USS Colorado (1856)

USS *Colorado*
	USS Colorado
History
United States
Name	Colorado
Namesake	Colorado River
Builder	Norfolk Navy Yard
Laid down	1856
Launched	19 June 1856
Sponsored by	Ms. N. S. Dornin
Commissioned	13 March 1858
Decommissioned	8 June 1876
Fate	Sold, 18 February 1885
General characteristics
Class and type	none
Type	Screw frigate
Displacement	3,425 long tons (3,480 t)
Length	263 ft 8 in (80.37 m)
Beam	52 ft 6 in (16.00 m)
Draft	22 ft 1 in (6.73 m)
Propulsion	Steam engine
Sail plan	Three masts
Speed	9 kn (10 mph; 17 km/h)
Complement	674 officers and men
Armament	2 × 10 in (250 mm) guns; 28 × 9 in (230 mm) guns; 14 × 8 in (200 mm) guns;
General characteristics 1864
Class and type	none
Armament	1 × 150–pounder rifle; 1 × 11 in (280 mm) smoothbore guns; 46 × 9 in (230 mm) smoothbore guns; 4 × 12–pounder howitzers ;
General characteristics 1871
Class and type	none
Armament	2 × 100–Pounder rifles; 1 × 11 in (280 mm) smoothbore guns; 42 × 9 in (230 mm) smoothbore guns; 2 × 20–Pounder howitzers; 6 × 12–Pounder howitzers ;

The first USS Colorado was a 3,400 long tons (3,500 t)-class, three-masted^[2] steam screw frigate. It was launched on 19 June 1856 by the Norfolk Navy Yard. It was sponsored by Ms. N. S. Dornin and commissioned on 13 March 1858. Captain W. H. Gardner was in command.

Pre-Civil War

Colorado put to sea from Boston on 12 May 1858. It then cruised into Cuban waters to stop the practice of search by British cruisers until 6 August. She then returned to Boston and was placed in ordinary until 1861.

Prizes

Date^[1]	Prize Name^[1]	Gross Proceeds	Costs and Expenses	Amount for Distribution	Where Adjudicated	Sent to 4th Auditor for Distribution	Vessels Entitled to Share
13 Sep 1861	Judith						destroyed ^[1]
6 May 1862	Lewis Whitmore

Decommissioned

Returning to New York on 30 May 1876, Colorado was placed out of commission on 8 June. From 1876-1884, she was used as a Receiving Ship at New York Navy Yard. She was sold on 14 February 1885 to a private company; and broken up for salvage material and burned for her copper fastenings.^[2]

Notes

1 2 3 4 5 6 Silverstone, Warships, p. 29.
1 2 "USS Colorado Home Page". Archived from the original on 2015-12-23. Retrieved 2013-01-01.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
Silverstone, Paul H. Warships of the Civil War Navies Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 1989, ISBN 0-87021-783-6.

Other websites

Media related to USS Colorado (ship, 1856) at Wikimedia Commons

[Silverstone,_Warships,_p._29-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Silverstone, Warships, p. 29.

[USSCOLO-2] 1 2 "USS Colorado Home Page". Archived from the original on 2015-12-23. Retrieved 2013-01-01.

[1]

[2]