USS Mohawk (1858)

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The second USS Mohawk was a propeller-driven steamship in the United States Navy. It began life as the Caledonia, built by Teas & Birely in Philadelphia and launched on June 11, 1853. The Navy chartered her on September 13, 1858 and she soon entered service under Commander Augustus L. Case.

Mohawk sailed to South America for the Paraguay expedition, aiming to obtain an apology for the 1855 Water Witch incident. The squadron arrived at Asunción on January 25, 1859, and worked to secure a settlement. Paraguay agreed to apologize and pay an indemnity. The steamer returned to the United States, and the Navy purchased her on June 14, 1859, renaming her Mohawk.

She was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on September 19, 1859, with Lt. Tunis Craven in command. Mohawk operated against pirates and slavers off the East Coast and in the Caribbean through 1861. Notably, she captured the slave ship Wildfire in the Old Bahama Channel on April 28, 1860, delivering the prize to Key West. The 530 Africans on board were sheltered by Mohawk’s marines and later returned to Liberia.

Starting on November 15 (1860), Mohawk defended Forts Jefferson and Taylor at Key West, alongside the steamer Wyandotte, helping the Union hold a vital base for future Civil War operations. She remained on guard at Key West until early 1861, then sailed to New York. On March 11, 1861, she escorted the supply ship Empire City to Havana and Indianola, Texas, before heading to Pensacola, Florida, arriving May 10 and taking up a blockade station off the port. She then patrolled off St. Marks, Florida, and on July 5, 1861, captured the sloop George B. Sloat as it tried to run the blockade.

Mohawk returned to New York on April 8, 1862. About two and a half months later, she sailed for Port Royal, South Carolina, to join Flag Officer Samuel F. DuPont’s South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. She later served as guardship at Port Royal in June 1863.

Repairs were ordered on June 27, 1864, and on July 6 she reported to Philadelphia Navy Yard. Her boilers were old and her overall condition poor from wartime use, making her unfit for further service. The Navy sold Mohawk on July 12, 1864. In civilian life she was renamed Alliance and, while still in service, was wrecked at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina, on March 4, 1869.