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Unnumbered Ships Built for the U.S. Navy in the 19th Century

Most recent update: March 13, 2011.

Pennant numbers were introduced in 1898.  The ships in this table, which are listed by type and by year built, represent the period of transition from sail power and wooden hulls to steam and iron.  All these ships were, I think, steam-powered but some of the older ones had wooden hulls.  There are probably many omissions: if anyone can add to or correct the data below, please send your info to timcolton@aol.com

Shipbuilder Location Original Name LDT Built Disposition
BATTLESHIPS          
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Maine 6,682 1895 Destroyed in Havana harbor 1898, wreck scuttled 1912
Norfolk NSY Portsmouth VA Texas 6,315 1895 Sunk as target 1911
CRUISERS          
Steers, George Greenpoint NY Idaho 3,241 1866 Sold 1874
Roach & Son, John Chester PA Atlanta 3,189 1886 Sold 1912
Roach & Son, John Chester PA Boston 3,189 1887 Sunk as target 1946
Roach & Son, John Chester PA Chicago 4,500 1889 Sold 1936
Cramp Shpbuilding Philadelphia PA Vesuvius 930 1889 Scrapped 1922
IRONCLADS          
Merrick & Sons Philadelphia PA New Ironsides 3,486 1862 Destroyed by fire 1865
Whitney, Charles W. New York NY Keokuk 677 1863 Sunk at Charleston SC 1864
National Iron Armor & SB Philadelphia PA Koka 1,175 1863 Scrapped 1874
Webb, William H. New York NY Dunderberg   1865 Sold to France 1867 as Rochambeau
Bath Iron Works Bath ME Katahdin 2,155 1893 Sunk as target 1909
FRIGATES          
Unknown Unknown Fulton 2,475 1816 Exploded 1829
Washington NSY Washington DC Potomac 1,726 1831 Sold 1877
Portsmouth NSY Kittery ME Congress 1,867 1842 Sold 1865
Boston NSY Charlestown MA Cumberland 1,726 1842 Sunk by CSS Virginia 1862
Philadelphia NSY Philadelphia PA Raritan 1,726 1844 Scuttled at Norfolk NSY 1862
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Savannah 1,726 1844 Sold 1883
Norfolk NSY Portsmouth VA St. Lawrence 1,726 1848 Sold 1875
New York NSY Brooklyn NY San Jacinto 1,567 1850 Sold 1871
Norfolk NSY Portsmouth VA Powhatan 2,765 1852 Scrapped 1887
Boston NSY Charlestown MA Merrimack 3,200 1856 Later CSS Virginia, scuttled at Norfolk NSY 1862
Philadelphia NSY Philadelphia PA Wabash 4,808 1856 Scrapped 1912
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Niagara 5,540 1857 Sold 1885
Norfolk NSY Portsmouth VA Roanoke 4,772 1857 Scrapped 1883
Norfolk NSY Portsmouth VA Colorado 3,425 1858 Sold 1885
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Sabine 1,726 1858 Sold 1883
Portsmouth NSY Kittery ME Santee 1,726 1861 Burnt 1912
Boston NSY Charlestown MA Ammonoosuc 3,850 1864 Later Iowa 1869, sold 1883
Portsmouth NSY Kittery ME Franklin 5,170 1867 Sold 1915
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Madawaska 3,281 1867 Later Tennessee 1869, sold 1886
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Wampanoag 4,215 1867 Later Florida 1869, sold 1885
Philadelphia NSY Philadelphia PA Nevada 3,850 1868 Sold 1874
MONITORS          
Continental Iron Works Brooklyn NY Monitor 987 1862 Sank 1863
Continental Iron Works Brooklyn NY Montauk 750 1862 Sold 1904
Harrison Loring East Boston MA Nahant 1,875 1862 Sold 1904
Continental Iron Works Brooklyn NY Passaic 844 1862 Sold 1899
Portsmouth NSY Kittery ME Agamenticus 3,395 1863 Later Terror 1869
Harrison Loring East Boston MA Canonicus 1,034 1863 Sold 1908
Continental Iron Works Brooklyn NY Catskill 1,875 1863 Sold 1901
Reaney & Archbold Chester PA Lehigh 1,875 1863 Sold 1904
Atlantic Iron Works South Boston MA Nantucket 1,875 1863 Sold 1900
Union Iron Works Carondelet MO Neosho 523 1863 Later Vixen 1869, Osceola 1869, sold 1873
Union Iron Works Carondelet MO Osage 523 1863 Sunk by mine in the Blakely River1865
Harlan & Hollingsworth Wilmington DE Patapsco 1,875 1863 Sunk by mine 1865
Continental Iron Works Brooklyn NY Sangamon 1,875 1863 Sold 1905
Colwell Jersey City NJ Weehawken 1,875 1863 Foundered off Charleston SC 1863
Atlantic Iron Works South Boston MA Casco 614 1864 Scrapped 1875
Union Iron Works Carondelet MO Chickasaw 970 1864 Sold 1874, Goldsboro 1882, scrapped 1944
Union Iron Works Carondelet MO Kickapoo 1,300 1864 Later Kewaydin 1969, sold 1874
Delamater Iron Works New York NY Dictator 3,033 1864 Sold 1883
Union Iron Works Carondelet MO Kickapoo 1,300 1864 Later Cyclops 1869, Kewaydin 1869, sold 1874
Colwell Jersey City NJ Mahopac 2,100 1864 Sold 1902
Colwell Jersey City NJ Manhattan 2,100 1864 Sold 1902
Union Iron Works Carondelet MO Milwaukee 1,300 1864 Sunk by mine in Blakely River 1865
Bester, George C. Peoria IL Ozark 575 1864 Sold 1865
Colwell Jersey City NJ Tecumseh 2,100 1864 Sunk by mne in Mobile Bay 1864
Union Iron Works Carondelet MO Winnebago 1,300 1864 Sold 1874, later Peru's Manco Capac
Colwell Jersey City NJ Camanche 800 1865 Sold 1899
Swift, Alexander, & Co. Cincinnati OH Catawba 1,034 1865 Sold 1868
Aquila Adams South Boston MA Chimo 614 1865 Later Piscataqua 1869, sold 1874
Snowden Mason Pittsburgh PA Manayunk 2,100 1865 Later Ajax 1869, sold 1899
Underhill New York NY Modoc 1,175 1865 Scrapped 1874
Perrine Williamsburg NY Naubuc 1,175 1865 Scrapped 1874
McKay East Boston MA Nausett 1,175 1865 Scrapped 1874
Curtis & Tilden Boston MA Shawnee 1,175 1865 Scrapped 1875
McKay East Boston MA Squando 1,175 1865 Later Algoma 1869, scrapped 1874
Lawrence Portland ME Wassuc 1,175 1865 Scrapped 1875
Denmead & Son Baltimore MD Waxsaw 1,175 1865 Scrapped 1874
Swift, Alexander, & Co. Cincinnati OH Yuma 1,175 1865 Sold 1874
McCord St Louis MO Etlah 1,175 1866 Sold 12.9.74
Hambleton Cincinnati OH Klamath 1,175 1866 Sold 1874
McCord St Louis MO Shiloh 1,175 1866 Later Iris 1869, sold 1874
Litherbury Cincinnati OH Tippecanoe 2,100 1866 Later Wyandotte 1869, sold 1899
Snowden & Mason Pittsburgh PA Umpqua 1,175 1866 Sold 1874
Litherbury, John Cincinnati OH Wyandotte 2,100 1866 Scrapped 1899
Unknown Unknown Cohoes   1867 Sold 1874
Union Iron Works Carondelet MO Oswego 523 1867 Sunk by mine in the Blakely River1865
Continental Iron Works Brooklyn NY Puritan 3,265 1867 Later BM 1
Harlan & Hollingsworth Wilmington DE Amphitrite 3,990 1874 Later BM 2, sold 1920, scrapped 1952
GUNBOATS          
Stackhouse and Tomlinson Pittsburgh PA Michigan 686 1842 Scrapped 1949
Brown & Bell New York NY Vixen 240 1845 Sold 1855
Tomlinson & Co. Pittsburgh PA Allegheny 989 1847 Sold 1869
Sneeden, Samuel New York NY R. R. Cuyler 1,200 1860 Wrecked 1867
Webb & Bell New York NY Chippewa 507 1861 Sold 1865
Unknown St. Louis MO Essex 614 1861 Ex-New Era, sold 1865
Stack New York NY Pembina 691 1861 Sold 1865
Harlan & Hollingsworth Wilmington DE Rescue 111 1861 Sold 1891
Atlantic Iron Works South Boston MA Sagamore 691 1861 Sold 1867 as Kaganokami. Yoshun 1868, scrapped 1871
Birely Philadelphia PA Sciota 691 1861  
Simonson, J. New York NY Seneca 507 1861 Sold 1868
Eads, James Carondelet MO St. Louis 512 1861 Later Baron de Kalb 1862, sunk by mine off Yazoo City 1863
Thatcher Wilmington DE Tahoma 691 1861  
Novelty Iron Works New York NY Unadilla 691 1861  
Unknown Mystic CT Union 1,114 1861 Sank 1872
Mallory Mystic CT Varuna 1,300 1861 Sunk 1862
Unknown New Brunswick NJ Whitehead 136 1861 Burnt 1872
Poillon, C. & R. New York NY Winona 507 1861 Sold 1865
Lynn, John Philadelphia PA Wissahiakon 607 1861 Sold 1865
Thompson, Nathaniel Kennebunk ME Aroostook 507 1862 Sold 1869
Eads, James Carondelet MO St. Louis 512 1862 Later Baron de Kalb 1862, sunk by mine in Yazoo River 1863
Eads, James Mound City IL Cairo 512 1862 Sunk by mine in Yazoo River 1862
Eads, James Carondelet MO Carondelet 512 1862 Sold 1865
Gildersleeve & Sons, S. East Haddam CT Cayuga 691 1862  
Brown, Joseph Cincinnati OH Chillicothe 203 1862 Sold 1865
Curtis & Tilden Boston MA Chocura 691 1862  
Merschon, D. S. Bordentown NJ Cimarron 860 1862 Sold 1865
Eads, James Carondelet MO Cincinnati 512 1862 Sold 1866
Bushnell, C.S. and H.L. Mystic CT Galena 738 1862 Scrapped 1871
Goodspeed, G. E. East Haddam CT Kanawha 691 1862 Sold 1866
Larrabee & Allen Bath ME Katahdin 691 1862 Sold 1865
Lawrence, George W. Thomaston ME Kennebec 691 1862 Sold 1865
Dyer, J. W. Portland ME Kineo 691 1862 Sold 1866
Eads, James Carondelet MO Louisville 468 1862 Sold 1865
Jackman, J. W.  Newburyport MA Marblehead 691 1862 Sold 1868
Eads, James Carondelet MO Mound City 512 1862 Sold 1865
Mallory Mystic CT Owasco 691 1862  
Eads, James Carondelet MO Pittsburgh 512 1862 Sold 1865
Stack New York NY Port Royal 1,163 1862 Sold 1866
Unknown Cincinnati OH Romeo 175 1862 Sold 1865
Portsmouth NSY Kittery ME Sebago 832 1862 Sold 1867
Unknown Belle Vernon PA St. Clair 203 1862 Sold 1865
Unknown Brooklyn NY Underwriter 341 1862 Burnt 1864
Brown, Joseph Cincinnati OH Indianola 511 1863 Sold 1863
Philadelphia NSY Philadelphia PA Kansas 625 1863 Sold 1883
Portsmouth NSY Kittery ME Nipsic 592 1863 Sold 1913
Unknown Cincinnati OH Tallahatchie 171 1863 Burnt 1869
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Tallapoosa 974 1863 Sold 1892
Brown, Joseph Cincinnati OH Tuscumbia 915 1863 Sold 1865
Unknown Cincinnati OH Undine 179 1863 Wrecked 1863
Unknown Mystic CT Vicksburg 886 1863 Sold 1865
Unknown Cincinnati OH Victory 160 1863 Sold 1865
Lawrence, George W. Portland ME Agawam 974 1864 Sold 1867
Jackman Newburyport MA Ascutney 1,173 1864  
Simonson, H. Brooklyn NY Chenango 1,173 1864 Sold 1868
Larrabee & Allan Bath ME Iosco 1,173 1864 Hulked 1868
Curtis & Tilden Boston MA Massasoit 1,173 1864  
Sampson Boston MA Mattabesett 1,173 1864  
Tucker, F. Z. Brooklyn NY Mendota 1,074 1864 Sold 1867
Stack, Thomas Brooklyn NY Metacomet 1,163 1864 Sold 1865
Mershon Bordentown NJ Mingoe 1,173 1864  
Denmead & Son Baltimore MD Monocacy 1,370 1864 Sold 1903
Curtis & Tilden Boston MA Osceola 1,173 1864 Sold 1867
Lawrence Portland ME Pontoosuc 1,173 1864 Sold 1866
Boston NSY Charlestown MA Saco 593 1864 Sold 1883
Pook Mystic CT Stromboli 207 1864  
Cramp Shipbuilding Philadelphia PA Wyalusing 1,173 1864 Scrapped 1867
Philadelphia NSY Philadelphia PA Yantic 836 1864 Scrapped 1936
McKay, Donald East Boston MA Yucca 373 1864 Sold 1868
McKay, Donald East Boston MA Ashuelot 1,370 1865 Wrecked 1883
Tomlinson Hartupee Pittsburgh PA Marietta 479 1865 Sold 1873
Zeno Secor Jersey City NJ Mohongo 1,370 1865  
Tetlow, James Chelsea MA Palos 420 1865 Sold 1893
Tomlinson Hartupee Pittsburgh PA Sandusky 479 1865 Sold 1873
Boston NSY Charlestown MA Winooski 1,173 1865 Sold 1868
Cramp Shipbuilding Philadelphia PA Yazoo 1,175 1865 Scrapped 1974
Unknown Kensington PA Victoria 254 1866 Sold 1875
Portsmouth NSY Kittery ME Enterprise 1,375 1873 Burnt for scrap 1910
Roach & Son, John Chester PA Alert 1,202 1875 Scrapped 1922
McKay, Donald East Boston MA Adams 1,375 1876 Scrapped 1921
McKay, Donald East Boston MA Essex 1,375 1876 Sold 1930
Boston NSY Charlestown MA Vandalia 2,033 1876 Wrecked in Samoa 1889
Norfolk NSY Norfolk VA Alliance 1,375 1877 Struck 1911
Norfolk NSY Portsmouth VA Galena 1,900 1879 Sold 1892
SLOOPS          
Washington NSY Washington DC St. Louis 700 1828 Scrapped 1907
Boston NSY Charlestown MA Cyane 792 1838 Sold 1887
Philadelphia NSY Philadelphia PA Dale 566 1839 To USCG as Oriole 1906, sold 1921
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Decatur 566 1839 Sold 1865
Norfolk NSY Portsmouth VA Yorktown 566 1840 Wrecked in the Cape Verde I. 1850
Portsmouth NSY Kittery ME Saratoga 882 1843 Sold 1907
Gosport NSY Portsmouth VA Jamestown 1,150 1844 Burnt 1913
Portsmouth NSY Kittery ME Portsmouth 1,022 1844 Sold 1915
Washington NSY Washington DC St. Mary's 958 1844 Scrapped 1908
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Albany 1,064 1846 Lost 1854
Portsmouth NSY Kittery ME Saranac 1,463 1850 Wrecked 1875
Westervelt & Son New York NY Brooklyn 2,532 1859 Sold 1891
Boston NSY Charlestown MA Hartford 2,900 1859 Sank at her berth 1958
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Iroquois 1,016 1859 Later Ionic 1904, struck 1910
Philadelphia NSY Philadelphia PA Lancaster 2,362 1859 Sold 1929, scrapped 1933
Boston NSY Charlestown MA Narragansett 1,235 1859 Sold 1883
Philadelphia NSY Philadelphia PA Wyoming 1,457 1859 Sold 1892
Norfolk NSY Portsmouth VA Dacotah 996 1860 Sold 1873
Philadelphia NSY Philadelphia PA Pawnee 1,533 1860 Sold 1884
Norfolk NSY Portsmouth VA Richmond 2,604 1860 Scrapped 1919
Merrick & Sons Philadelphia PA Tuscarora 1,457 1861 Sold 1883
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Adirondack 1,240 1862 Wrecked in the Bahamas 1862
Boston NSY Charlestown MA Canandaigua 1,395 1862 Scrapped 1884
Philadelphia NSY Philadelphia PA Juniata 1,240 1862 Sold 1891
Portsmouth NSY Kittery ME Kearsarge 1,550 1862 Wrecked 1884
Portsmouth NSY Kittery ME Ossippee 1,240 1862 Sold 1891
Boston NSY Charlestown MA Wachusett 1,032 1862 Sold 1887
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Lackawanna 1,533 1863 Sold 1887
Philadelphia NSY Philadelphia PA Monongahela 2,078 1863 Burnt 1908
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Ticonderoga 2,526 1863 Sold 1887
Boston NSY Charlestown MA Pompanoosuc   1864 Later Connecticut 1869, scrapped 1883
Philadelphia NSY Philadelphia PA Germantown 939 1864 Sold 1864
Portsmouth NSY Kittery ME Sacramento 2,100 1864 Wrecked 1867
Portsmouth NSY Kittery ME Resaca 1,129 1866 Wrecked 1875
Boston NSY Charlestown MA Guerriere   1867 Sold 1872
Portsmouth NSY Kittery ME Contoocook 2,348 1868 Sold 1872
Boston NSY Charlestown MA Alaska 2,394 1869 Sold 1883
Philadelphia NSY Philadelphia PA Antietam 3,963 1869 Sold 1888
Portsmouth NSY Kittery ME Benicia 2,400 1869 Sold 1884
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Plymouth 1,122 1869 Scrapped 1884
Portsmouth NSY Kittery ME California 2,354 1870 Sold 1875
Philadelphia NSY Philadelphia PA Congress 3,003 1870 Sold 1883
Boston NSY Charlestown MA Worcester 3,050 1871 Sold 1883
Philadelphia NSY Philadelphia PA Omaha 2,394 1872 Sold 1915
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Swatara 1,900 1874 Scrapped 1891
Mare Island NSY Vallejo CA Mohican 1,900 1885 Scrapped 1922
STEAMERS          
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Fulton 720 1837 Scuttled in Pensacola 1862
Norfolk NSY Portsmouth VA Union 966 1843 Sold 1858
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Susquehanna 2,450 1850 Scrapped 1883
Pensacola NSY Pensacola FL Pensacola 3,000 1859 Scuttled 1912
Unknown Unknown Conestoga 572 1861 Sank off Bondurant Point 1864
Portsmouth NSY Kittery ME Conemaugh 955 1862 Sold 1867
Unknown New Orleans LA Commodore 80 1863 Sold 1865
Abrahams, J. J. Baltimore MD Eutaw 955 1863 Sold 1867
Curtis, Paul Boston MA Chicopee 974 1864 Sold 1867
Boston NSY Charlestown MA Pennsylvania   1864 Scrapped 1884
Cramp Shipbuilding Philadelphia PA Chattanooga 3,233 1866 Sank 1872
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Peoria 974 1866 Sold 1868
Harlan & Hollingsworth Wilmington DE Ranger 1,020 1876 Later Nantucket 1918, to USMMA 1940
New York NSY Brooklyn NY Trenton 3,800 1877 Destroyed by hurricane in Samoa 1889
OTHER          
Unknown Unknown Fanny   1861 Tug, captured 1861, burnt 1862
Unknown St. Louis MO Benton 1,033 1862 Catamaran snag boat, sold 1865
Mare Island NSY Vallejo CA Freda   1864 Yard freighter
Bath Iron Works Bath ME Chesapeake 1,175 1900 Training bark, later Severn 1905, sold 1916