The first USS Iroquois was a sloop of war in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Iroquois was launched by the New York Navy Yard on 12 April 1859 and commissioned 24 November 1859, Commander J. S. Palmer in command.

Mediterranean, 1860–1861

Iroquois got underway from New York on 19 January 1860 for duty in the Mediterranean. Her service came at a time of political unrest in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, with the movement for Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 unification in its beginning stages. Iroquois sailed for Palermo

Palermo

Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...

, Sicily

Sicily

Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

, to protect American lives and property as Giuseppe Garibaldi

Giuseppe Garibaldi

Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...

 began his campaign to capture the island for Piedmont-Sardinia

Kingdom of Sardinia

The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...

. The Italian patriot came on board Iroquois on 20 June 1860 and conferred with Comdr. Palmer. The ship operated in the Mediterranean into 1861, but the impending Civil War brought greater demands on the Navy and she was recalled.

Caribbean, 1861–1862

Arriving 15 June 1861 at New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, she was immediately sent to the Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 to search out and destroy southern commerce raiders. At Martinique

Martinique

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

 she found CSS Sumter

CSS Sumter

CSS Sumter, a 473-ton bark-rigged screw steam cruiser, was built as the merchant steamship Habana at Philadelphia in 1859 for McConnell's New Orleans & Havana Line. Purchased by the Confederate Government at New Orleans in April 1861, she was converted to a cruiser and placed under the command of...

 anchored in the harbor. But the Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 ship, under command of Raphael Semmes

Raphael Semmes

For other uses, see Semmes .Raphael Semmes was an officer in the United States Navy from 1826 - 1860 and the Confederate States Navy from 1860 - 1865. During the American Civil War he was captain of the famous commerce raider CSS Alabama, taking a record sixty-nine prizes...

, with the assistance of French authorities slipped out on 23 November to resume attacks on Union shipping. Iroquois continued her patrol in the Caribbean. On 14 January 1862 she stopped British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 sloop Rinaldo. On board were Confederate ministers James M. Mason

James M. Mason

James Murray Mason was a United States Representative and United States Senator from Virginia. He was a grandson of George Mason and represented the Confederate States of America as appointed commissioner of the Confederacy to the United Kingdom and France between 1861 and 1865 during the American...

 and John Slidell

John Slidell

John Slidell was an American politician, lawyer and businessman. A native of New York, Slidell moved to Louisiana as a young man and became a staunch defender of southern rights as a U.S. Representative and Senator...

, captured earlier by Union ships

Trent affair

The Trent Affair, also known as the Mason and Slidell Affair, was an international diplomatic incident that occurred during the American Civil War...

 but released; Comdr. Palmer allowed them to proceed under surveillance.

Mississippi River Squadron, 1862

Iroquois was sent later in 1862 to join Flag Officer David Farragut

David Farragut

David Glasgow Farragut was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. He is remembered in popular culture for his order at the Battle of Mobile Bay, usually paraphrased: "Damn the...

 at the mouth of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

, in preparation for his attack on New Orleans, Louisiana. Arriving off Ship Island 28 March, the ship moved to a position below Forts Jackson and St. Philip

Fort St. Philip

Fort St. Philip is a decommissioned masonry fort located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, about up river from its mouth in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana...

, guarding New Orleans, 16 April. Comdr. David Dixon Porter

David Dixon Porter

David Dixon Porter was a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the United States Navy. Promoted as the second man to the rank of admiral, after his adoptive brother David G...

's mortar boats then began a devastating bombardment, and by 24 April the ships were ready to attack. Iroquois moved abreast the forts as part of the 3rd Division under Captain Henry H. Bell

Henry H. Bell

Henry Haywood Bell was an admiral in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.-Biography:Bell was born in Orange County, North Carolina. Appointed a Midshipman on 4 August 1823, during the next two decades he served afloat in U.S...

 and, after a spirited engagement, passed them and pressed on for the capture of New Orleans, the South's largest and wealthiest city, and key to the Mississippi Valley.

After the great victory Iroquois advanced up the river with Farragut, with the aim of eventually joining Flag Officer Andrew Hull Foote

Andrew Hull Foote

Andrew Hull Foote was an American naval officer who was noted for his service in the American Civil War and also for his contributions to several naval reforms in the years prior to the war. When the war came, he was appointed to command of the Western Gunboat Flotilla, predecessor of the...

, who was driving southward. A landing party was sent ashore at Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...

 8 May 1862 and Comdr. Palmer received the surrender of the Louisiana capital that day. Iroquois, along with , also took possession of Natchez

Natchez

Natchez may refer to:* Natchez people, a Native American nation* Natchez language, the language of that Native American tribe* Natchez, Mississippi, United States* Natchez, Louisiana, United States* Natchez, Indiana, United States...

 on 13 May as the fleet moved steadily toward the Southern stronghold at Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...

. Within a week they were below the city and preparing to pass the formidable batteries.

After periodic shelling Flag Officer Farragut, supported by the mortar boats, passed the Vicksburg batteries on 28 June after a heavy exchange of gunfire. Iroquois survived the action virtually unscathed. With the rest of the fleet she met Flag Officer Charles Davis

Charles Henry Davis

Charles Henry Davis was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, serving primarily during the American Civil War, and with the United States Coast Survey.-Early life and career:...

 and his Western Flotilla above Vicksburg. This was but the first step of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

's order to "clear the river

Anaconda Plan

The Anaconda Plan or Scott's Great Snake is the name widely applied to an outline strategy for subduing the seceding states in the American Civil War. Proposed by General-in-Chief Winfield Scott, the plan emphasized the blockade of the Southern ports, and called for an advance down the Mississippi...

." Iroquois remained in the Vicksburg area until late July, helping in the bombardments and preparations for expeditions into the surrounding marshlands. In early September she again entered the Gulf of Mexico to take part in the strangling blockade of Southern commerce, but boiler trouble sent her north on 21 September he arrived New York 2 October and decommissioned 6 October 1862 for repairs.

North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, 1863

Iroquois recommissioned on 8 January 1863, Comdr. Henry Roland in command, and got underway later that month to convoy monitor  to Newport News, Virginia

Newport News, Virginia

Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...

. Joining the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron off North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, she captured blockade runner Merrimac 24 July and helped in the capture of Kate 12 days earlier. After several more months on arduous blockade, she steamed to Baltimore, Maryland for repairs, decommissioning 8 October 1863.

Mediterranean & Pacific, 1864–1865

The ship recommissioned 31 March 1864, Comdr. Christopher R. P. Rodgers

Christopher Raymond Perry Rodgers

Christopher Raymond Perry Rodgers was an officer in the United States Navy. He served in the Mexican-American War, the American Civil War, as Superintendent of the Naval Academy, and Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Squadron.-Early career:Rodgers was born in Brooklyn, New York, into a naval family...

 in command. After serving briefly in the North Atlantic, Iroquois steamed to the Mediterranean to protect American commerce and interests. She also took part in the giant search for the Confederate raider Shenandoah

CSS Shenandoah

CSS Shenandoah, formerly Sea King, was an iron-framed, teak-planked, full rigged ship, with auxiliary steam power, captained by Commander James Waddell, Confederate States Navy, a North Carolinian with twenty years' service in the United States Navy.During 12½ months of 1864–1865 the ship...

, finally arriving Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 in May 1865 after a long voyage around South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 and across the Pacific. With the war over, she sailed in July for the United States, arriving New York on 1 October 1865. She decommissioned there 6 October 1865.

Asiatic Squadron, 1867–1874

Upon recommissioning on 7 January 1867, Comdr. Earl English in command, the veteran ship sailed 3 February for duty with the Asiatic Squadron

Asiatic Squadron

The Asiatic Squadron was a squadron of United States Navy warships stationed in East Asia during the latter half of the 19th century, it was created in 1868 when the East India Squadron was disbanded...

. She was present at Osaka

Osaka

is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, when that port and neighboring Hyōgo were opened to foreign commerce 1 January 1868; and she took part in the rescue operations following the overturning of Rear Admiral Henry H. Bell

Henry H. Bell

Henry Haywood Bell was an admiral in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.-Biography:Bell was born in Orange County, North Carolina. Appointed a Midshipman on 4 August 1823, during the next two decades he served afloat in U.S...

's boat in the harbor 11 January. Despite the best efforts of the ships present, the squadron commander and 11 others were drowned. During the local conflicts which engulfed the ports during January, Iroquois stood by to protect American interests, and carried the foreign ministers to Hyōgo 1 February when they were expelled from Osaka. She remained on this critical duty until returning to the United States in February 1870. She was decommissioned at League Island, Pennsylvania, 23 April 1870.

Iroquois was recommissioned on 23 August 1871 under Commander H. A. Adams. While in the Delaware River

Delaware River

The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...

 on 7 September of that year, Ordinary Seaman Hugh King jumped overboard and rescued a shipmate from drowning, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

. Iroquois operated on the East Coast until 18 March 1872. She then sailed for another cruise with the Asiatic Fleet, making the long voyage via the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...

, and the Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...

. The ship remained off China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 until returning to San Francisco, California

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

 on 1 July 1874. She was again decommissioned for repairs on 23 July 1874.

Pacific Squadron, 1882–1892

Following a long period of inactivity, Iroquois recommissioned on 12 April 1882, Comdr. James H. Sands

James H. Sands

Rear Admiral James Hoban Sands was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War and eventually became Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy.-Naval career:...

 in command. With the Pacific Squadron

Pacific Squadron

The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval supplies and purchased food and obtained water from local...

, she patrolled to South America, Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, and Pacific islands protecting American interests and commerce. She took part in naval action in Panama in the spring of 1885, helping to land Marines

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 to protect American commerce during the revolution. After 10 years of service on the Pacific Station, Iroquois arrived Mare Island

Mare Island

Mare Island is a peninsula in the United States alongside the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the east side of San Pablo Bay. Mare Island is considered a peninsula because no full...

 on 24 April 1892 and decommissioned there 12 May 1892.

Marine Hospital Service, 1892–1910

The ship was transferred to the Marine Hospital Service

Marine Hospital Service

The Marine-Hospital Service was an organization of Marine Hospitals dedicated to the care of ill and disabled seamen in the U.S. Merchant Marine, U.S. Coast Guard and other federal beneficiaries....

 and served until she recommissioned 13 December 1898, Lt. Charles Pond in command. She cruised in the Pacific for six months before decommissioning at Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu, Hawaii

Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...

 30 June 1899. Iroquois was then transferred again to the Marine Hospital Service. Her name was changed to Ionie 30 November 1904. Her name was struck from the Navy List

Naval Vessel Register

The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...

on 26 August 1910.