Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

USS St. Lawrence

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal

Brandywine Class Frigate:

Laid down in 1826 at Norfolk Navy Yard

Launched in 1848

Commissioned USS St. Lawrence, 17 August 1848, CAPT. Hiram Paulding in command

USS St. Lawrence spent the first six years of service, 1844 to 1850, in European waters training German sailors and showing the flag

Decommissioned, 15 November 1850, at New York

Recommissioned, 5 February 1851, CDR. Joshua Sands in command

USS St. Lawrence delivered the United States exhibit for the International Exposition at London in 1851

Decommissioned, 11 August 1851 at New York

Recommissioned, 18 November 1851

Departed, 12 December 1851 for assignment with the Pacific Squadron

Assigned as Pacific Squadron flagship in 1853

Decommissioned, 21 April 1855, at Norfolk and placed in ordinary on 21 May 1855

Recommissioned, 22 September 1856, and assigned as flagship for the Brazil Squadron

Decommissioned, 25 May 1859, at Philadelphia

Recommissioned, 21 June 1861, CAPT. Hugh Y. Purviance in command

Assigned to the Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Hampton Roads

Reassigned to the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron, 19 October 1861

Reassigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, 6 March 1862, at Hampton Roads

Ran aground, 6 March 1862, during the Battle of Hampton Roads and damaged by shelling by CSS Virginia

Reassigned to the East Blockading Squadron, 23 March 1862

Assigned as flagship for the East Blockading Squadron in July 1862

Decommissioned, 30 May 1863, at Portsmouth Navy Yard, New Hampshire

Recommissioned, 5 August 1863, assigned as ordnance ship for the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Norfolk

Decommissioned, 12 December 1865, at Norfolk and placed in ordinary through 1866, used as a barracks ship for marines at Norfolk from 1867 through 1875

Struck from the Naval Register, date unknown

Sold, 31 December 1875, at Norfolk to E. Stannard and Co., Westbrook, CT.

Specifications:
Displacement 1,726 t.
Length 175'
Beam 45'
Depth 14' 5"
Speed unknown
Complement 480

Armament

eight 8" Shell guns

forty-two 32-pdrs

Propulsion sail

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
098604807	240k	USS St. Lawrence, 27 April 1852. C. Hoffman USN, artist. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 1736. Collection of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.	Robert Hurst
	58k	A contemporary lithograph of USS St. Lawrence off the Isle of Wight in 1848, with the British ensign at her foretop. St. Lawrence has just dropped anchor and is firing a gun salute. US Navy photo from DANFS.	Robert Hurst
	112k	A painting of the destruction of the privateer *Petrel* by USS St. Lawrence, by R. Hinkelwood, after a painting by Paul Manzoni. US Library of Congress reproduction number LC-USZ62-72732.	Robert Hurst
	430k	1861 Harper's Weekly Engravings - CIVIL WAR - USS St. Lawrence & Union Blockade USS St. Lawrence sinking the privateer *Petrel* at sea, 1 August 1861.	Tommy Trampp
098604808	233k	Wash drawing of USS St. Lawrence by Clary Ray, October 1897. US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 57841	Robert Hurst
098604809	146k	Lithograph of frigate USS St. Lawrence firing upon the sinking Confederate privateer Petrel. Confederate sailors jump from the ship, float in the water, and are rescued by a U.S. lifeboat. Image taken from War Between The States, author unknown. This image was originally posted to Flickr by Library Company of Philadelphia at https://flickr.com/photos/26491575@N05/5532383440 https://www.flickr.com/photos/library-company-of-philadelphia/5532383440/	Robert Hurst
098604810	139k	Builder's Half-model of USS St. Lawrence at the US Navy Museum taken on 2 January 2012. Photo courtesy of Sturmvogel 66. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license	Robert Hurst

USS St. Lawrence
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Commanding Officers
01	CAPT. Paulding, Hiram	17 August 1848 - 15 November 1850
	Decommissioned	15 November 1850 - 5 February 1851
02	CAPT. Sands, Joshua Ratoon	5 February 1851 - 11 August 1851
	Decommissioned	11 August 1851 - 18 November 1851
03	CAPT. Hunter, William H.	18 November 1851 - 21 April 1852
	Decommissioned	21 April 1852 - 22 September 1856
04	CAPT. Hull, Joseph B.	22 September 1856 - 25 May 1859
	Decommissioned	22 May 1859- 21 June 1861
05	CAPT. Purviance, Hugh Y.	21 June 1861 - 21 April 1862
06	CAPT. Schenck, James Findlay	1 May 1863 - 15 April 1863
07	CDR. Calhoun, James	15 April 1863 - 21 April 1864
08	CDR. Lynch, Dominick	21 April 1864 - 12 December 1865


Courtesy Bill Gonyo

Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page

Back To The Old Navy" Steam and Sail Index

Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.

This page is created by Gary P. Priolo and maintained by Michael Junge

Last Updated 19 October 2023