USS Fredonia (sailing storeship, 1846)

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Class:        FREDONIA
Design:        Sail (bark)
Displacement (tons):        800 (tonnage)
Dimensions (feet):        160.0' x 32.9' x 16.5' depth
Original Armament:        4-24pdr carronades
Later armaments:        4 carronades (1865)
Complement:        37
Speed (kts.):        --
Propulsion (HP):        N/A
Machinery:        Sail, bark rig

Construction:

AF	Name	Acq.	Builder	Keel	Launch	Commiss.
--	FREDONIA	14 Dec 46	Newburyport, Mass.	--	1845	5 Jan 47

Disposition:

AF	Name	Decomm.	Strike	Disposal	Fate	MA Sale
--	FREDONIA	--	--	13 Aug 68	Lost	--

Class Notes:
The bark FREDONIA was built in 1845 at Newburyport, Mass. She was purchased by the Navy Agent at Boston for $63,303 in December 1846 for use in the Mexican War. Between January and October 1847 she opearated off the east coast of Mexico as part of the Home Squadron. She performed duty as guard ship while dispensing provisions, wood, water, ordnance equipment, and ammunition to the squadron of Commodores Conner and Perry engaged in the bombardment and occupation of Vera Cruz, Tuxpan, and Tabasco. Between January and July 1848 she made a second deployment to the Gulf of Mexico. In December 1848 she sailed from New York with cargo for the west coast, and in July 1849 she arrived at San Francisco after stops at Rio de Janeiro, Valparaiso, and Callao. She remained on the west coast for a year, then departed San Francisco in July 1850, stopped at Valparaiso for urgent repairs, and arrived at New York and decommissioning in January 1851.

Soon recommissioned, FREDONIA sailed from New York in November 1852 with troops, equipment and supplies for California. Delivering these at San Francisco in June 1853, she then arrived at Valparaiso, Chile, on 12 September 1853, and was converted there to a permanent storeship for the Pacific Squadron. She served in this capacity at Valparaiso until 1862, and was then towed to Callao, Peru, by USS WYOMING to continue the same duty there. She was moved to Arica, Peru, in 1868 because of yellow fever at Callao. On 13 August 1868 she was destroyed there in a violent earthquake, reported to be the most devastating and extensive that ever occurred in South America. The tremendous tidal wave that followed the earthquake washed ashore the gunboat WATEREE, also in the harbor of Arica, and completely broke up the storeship with the loss of 27 of her crew.

Ship Notes:

AF	Name	Notes
--	FREDONIA	Ex merc. FREDONIA. Destroyed by earthquake and tidal wave at Arica, Peru, on 13 Aug 68.