USS Iris (1847)

The first USS Iris was a wooden steamship in the United States Navy during the Mexican–American War.

History
United States
NameUSS Iris
Laid down1847
Acquiredby purchase, 1847
Commissioned25 October 1847
Decommissioned16 December 1848
Fate
  • Sold, 1848
  • Destroyed by fire, 1856
General characteristics
TypeSteamship
Displacement388 long tons (394 t)
Length145 ft (44 m)
Beam27 ft (8.2 m)
Draft9 ft 9 in (2.97 m)
PropulsionSteam engine
Complement70
Armament1 × 32-pounder gun

Propelled by radial paddle wheels, Iris was built at New York in 1847 and purchased there by the Navy in the same year. She commissioned at New York Navy Yard on 25 October 1847, Commander Stephen B. Wilson in command.

The next day Iris departed New York Harbor for Veracruz, Mexico, where she arrived on 11 December. With the exception of a brief visit to Mobile, Alabama in February 1848 and a voyage to Pensacola, Florida in September, Iris remained on duty in the vicinity of Vera Cruz for the next year. During the closing months of the Mexican–American War, she assisted in maintaining the blockade of the coast of Mexico and protected the Army's water communications. Thereafter she vigilantly protected United States interests in that volatile area lest trouble break out anew.

Iris departed Vera Cruz on 8 November and arrived Norfolk, Virginia 16 December. She decommissioned there on 16 December 1848 and was sold soon thereafter.

She was documented as carrying the name Osprey on 9 March 1849. The ship was destroyed by fire at Kingston, Jamaica on 18 April 1856.

References

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