USS Wabash (1855)

Wash drawing in grey tones by Clary Ray, circa 1900, showing USS Wabash under steam and sail
History
United States
NameUSS Wabash
NamesakeA river that rises in Drake County, Ohio, near Fort Recovery.
BuilderPhiladelphia Navy Yard
Laid downMay 16, 1854
LaunchedOctober 24, 1855
Sponsored byMiss Pennsylvania Grice
CommissionedAugust 18, 1856 at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
RecommissionedOctober 24, 1871 at Boston, Massachusetts
DecommissionedApril 25, 1874 at the Boston Navy Yard
StrickenNovember 15, 1912
FateSold, November 15, 1912 at Boston.
General characteristics
Class & typeMerrimack
TypeScrew frigate
Displacement4,808 tons
Length301 ft 6 in (91.90 m)
Beam51 ft 4 in (15.65 m)
Draft23 ft (7.0 m)
Propulsionsteam engine, and schooner sail
Speed9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph)
Complement642
Armament
  • 2 × 10 in (250 mm) Dahlgren smoothbore guns
  • 14 × 8 in (200 mm) 63 hundredweight shell guns
  • 24 × 9 in (230 mm) Dahlgren smoothbore guns
  • 2 × 12 pdr smoothbore guns
  • Jul 1862 8 in (200 mm) Dahlgren guns replaced by 9 in (230 mm) Dahlgren guns
General characteristics 1863
Class & typenone
Armament
  • 1 × 150 pdr rifle
  • 2 × 100 pdr rifle
  • 1 × 10 in (250 mm) Dahlgren smoothbore guns
  • 42 × 9 in (230 mm) Dahlgren guns
  • 1 × 30 pdr rifle
  • 1 × 12 pdr howitzer
General characteristics 1865
Class & typenone
Armament
  • 1 × 150 pdr rifle
  • 1 × 10 in (250 mm) Dahlgren smoothbore guns
  • 42 × 9 in (230 mm) Dahlgren guns
  • 4 × 32 pdr smoothbore guns
  • 1 × 30 pdr rifle

USS Wabash was a steam screw frigate of the United States Navy that served during the American Civil War. She was based on the same plans as Colorado. Post-war she continued to serve her country in European operations and eventually served as a barracks ship in Boston, Massachusetts, and was sold in 1912.