Home > USS Vincennes (1826)

The Vincennes first sailed on September 3, 1826 from New York into the Pacific, where she made her way to Macao by 1830. From Macao, she made three more stops before returning to New York on June 8, 1830. Two days later the ship was decommissioned.

Recommissioned again, the Vincennes sailed for the West Indies and, after a long bout of yellow fever, was again decommissioned for a time in 1833 before sailing once more. She became the first American warship to call at Guam.

Decommissioned once again in 1836, while she underwent remodeling, she was declared the flagship for Lieutenant Charles WilkesCharles Wilkes ( April 3, 1798 February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer and explorer. Wilkes was born in New York City. He entered the United States Navy as a midshipman in 1818, and became a lieutenant in 1826. In 1830 he was placed in charge of t' South Sea Surveying and Exploring Expedition to the AntarcticAntarctica (from Greek nu;ταρκτικ&sigmaf opposed to the arctic) is a continent surrounding the Earth's South Pole. It is the coldest place on earth and is almost entirely covered by ice. It is not to be confused with the region. The expedition sailed from Hampton RoadsHampton Roads is the name of both a body of water and the land areas which surround it in southeastern Virginia in the United States. World's largest natural harbor The water area known as Hampton Roads is a channel through which the waters of the James R in August 1838Events January 6 Samuel Morse first publicly demonstrates the telegraph. January 8 Alfred Vail demonstrates a telegraph using dots and dashes (this is the forerunner of Morse code) January 12 Joseph Smith, Jr. and Sidney Rigdon flee Ohio for Missouri Marc and made surveys along the South AmericaSouth America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. South America is situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. It became attached to North America only recently, geologically speaking, win coast before making a brief survey of Antarctica in early 1839Events January 9 The French Academy of Sciences announces the Daguerreotype photography process. January 19 British East India Company captures Aden January 20 In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats a Peruvian and Bolivian alliance. February 24 William Ot. Entering into the South Pacific in August and September 1839Events January 9 The French Academy of Sciences announces the Daguerreotype photography process. January 19 British East India Company captures Aden January 20 In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats a Peruvian and Bolivian alliance. February 24 William Ot, cartographers drafted charts that are still used today.

On January 30, 1840, land was sighted for the first time in the Antarctic region. The coast along which the ship sailed is today known as Wilkes Land, a name given on maps as early as 1841.

Vincennes dropped anchor in San Francisco, California on August 14. On November 1st, she set a course for the far east, arriving in Manila Bay, Manila in early January 1842. The ship arrived at Sandy Hook on the coast of New Jersey on June 10, 1842, almost four years after the beginning of the expedition, completing her third trip around the world.

The Vincennes arrived in Edo on July 6, 1846. The ship was not allowed to land, however, and she continued patroling Asian seas before returning for another decommissioning. Recommissioned in 1850, she lost 36 crew members when she arrived again in San Francisco at the height of the California gold rush. She sailed to Russian and Japanese waters again, then returned to New York and another decommissioning on July 17, 1856.

In 1861, the Vincennes was recommissioned for blockade duty during the American Civil War. She was finally taken out of service at the Boston Navy Yard on August 28, 1865.

On October 5, 1867, the USS Vincennes was sold at public auction for approximately $5,000.00.