The first USS Cayuga was a 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...

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Cayuga was launched 21 October 1861 by Gildersleeve and Son, East Haddam, Connecticut

East Haddam, Connecticut

East Haddam is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,333 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....

; outfitted at New York Navy Yard; commissioned 21 February 1862, Lieutenant N. B. Harrison in command; and reported to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron.

Service history

Cayuga arrived at Ship Island in Mississippi Sound

Mississippi Sound

The Mississippi Sound is a sound along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It runs east-west along the southern coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, from Waveland, Mississippi, to the Dauphin Island Bridge, a distance of about 145 kilometers...

 on 26 March 1862, for service in the lower 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...

, its tributaries, and along the Gulf coast of Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. Only once did she leave this area, from 1 May to 8 July 1862, during which she made repairs at New York Navy Yard.

Playing an important part in the blockade which cut the Confederacy

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...

 off from overseas sources of supply, Cayuga took an impressive number of prizes, including schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

 Jesse J. Cox (25 March 1862), schooner Tampico (3 April 1863), sloop

Sloop

A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....

 Blue Bell (2 July 1863), schooner J. T. Davis (10 August 1863), and schooner Wave (22 August 1863). In addition, she shared in the capture of sloop Active (21 June 1863).

Cayuga also joined in the engagement with 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...

 below New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

 in April 1862, which led to the fall of the city to 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...

 and bombarded Donaldsonville, Louisiana

Donaldsonville, Louisiana

Donaldsonville is a city in and the parish seat of Ascension Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the west bank of the Mississippi River. The population was 7,605 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:Acadians began to settle in the area in...

, 9 August 1862. On 18 April 1863, at Sabine Pass, Texas

Sabine Pass, Texas

Sabine Pass is a neighborhood of Port Arthur, Texas, United States. It lies on the west bank of Sabine Pass, near the Louisiana border.Originally known as Sabine City, the original date of settlement of Sabine Pass is unknown, but is estimated at 1836...

, Cayuga's commanding officer, Lieutenant David McDermut

David McDermut

David A. McDermut was an officer in the Union Navy during the American Civil War.A native of New York, McDermut was appointed midshipman on November 8, 1841, and attained the rank of lieutenant commander on July 16, 1862. During the Civil War, he served in Potomac and Marion before assuming...

, led a party of men ashore in a reconnaissance designed as the last step in a plan to cut out Confederate steamers lying at Sabine, then to establish control of the Sabine River, separating southern forces in Texas from those in Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

. The party was surprised by Confederate soldiers; and McDermut, mortally wounded, and six men were taken prisoner.

Cayuga's active service ended with her departure from Galveston, Texas

Galveston, Texas

Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...

, 4 July 1865 for New York, where she arrived 26 July. She was decommissioned 31 July 1865, and sold 25 October 1865.