USS Scourge (1846)
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Launched: | |
| Commissioned: | 1846 |
| Decommissioned: | 1848 |
| Struck: | |
| Fate: | Sold, 7 October 1848 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 231 tons |
| Length: | 120 ft (37 m) |
| Beam: | 23 ft (7 m) |
| Draft: | 9 ft (2.7 m) |
| Speed: | 10.5 knots (37 km/h) |
| Propulsion: | |
| Complement: | 50 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: | 1 × 32-pdr., 2 × 24-pdr. car. |
USS Scourge was a steamer warship in service during the Mexican-American War (1846–1848) between Mexico and the United States. She was the third United States Navy ship of that name.
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[edit] Acquisition
The ship was built as merchant steamer Bangor, by Betts, Harlan, and Hollingsworth of Wilmington, Delaware. She was powered by twin screws and was the first iron-hulled, sea-going merchant vessel in the United States.
She was bought by the U.S. on December 30, 1846 so it would be in combat in the Gulf of Mexico. Once equipped, she was renamed "USS Scourge", under the command of Lieutenant Charles G. Hunter.
[edit] Service
Scourge joined the forces of Commodore Matthew C. Perry in the Gulf of Mexico on March 29, 1847. It was part of the "Mosquito Flotilla" and it was immediately assigned to start a blockade over Alvarado, port that had an already concerted attack by air and land. On 31 March 1847, acting alone, Scourge captured a defenseless and abandoned, military-wise, port of Alvarado.
After this action, the vessel participated on the captures of La Peña, Plama Sola, Hospital Hill, Tuxpan and Tabasco. Previous to the attack on Tabasco, Lieut. Lockwood, officer in command, became one of the first officers to protect a vessel's exposed machinery by using sandbags.
[edit] Sale
The Scourge was sold in New Orleans, Louisiana to another country on October 7, 1848.
[edit] See also
- See USS Scourge for other ships of the same name.
- List of United States Navy Ships
- Mexican-American War
- US Navy
- (Spanish) Alvarado
[edit] References
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
