USSCyane(1837)

	"USSCyaneTaking Possession of San Diego Old Town July 1846 ", by Carlton T. Chapman
History
United States
Name	USSCyane
Builder	Boston Navy Yard
Launched	2 December 1837
Commissioned	May 1838
Decommissioned	20 September 1871
Fate	Sold, 30 July 1887
General characteristics
Type	Sloop-of-war
Tonnage	792
Length	132 ft 4 in (40.34 m)
Beam	26 ft 3 in (8.00 m)
Draft	16 ft 6 in (5.03 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Complement	200 officers and enlisted
Armament	18 × 32-pounder guns; 4 × 24-pounder guns;

The secondUSSCyanewas asloop-of-warin theUnited States Navyduring theMexican–American War.

Cyanewas launched on 2 December 1837 byBoston Navy Yard.She was commissioned in May 1838, with CommanderJohn Percivalin command.

She sailed on 24 June 1838 for duty in the Mediterranean, returning toNorfolk, Virginia16 May 1841. She cleared 1 November 1841 for thePacific Squadron,returning 1 October 1844. Sailing again for the Pacific 10 August 1845 with Passed MidshipmanBenjamin F. B. Hunteras her Sailing Master,Cyaneserved on the west coast during the Mexican War. On 7 July 1846 her commanding officer, CaptainWilliam Mervine,led a detachment ofMarinesand sailors from CommodoreJohn D. Sloat's squadron ashore atMonterey, California,hoisting the American flag at the Customs House and claiming possession of the city and all of present-day California.

On 26 July 1846 Lieutenant ColonelJohn C. Frémont'sCalifornia BattalionboardedCyane,now under the command of CommanderSamuel Francis Du Pont,and the ship sailed forSan Diego,California on 29 July 1846. She landed Marines at nearby La Playa, where they were warmly welcomed by the largely pro-American civilian population. The Marines took abandoned guns fromFort Guijarrosand used them to laysiegeto Old Town San Diego.^[1]A detachment of Marines and sailors fromCyanetook possession of the town, raising the American flag. They were followed by the Fremont volunteers andCyane's detachment returned aboard to sail forSan Blas,where a landing party destroyed a Mexican battery on 2 September.

Entering theGulf of California,CyaneseizedLa Pazand burned the small fleet atGuaymas.Within a month, she cleared the Gulf of hostile ships, destroying or capturing 30 vessels. In company withIndependenceandCongress,she captured the town ofMazatlán,Mexico, 11 November 1847. On 22 January 1848, she arrived offSan José del Caboto relieve the besieged garrison there. She landed a force of about 100 men whofoughtthe final engagement and broke the Mexican siege. She returned to Norfolk 9 October 1848 to receive the congratulations of theSecretary of the Navyfor her significant contributions to American victory in Mexico.

Between 9 October 1851 and 24 June 1852,Cyanesailed in theHome Squadron,rejoining it on 10 October 1852 to cruise constantly on the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean fromNova ScotiatoAspinwallfor the protection of American citizens. Shebombardedand destroyedGreytown,Mosquitiaon 13 July 1854, in retaliation for an incident where local protesters had thrown a broken bottle atSolon Borland.^[2]On 3 June 1857, theCyaneretrieved fromGreytownmore than 150 filibusters who surrendered with William Walker at Rivas, Nicaragua, on 1 May, some of whom had their families with them. The ship afterward protected the disputed fisheries along the coast of Nova Scotia from 2 September to 30 October 1857. She sailed forHaiti19 November 1857 and joined a special expedition surveying theIsthmus of Darienas a possible canal site.

In August 1858,Cyanestood out for the Pacific, joining the Pacific Squadron. In 1863, during the Civil War, theCyaneprevented the sloopJ. M. Chapmanfrom being used as aConfederate privateerwhen her armed boarding party took control of the ship as it was preparing to leave San Francisco.^[3]

Except for necessary overhauls, theCyanewas constantly employed on the coasts of North and South America until she was decommissioned and placedin ordinaryatMare Island Navy Yardon 20 September 1871. She was sold at auction on 30 July 1887.

References

Notes

^"History of Ballast Point".BallastPoint.com.Archived fromthe originalon 9 March 2008.Retrieved2 March2008.
^Schoultz, Lars (1998).Beneath the United States: a history of U.S. policy toward Latin America.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University: Harvard University Press. p.60.ISBN 0-674-92276-X.
^The California Military Museum, "The Pacific Squadron of 1861-1866," The following article is taken from Aurora Hunt's book, The Army of the Pacific; Its operations in California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, plains region, Mexico, etc. 1860-1866, under the chapter The Pacific Squadron of 1861-1866.

Bibliography

Linder, Bruce, "Intertwined Heritage",Naval Historymagazine (October 2007) - The role of the USSCyanein first laying claim to San Diego

This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.The entry can be foundhere.

External links

[Ballast-1] "History of Ballast Point".BallastPoint.com.Archived fromthe originalon 9 March 2008.Retrieved2 March2008.

[2] Schoultz, Lars (1998).Beneath the United States: a history of U.S. policy toward Latin America.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University: Harvard University Press. p.60.ISBN 0-674-92276-X.

[3] The California Military Museum, "The Pacific Squadron of 1861-1866," The following article is taken from Aurora Hunt's book, The Army of the Pacific; Its operations in California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, plains region, Mexico, etc. 1860-1866, under the chapter The Pacific Squadron of 1861-1866.

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