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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

USS Saginaw (I)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal

Unadilla Class Gunboat:

Laid down, 16 September 1858, at Mare Island Navy Yard

Launched, 3 March 1859 as Toucey

Renamed Saginaw, 5 January 1860

Commissioned, USS Saginaw, 5 January 1860, CDR. James F. Schenck in command

USS Saginaw was assigned to the East India Squadron in May 1860, to protect American citizens and to suppress pirates

Decommissioned, 3 January 1862, at Hong Kong and returned to Mare Island on 3 July for repairs

Relaunched, December 1862

Recommissioned, 23 March 1863

USS Saginaw was assigned to the Pacific Squadron and operated along the western seaboard to prevent Confederate activity

Following the Civil War Saginaw continued to operate along the western seaboard and in Alaskan waters

From March to October 1870 Saginaw supported dredging operations at Midway Island

Assignment completed, Saginaw sailed for San Francisco the end October 1870

The ship intending to touch at Ocean Island en route home to rescue any shipwrecked sailors who might be stranded there

On 29 October, as she neared this rarely visited island, Saginaw struck an outlying reef and grounded the surf battered the ship to pieces but the crew was able to get ashore with some of the ship' stores

On 18 November, a party of five men, headed by LT. John G. Talbot, the executive officer, set out for Honolulu in a small boat to get relief for their stranded shipmates. As they neared Kauai, 31 days and some 1,500 miles later, their boat was upset by breakers. Only Coxswain William Halford survived to obtain help for the marooned men of Saginaw

Specifications (As Built):
Displacement 453 t. (gross)
Length 155'
Beam 26'
Depth of Hold 11.5'
Draft 4.5
Speed unknown
Complement 59

Armament

one 32-pdr pivot gun

two 24-pdr rifles

Propulsion

two 30psi three furnace water-tube boilers

two surface condensers with capacity of 150 gallons/day

two inclined oscillating steam cylinders engines, both with bores 39 inches in diameter and 48 inches stroke (Union Iron Works, San Francisco)

two Paddle wheels – Iron 20 ft in diameter with paddles 6’ length 18” wide (Union Iron Works, San Francisco)

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
098647604	6,121k	USS Saginaw 1859 hull Plan US National Archives	Darryl Baker
098647605	1,815k	USS Saginaw 1859 hull Plan US National Archives	Darryl Baker
	55k	USS Saginaw returning to Mare Island Navy Yard in 1862. The ship at anchor to starboard of *Saginaw* is the stores ships USS Warren. Courtesy United States Naval Institute.	Tommy Trampp
	189k	USS Saginaw as she appeared after the Civil War, circa 1867. She carries a considerably heavier armament than she did when commissioned and resembles a merchantman more than a man-of-war. Illustration by J. M. Caiella. Courtesy United States Naval Institute.	Tommy Trampp
	114k	An image of the side-wheel sloop USS Saginaw stuck on an outlying reef, at Ocean Island or Kure Atoll, 29 October 1870, as depicted by her captain CDR. James F. Schenk. Photo from "The Last Cruise of the Saginaw" by George H. Read. Published in 1912.	Robert Hurst
	297k	Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Charles S. Coy was appointed Acting Master’s Mate, 5 October 1861, and was temporarily assigned to USRS North Carolina until 31 October 1861 where he was reassigned to USS Lancaster. Coy served aboard *Lancaster* until 26 January 1864. During his service aboard *Lancaster* he was promoted to Acting Ensign, 16 January 1863, followed by promotion to Acting Master on 27 January 1864. Reassigned to USS Saginaw from February 1864 until 3 April 1866. During his tenure aboard *Saginaw* he was promoted to Acting Volunteer Lieutenant on 12 June 1865. When he was detached from *Saginaw* he was ordered to return to the United States. Upon his arrival, 12 June 1866, he was granted four months leave of absence prior to his honorable discharge on 12 October 1866. The portrait was taken in Peru in 1864 during a port of call while *Saginaw* was assigned to the Pacific Squadron protecting the interests of the U.S. endangered by Confederate activity and by European interference in Mexico.	Bill Gonyo

USS Saginaw (I)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Shipwrecks in Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 7 August 2020