USS Dacotah ( 1859 ) USS " Dacotah " ( 1859 ) — the only United States Navy ship to be so named — was a large ( ) steam sloop that served the United States Navy in the Atlantic Ocean as well as in Pacific Ocean . When the American Civil War occurred , " Dacotah " assumed the role of a gunship in the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America . When the war was over , " Dacotah " — who was named for the American Dakota tribe — resumed her role protecting American interests worldwide by showing her presence in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans . Launched at Norfolk , Virginia , in 1859 . " Dacotah " was launched on 23 March 1859 by Norfolk Navy Yard and commissioned on 1 May 1860 , Commander W . Radford in command . Pre - Civil War service . Sailing from Norfolk , Virginia on 30 June 1860 , " Dacotah " rounded the Cape of Good Hope , and arrived at Hong Kong on 8 January 1861 to join the East Indian Squadron . She cruised off China until returning to Hong Kong on 14 June . On 6 August , she sailed for home and arrived at St . Thomas , Virgin Islands on 21 November for two weeks of patrolling before arriving at New York City on 20 December . Civil War service . Virginia operations . Out of commission from 31 December 1861 – 25 February 1862 , " Dacotah " sailed on 9 March to join the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron . She served in the waters around Hampton Roads , Virginia from 13 March - 14 September except for a cruise to New Orleans , Louisiana in May – June to carry messages to Flag Officer David Farragut . From 19 July , she was assigned to the James River Flotilla . She had several skirmishes with the Confederate s including those in which a company of her sailors and marines , destroyed a Confederate battery of 11 guns at Harden ' s Bluff , Virginia on 2 July , and one of 15 guns at Day ' s Point , Virginia the next day . Searching for CSS " Alabama " . Ordered to Nassau , Bahamas on 4 September to search for the Confederate privateer s " Alabama " and " Florida " , she patrolled off the Bahamas until 1 November , when she was sent to search further northward to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia . She joined the blockading forces off Wilmington , North Carolina on 8 December and served there until 11 June 1863 , when she stood out for Baltimore , Maryland and repairs to her boilers . Returning to the blockade on 15 September she was ordered into quarantine at New York City the next month when several cases of smallpox were discovered on board . During a repair period at Portsmouth , New Hampshire , she participated in the search for the captured steamer - turned - raider " Chesapeake " from 13 – 23 December . Assigned to the North Atlantic blockade . " Dacotah " departed Portsmouth on 28 January 1864 to rejoin the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Beaufort , North Carolina , serving there until 2 August , when she sailed for Boston Navy Yard and overhaul . Out of commission from 19 August 1864 – 29 May 1865 , she cruised in the West Indies from 13 June until her arrival at Philadelphia Navy Yard on 31 August . Post - Civil War service . " Dacotah " put to sea from Philadelphia , Pennsylvania on 27 January 1866 for a voyage to the Pacific , calling at Funchal , Madeira , Rio de Janeiro , Montevideo , and , after passing through the Straits of Magellan , at Valparaíso . Following duty off the coasts of South and Central America , Mexico , and California until 26 July 1869 , " Dacotah " remained in an inactive status until sold at Mare Island Navy Yard on 30 May 1873 .