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USS Cyane (1837)
Encyclopedia
The second USS Cyane was a sloop-of-war
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
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...
during the Mexican-American War.
Cyane was launched 2 December 1837 by Boston Navy Yard
Boston Navy Yard
The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. Established in 1801, it was officially closed as an active naval installation on July 1, 1974, and the property was...
. She was commissioned in May 1838, Commander John Percival
John Percival
John Percival known as Mad Jack Percival was a legendary officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France, the War of 1812, the campaign against West Indies pirates, and the Mexican-American War.-Biography:Born in West Barnstable, Massachusetts, Percival left home at thirteen to...
in command.
She sailed 24 June 1838 for duty in the Mediterranean, returning to Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
16 May 1841. She cleared 1 November 1841 for the Pacific Squadron
Pacific Squadron
The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval supplies and purchased food and obtained water from local...
, returning 1 October 1844. Sailing again for the Pacific 10 August 1845, Cyane served on the west coast during the Mexican War. On 7 July 1846 her commanding officer, Captain William Mervine
William Mervine
William Mervine was a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, whose career included service in the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.-Biography:...
, led a detachment of Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
and sailors from Commodore John D. Sloat
John D. Sloat
John Drake Sloat was a commodore in the United States Navy who, in 1846, claimed California for the United States.-Life:...
's squadron ashore at Monterey, California
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
, 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 Colonel John C. Frémont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
's California Battalion
California Battalion
The first California Volunteer Militia was commonly called the California Battalion was organized by John C. Fremont during the Mexican-American War in Alta California, present day California, United States.-Formation:...
boarded Cyane, now under the command of Commander Samuel Francis Du Pont
Samuel Francis du Pont
Samuel Francis Du Pont was an American naval officer who achieved the rank of Rear Admiral in the United States Navy, and a member of the prominent Du Pont family; he was the only member of his generation to use a capital D...
, and the ship sailed for San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
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 from Fort Guijarros
Fort Guijarros
Fort Guijarros was a Spanish fort in what is now San Diego, California, USA. The name means "Fort Cobblestones" in English. It was built in 1797 on Ballast Point as the first defensive fortifications for San Diego Bay...
and used them to lay siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
to Old Town San Diego. A detachment of Marines and sailors from Cyane took possession of the town, raising the American flag. They were followed shortly by the Fremont volunteers and Cyane's detachment returned aboard to sail for San Blas
San Blas, Nayarit
San Blas is both a municipality and municipal seat located on the Pacific coast of Mexico in the state of Nayarit.-City:San Blas is a port and a popular tourist destination, located about 100 miles north of Puerto Vallarta, and 40 miles west of the state capital Tepic. The town has a population of...
where a landing party destroyed a Mexican battery 2 September.
Entering the Gulf of California
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...
, Cyane seized La Paz
La Paz, Baja California Sur
La Paz is the capital city of the Mexican state of Baja California Sur and an important regional commercial center. The city had a 2010 census population of 215,178 persons, but its metropolitan population is somewhat larger because of surrounding towns like el Centenario, el Zacatal and San Pedro...
and burned the small fleet at Guaymas
Guaymas
Guaymas is a city and municipality located in the southwest part of the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. The city is located 117 km south of the state capital of Hermosillo, and 242 miles from the U.S. border, and is the principal port for the state. The municipality is located in the...
. Within a month, she cleared the Gulf of hostile ships, destroying or capturing 30 vessels. In company with and , she captured the town of Mazatlán
Mazatlán
Mazatlán is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa; the surrounding municipio for which the city serves as the municipal seat is Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip of the Baja California peninsula.Mazatlán is a Nahuatl word meaning...
, Mexico, 11 November 1847. On January 22, 1848, she arrived off San José del Cabo
San José del Cabo
The city of San José del Cabo is located in Baja California Sur Mexico and is the seat of the municipality of Los Cabos at the south end of the Baja California peninsula. In the 2010 census it had a population of 69,788. Together with neighboring Cabo San Lucas it forms a major tourist destination...
to relieve the besieged garrison there. She landed a force of about 100 men who fought
Siege of San José del Cabo
The Siege of San José del Cabo, from January to February 1848, was a prolonged battle of the Mexican-American War in which Mexican militia besieged a smaller force of American marines, sailors and Californio militia...
the final engagement and broke the Mexican siege. She returned to Norfolk 9 October 1848 to receive the congratulations of the Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
for her significant contributions to American victory in Mexico.
Between 9 October 1851 and 24 June 1852 Cyane sailed in the Home Squadron
Home Squadron
The Home Squadron was part of the United States Navy in the mid-19th century. Organized as early as 1838, ships were assigned to protect coastal commerce, aid ships in distress, suppress piracy and the slave trade, make coastal surveys, and train ships to relieve others on distant stations...
, rejoining it 10 October 1852 to cruise constantly on the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean from Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
to Aspinwall
Aspinwall
-Places:* Aspinwall, Iowa, United States* Aspinwall, Pennsylvania, United States* Alternative name of Colón, Panama-Persons:*Edward Aspinwall* Lloyd Aspinwall , American general* William Aspinwall Englishman emigrant to Boston...
for the protection of the lives and property of American citizens. She bombarded
Bombardment of San Juan del Norte
The Bombardment of San Juan del Norte or the Bombardment of Greytown was a naval engagement initiated by the United States sloop-of-war USS Cyane against the town of San Juan del Norte, Nicaragua...
and destroyed San Juan del Norte
San Juan del Norte
San Juan de Nicaragua, formerly known as San Juan del Norte and known in English as Greytown, is a town and municipality in the Río San Juan department of Nicaragua.-Geography:...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, 13 July 1854 in retaliation for actions against American citizens there, and protected the disputed fisheries along the coast of Nova Scotia from 2 September to 30 October 1857. She sailed for Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
19 November 1857 and joined a special expedition surveying the Isthmus of Darien as a possible canal site.
J. M. Chapman (privateer)
J. M. Chapman, 90 Ton schooner, was purchased by in 1863, by Asbury Harpending and other California members of the Knights of the Golden Circle in San Francisco to outfit as a Confederate privateer....
from being used as a Confederate
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...
privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
when their boarding parties took control of the ship as it was preparing to leave San Franscisco.
Except for necessary overhauls, the Cyane was constantly employed on the coasts of North and South America until decommissioned and placed in ordinary at Mare Island Navy Yard 20 September 1871. She was sold at auction 30 July 1887.
There is an effort by The Center for Living History to build a full scale replica of the ship in Monterrey, California. More information can be found on their website at www.cyane.org