USS St . Mary ' s ( 1844 ) The second USS " St . Mary ' s " was a sloop - of - war in the United States Navy . " St . Mary ' s " was built in 1843 - 44 at the Washington Navy Yard , Washington , D . C . , was commissioned in the fall of 1844 , Commander John L . Saunders in command . Service history . Gulf of Mexico , 1844 – 1846 . Designated initially for duty with the Mediterranean Squadron , " St . Mary ' s " was at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania awaiting the sailing of her squadron , under Commodore Robert Stockton , when tension over Mexican - Texan - American territorial disputes heightened during the winter of 1845 . On 1 March , President John Tyler signed a joint resolution of Congress recommending the annexation of Texas . By the end of the month , Mexico had severed diplomatic relations with the new James Polk Administration , and Stockton ' s Squadron was ordered south to reinforce that of Commodore David Conner in the Gulf of Mexico . At the end of April , Stockton ' s ships sailed to Galveston , Texas where they stood by as a Texas convention voted on acceptance of the resolution . On 3 July , " St . Mary ' s " , detached from duty off Galveston , was ordered to join Conner ' s Squadron . On the 4th , the Texas convention approved the annexation resolution and " St . Mary ' s " headed east , to New Orleans , Louisiana , to escort transports carrying U . S . Army units to Texas . The troops , under General Zachary Taylor , were embarked on the 22nd and 23rd ; and , by the 25th , were encamped on St . Joseph Island , near Corpus Christi , Texas . " St . Mary ' s " then stood by , off that town , as Conner ' s ships took station off Vera Cruz . In September , the Polk Administration attempted to reopen diplomatic channels with Mexico . Negotiations were carried on into November , when " St . Mary ' s " was called on to carry a new United States minister , John Slidell , to Mexico . On 30 November , Slidell was disembarked at Vera Cruz ; however , after making his way to Mexico City , he was refused recognition by the Herrera government . Through the winter of 1846 , " St . Mary ' s " continued to cruise in the Gulf of Mexico . In February , she carried dispatches between Conner and Taylor as attempts were made to pressure the Mexican government into reopening negotiations ; but , in March , she arrived at the Antón Lizardo anchorage , whence she could institute a blockade of Tampico if the situation deteriorated into war . In mid - April , she sailed for Pensacola , Florida to take on water and provisions ; and , by the time she returned in May , war had erupted . Mexican – American War , 1846 – 1847 . On 19 May , " St . Mary ' s " anchored off the mouth of the Panuco River near Tampico . On the 20th , she proclaimed the blockade of that port and of the Mexican coast . In June , scurvy struck ; but attempts were made to destroy Mexican gunboats and impede the reinforcement of the town ' s defenses . Through the summer , she maintained her part in the blockade ; but , by September , the climate , disease , limited water and food , and relative inaction had taken its toll . Morale was low ; and , on the 17th , Seaman Samuel Jackson was hanged for striking an officer and using " mutinous and seditious language " . A little over a month later , her blockade duty was interrupted , and the sloop was ordered back to the mouth of the Panuco River . On 14 November , she participated in the unopposed occupation of Tampico ; then resumed blockade duties . In late December , she was ordered to Brazos Santiago , whence , in January 1847 , she proceeded to Lobos to cover the movement of General Winfield Scott ' s troops . In early March , she escorted the transports into the Antón Lizardo anchorage . On the 8th , she moved toward Vera Cruz ; and , on the 9th , her boats carried assault troops to Collado Beach , where Scott ' s force was landed , without resistance , in under five hours . " St . Mary ' s " remained in the area through the end of the month to support the siege of the city . On the 22nd , one of her 8 - inch guns , along with guns from other ships , was ferried ashore and placed on a ridge near Fort Santa Barbara to augment the Army ' s artillery . The bombardment of the city began the same day . On the 29th , the city was formally surrendered . " St . Mary ' s " then retired to Antón Lizardo , whence she sailed toward Alvarado to assist in the taking of that town . By the time she arrived , however , the town had fallen ; and she resumed blockade duties . On 10 April , she had been ordered back to the United States by the Secretary of the Navy ; and , in early May , she sailed for Norfolk , Virginia , carrying captured Mexican guns as cargo . Pacific Squadron , 1848 – 1872 . The sloop remained at Norfolk for almost a year . On 11 April 1848 , she sailed for duty with the Pacific Squadron ; and , for the next five years , she cruised from the coast of California to the coast of Chile , in the Central Pacific , and in the Far East . In 1853 , she returned to the east coast of the United States ; underwent repairs at Philadelphia ; and returned to the Pacific in 1854 . During the next two years , she cruised in the eastern and south Pacific ; and , in December 1856 , she put into Panama City where a new crew under Comdr . Charles Davis relieved that of Comdr . Theodorus Bailey . From New Granada ( Panama ) , Davis took " St . Mary ' s " to the Jarvis and New Nantucket Islands , then returned to Central America to stand by , off Nicaragua , as William Walker fought to keep his empire there . On 6 February 1857 , " St . Mary ' s " anchored at San Juan del Sur , where she remained into the spring as Davis sought to negotiate an end to the fighting . In early May , Walker surrendered to Davis . Walker and the other Americans in his army were taken on board " St . Mary ' s " and transported to Panama City , whence they were returned to the United States . " St . Mary ' s " then resumed her cruise , collecting hydrographic and geologic data as she performed her other duties . In March 1858 , she put into Mare Island , California , for a refit . Delayed , first by a lack of funds , then by desertions of shipyard mechanics and members of her own crew to the gold fields , she remained in the shipyard into the summer . In late August , she set sail again and headed south to cruise off Central America ; and , in February 1859 , her officers and crew were relieved at Panama City . She then sailed north to cruise along the Mexican coast as revolution spread in Mexico . In the fall of 1860 , she returned to Panama City . There , with , she assisted local officials in quelling an insurrection . A few months later , the Civil War divided the United States . Through that war , " St . Mary ' s " remained with the Pacific Squadron , protecting Union merchant shipping and searching for Confederate raiders . After the war , she cruised the Pacific until September 1866 , then put into Mare Island where she was laid up for four years . In the fall of 1870 , she returned to active service ; and , after a cruise to Australia and New Zealand , she returned to Mare Island , whence in November 1872 she departed for Norfolk . School Ship , 1873 – 1908 . On 3 June 1873 , " St . Mary ' s " returned to Norfolk where she remained , in ordinary , until 1875 . Then transferred to the New York Nautical School at New York ( now the SUNY Maritime College ) she served as a school ship until 1908 . In June of that year , she was ordered sold . Despite efforts of alumni to preserve the ship they could not come up with the funding . Two months later , she was purchased by Thomas Butler and Company , Boston , Massachusetts ; and in November , she was scrapped .