and the Caribbean . " Vandalia " was detached from the squadron in 1884 and put out of commission at the Portsmouth Navy Yard on 14 October for a thorough overhaul . Pacific Squadron , 1886 – 1889 . Repairs continued for over a year before " Vandalia " was ready for recommissioning on 15 February 1886 . The sloop left New York on 14 August , heading westward for duty with the Pacific Squadron as the flagship of Rear Admiral Lewis Kimberly . " Vandalia " remained with the squadron into 1889 , seeing duty in the Hawaiian Islands and Samoa , as well as along the Pacific coasts of North , Central , and South America . The sloop put into the Mare Island Navy Yard , San Francisco , for repairs on 11 October 1888 . Wrecked in a cyclone , 16 March 1889 . While " Vandalia " lay at Mare Island , relations between American and German officials at Apia , Samoa , became increasingly strained . Late in the winter of 1889 , at the behest of the American consul in Samoa . " Vandalia " , , and sailed for Samoa and reached Apia Harbor early in March to balance the presence of the German vessels , , and . The British were ably represented by . On 15 and 16 March 1889 , each of these vessels suddenly became trapped in the harbor when violent , hurricane - force winds roared out of the northeast , driving mountainous waves before them in the 1889 Apia cyclone . " Adler " , " Olga " , and " Eber " were all either sunk or hopelessly grounded and torn apart on the sharp reef , and together lost a total of 150 officers and crew killed . The powerful engines of " Calliope " barely enabled the vessel to get to sea in a dramatic performance that drew cheers from the crews of the American vessels . However , despite heroic efforts by the officers and crews of " Vandalia " and " Trenton " , the two vessels tore their bottoms out upon the reef on 16 March . " Vandalia " struck at about noon and sank until her decks were completely awash , forcing her crew to scramble into the rigging . " Trenton " grounded alongside " Vandalia " at 2200 that evening , but enough of her main deck remained above water to allow " Vandalia ' s " crew to climb on board . After the hurricane began , " Nipsic " was driven ashore on a sandy beach and was later salvaged . American casualties totalled 52 killed , 43 from " Vandalia " alone . The survivors from " Vandalia " , " Trenton " , and " Nipsic " soon sailed for Mare Island on board a chartered steamer , but " Vandalia " and " Trenton " themselves were so battered that they were soon dismantled and their scrap donated to the Samoans . One of Vandalia ' s survivors was Naval Cadet John A . LeJeune , a future Major General , the 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps , and namesake of Marine Corps Base Camp LeJeune , NC .