USS Relief (1836) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids History |
|
|---|---|
  |
|
| Name | USS Relief |
| Builder | Philadelphia Navy Yard |
| Laid down | 1835 |
| Launched | 14 September 1836 |
| Decommissioned | 1878 |
| Fate | Sold, 27 September 1883 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Supply ship |
| Displacement | 468 long tons (476 t) |
| Length | 109 ft (33 m) |
| Beam | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Depth of hold | 12 ft (3.7 m) |
| Propulsion | Sail |
| Armament |
|
The first USS Relief was a special kind of ship called a supply ship in the United States Navy. Her job was to carry important supplies to other ships.
Relief was built in 1835 at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. She was launched, meaning put into the water for the first time, on September 14, 1836. A man named Samuel Humphreys designed her. She looked a lot like a merchant ship, which are ships that carry goods for trade. Relief had three masts with special sails to help her move against strong winds. She could carry up to 16 small guns, but usually had fewer, like four to six 18-pounder guns and two 12-pounder guns.
Adventures of the USS Relief
Exploring the World: The United States Expedition
In December 1836, Relief left Philadelphia. She was heading to Norfolk, Virginia to join a big adventure called the United States South Sea Surveying and Exploring Expedition. This expedition was planned to explore and map parts of the world. However, the trip kept getting delayed for a long time, until the summer of 1838. During this wait, Relief stayed near Norfolk or sailed along the east coast of the United States.
On August 19, 1838, the group of ships, led by Lt. Charles Wilkes, finally left Hampton Roads. They set sail for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Their plan was to cross the Atlantic Ocean to Madeira, then go straight to Brazil. But Relief, commanded by Lt. A. K. Long, was a slow ship. She fell behind the others. She was told to meet the other five ships in the Cape Verde Islands. They all met up in early October and sailed for Brazil. Relief was the last to arrive in Rio on November 26.
On January 6, 1839, the ships sailed towards Cape Horn, a very stormy area at the tip of South America. Relief went around the Cape and reached Orange Harbor on January 30. For almost three weeks, her crew worked hard. They recorded the ocean tides, set up navigation lights, and cut wood. On February 18, the other ships arrived. Towards the end of the month, they split up for different missions. Some ships explored near Antarctica, while others followed paths taken by famous explorers. Relief was sent north to the Straits of Magellan to map harbors there.
However, Relief got caught in bad storms. She almost crashed near Noir Island in mid-March. She even lost her anchor during the struggle! Because of this, she couldn't go into the channel. So, she sailed to Valparaíso instead.
On April 15, she arrived in Valparaíso to get repairs. She waited for the rest of the ships, who joined her by mid-May. In June, they moved to Callao, where the ships were fixed up and restocked with supplies. Relief was completely unloaded and cleaned. She had been carrying so many supplies, and even had a lot of rats!
Because Relief was so slow, she was ordered to go from Callao to Sydney, Australia, and then sail home. She also carried sick crew members and those who were unhappy. She left in mid-July and spent two weeks in the Sandwich Islands (now called the Hawaiian Islands). Three months after leaving Peru, she reached Sydney. She dropped off her remaining cargo, took on water, wood, and heavy rocks for balance. Then she headed east. On her way home, she sailed around Cape Horn again. On March 28, 1840, she finally arrived back in New York.
More Journeys and Important Work
By the end of 1840, Relief was repaired and ready to sail again. She went back to the Pacific and stayed there for five years. She mostly worked off the west coast of South America. She returned to New York in April 1846. In May, the war with Mexico began. In July, Relief joined the Home Squadron, a group of ships that protected the home waters. Until June 1848, she sailed in the Gulf of Mexico. Her job was to keep supplies flowing to the ships that were blocking the Mexican coast. This was a difficult task because supply bases were far away, and there weren't many ships like her.
In July 1848, Relief returned to New York. In the fall, she sailed from Norfolk to the Brazil Station, which was a naval base in Brazil. The next spring, she was back in Norfolk. But in the autumn, she headed east again. She worked in the Mediterranean Sea until July 1850. After that, she went back to the United States and continued her supply runs to Brazil. She was taken out of service for repairs on November 20, 1855. But she was back in action on February 19, 1856, and kept sailing to Brazil through 1857.
In late 1858, she rejoined the Home Squadron and sailed in the Gulf of Mexico. In 1861, she crossed the Atlantic again. She delivered supplies to the African Squadron, a group of ships in Africa. When the American Civil War started, she returned to the United States. Her new job was to supply the ships of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. These ships were blocking Southern ports. In July 1862, she went back to the Gulf of Mexico. Until the fall of 1863, she mostly served as a store ship at Ship Island in Mississippi Sound.
Then, Relief was ordered to Boston, Massachusetts for major repairs. She was taken out of service on December 5, 1863. But she was back in service on April 29, 1864, and sent back to the Pacific. In July, she delivered supplies in Rio de Janeiro. From there, she continued to China, arriving at the Portuguese colony of Macau in December. After serving on the Asiatic Station, she returned to New York in late 1866 and was put into storage. In 1871, she was sent to Washington, D.C.. There, she served as a receiving ship until 1877. This means she was used to house new sailors before they were assigned to other ships. The next year, she was stored away in Washington. Finally, on September 27, 1883, she was sold to a person named J. B. Agnew.
