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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive

Wolverine (IX 31)

Call sign (1919):
George - Rush - Nan - Watch

ex-Gunboat Michigan

Wolverine served both the U. S. Navy and the Pennsylvania Naval Militia.

Gunboat:

The Navy's first iron-hulled warship was built in 1842 by Stackhouse and Tomlinson of Pittsburgh, PA, in parts, and carried overland to Erie, PA where she was assembled

Launched 5 December 1843

Commissioned USS Michigan 2 September 1844

Renamed Wolverine 17 June 1905 to clear the name Michigan for Battleship No. 27 and reclassified as an Unclassified Miscellaneous Auxiliary, IX-31

Decommissioned 6 May 1912 and turned over to the Pennsylvania Naval Militia as a training ship

Mechanical problems ended her active career on 12 August 1923

Loaned to the city of Erie as a relic in 1927

Sold 19 July 1948 to the Foundation for the Preservation of the Original USS Michigan, Inc.

Sold for scrap in 1949.

Specifications:

Displacement 686 t.

1911 - 685 t.

1921 - 900 t.

Length 163' 3"

Beam 27' 1"

Draft 9'

1921 - 12' 2"

Speed 8 kts.

1911 - 9.8 kts.

Complement 88

1911 - 82

Armament: One 18-pounder

1911 - Six 6-pounder rapid fire mounts and two 1-pounder rapid fire mounts

Propulsion: Two single-ended cylinderical boilers, one 365ihp inclined simple steam engine side wheeler.

Click on thumbnail for full size image	Size	Image Description	Source
USS Michigan
	49k	.	Historical Collections of the Great Lakes
	70k	U.S. Navy photo from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships	Naval Historical Center
	78k	c. 1844.	National Archives
	75k	Commander Francis A. Roe, USN. Lieutenant Commander Roe was made Commanding Officer in 1865 of the Great Lakes gunboat Michigan remaining in her until the spring of 1866. The original print is mounted on a carte de visite (calling card). Photographed by Gurney & Son, New York, probably circa 1866-1867 Collection of Rear Admiral Francis A. Roe, USN. Donated by Miss Mary E. Mason, 1929 Naval Historical Center NH 46948-KN	Bill Gonyo
	102k	Rear Admiral George H. Wadleigh, USN. Portrait photograph, taken circa 1902. In 1889-1891 Rear Admiral George H. Wadleigh, then Commander was the Commanding Officer of the Great Lakes gunboat Michigan. Promoted to Captain in mid-1894, he commanded the receiving ship Richmond until late in that year, and then took command of the new cruiser Minneapolis, in which he cruised in U.S., West Indian and European waters into 1897. Captain Wadleigh served at the Boston Navy Yard until June 1898, including some very busy months near the end of that tour as the Navy prepared ships for Spanish-American War operations. From July 1898 until December 1901 he was Commanding Officer of the cruiser Philadelphia, in the Pacific, and the receiving ship Wabash at Boston. He achieved the rank of Rear Admiral in February 1902 and was briefly Commandant of the Philadelphia Navy Yard and President of the Board of Inspection and Survey before retiring from active duty in June of that year. In retirement, Rear Admiral Wadleigh made his home at Dover, New Hampshire. He died on 11 July 1927. Naval Historical Center NH 41904	Bill Gonyo
	208k	Original photo: Port broadside view of the gunboat Michigan sometime between between 1890 and 1901 Detroit Photographic Co. photo 07358 from the Library of Congress (Photo LC-D-4-7358) Replacement photo: Library of Congress photo	Original photo: Mike Green Replacement photo: Bill Gonyo
USS Wolverine (IX 31)
	50k	Wolverine, anchored in Pine Lake. She was the only U. S. gunboat to patrol the Great lakes.	Sam Inman
	291k	Undated Post Cards	Arnold A. Putnam
	155k
	235k
	271k	Post Card dated 1908 © L. C. Schaube
	62k	c. Early 1900s	Robert Hurst
	104k	Photo probably taken while serving with the Pennsylvania State Naval Militia. Photo from the 1914 edition of Jane's Fighting Ships	Robert Hurst