| AHRTP
Image Archive SAILING NAVIES - SHIP of the LINE 8.05 AN AMERICAN SLOOP OF WAR - USS SARATOGA |
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'sloop of war' was the third ship in the U.S.S. Navy to be named after the Revolutionary War
Battle of Saratoga. Her keel lwas aid down in the summer of 1841 at the
Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She was launched on 26 July 1842
and commenced upon a brilliant career, first and foremost as one of
Commander Perry's 'Black Ships'. USS Saratoga was fitted out as
a 'sloop of war', a desigantion that could be rigged either as a full rigged ship, brig, or schooner,
and mounting from ten to thirty-two guns. This USS Saratoga
was a full rigged ship of 882 tons, length between perpendiculars 146'4";
beam 35'3"; depth of hold 16'3.5"; complement 210; and armament 4 8" shell
guns, 18 32-pounders. The location where this ship portrait was taken for a stereo card is unknown,
but as indicated below, a date between 1877 and 1887 is likely. In June 1843, USS Saratoga became the flagship of Commander Mathew C. Perry's ''African Squadron" and embarked upon an illustrious career that spanned many decades. She served in the African Squadron through December 1844. Her mission was to patrol the west coast of Africa to protect American citizens and business interests, and to suppress the slave trade. Above all, Perry was to protect the new Afro-American citizens of Liberia from harassment by some of the local tribes who were furious at the elimination of the local slave trade which had been lucrative to them. The Saratoga joined up with the Mexican Squadron which was stationed in the Gulf of Mexico during the spring of 1845 when Mexico has threatened to annex Texas. During much of 1847, she was busy with the Home Squadron off Vera Cruz. A few years later, Saratoga visited Japan with Perry in July 1853. Afterwards, she sailed for the Sandwich Islands to leave Cmdr. H.A. Adams at Honolulu. Perry had entrusted the American copy of the treaty with Japan to Adams.. Saratoga then sailed south, rounded Cape Horn, reached Boston in September, and was decommissioned on 10 October 1854. Afterwards, she sailed for the China coast and protected American interests at Shanghai while Japanese officials discussed Perry's proposals. For several years after 1855, USS Saratoga cruised the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. In late 1860, she returned to the West African coast and on April 21, 1861 USS Saratoga captured a slaver and freed all slaves on board. During the Civil War, she guarded the Delaware breakwater during the latter half of 1863. During the winter of 1854 sailing off the lower Atlantic coast, Saratoga was the base for landing parties that raided Confederate supplies and ordinance. After the civil War, she was decommission and long periods of inactivity followed. Saratoga's final commission began in mid May 1877 and lasted for a decade as a training ship for naval apprentices at Annapolis. She cruised the Atlantic coast with occasional trans Atlantic trips to Europe. The photograph on this page where USS Saratoga displays many signal flags suggests this period. From 1890 to 1907, she was loaned to the city of Philadelphia and served as a state marine school, then to finish a long spectacular life when sold to a Boston firm to be scrapped on August 14,1907. Learn more about this famous USS Saratoga at the history web site of the U.S. Navy. |
| Resolution is 951 (width) x 1009 (height), 266 dpi for the digital file available for commercial license that was made from a 19th century stereo view. The presentation digital image on this page has been enhanced. We can provide both the original digital file and a copy that is enhanced for contrast. |
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