SUSQUEHANNA

Ship Name and Designation History

This section lists the names and designations that the ship had during its lifetime. The list is in chronological order.

Sidewheel Steamer Keel Laid 1847 - Launched 5 April 1850 USS SUSQUEHANNA (Sidewheel Steamer) Commissioned 24 December 1850 - Decommissioned 15 March 1855 Recommissioned 5 May 1856 - Laid up 18 April 1858 Reactivated 17 August I860 - Decommissioned 14 May 1863 Recommissioned 20 July 1864 - Decommissioned 30 June 1866 Recommissioned 2 November 1866 - Decommissioned 14 January 1868 Sold for scrapping 27 September 1883

 

Naval Covers

This section lists active links to the pages displaying covers associated with the ship. There should be a separate set of pages for each name of the ship (for example, Bushnell AG-32 / Sumner AGS-5 are different names for the same ship so there should be one set of pages for Bushnell and one set for Sumner). Covers should be presented in chronological order (or as best as can be determined).

Since a ship may have many covers, they may be split among many pages so it doesn't take forever for the pages to load. Each page link should be accompanied by a date range for covers on that page.

1. USS Susquehanna Covers Page 1     (DATE RANGE)

 

Postmarks

This section lists examples of the postmarks used by the ship. There should be a separate set of postmarks for each name and/or commissioning period. Within each set, the postmarks should be listed in order of their classification type. If more than one postmark has the same classification, then they should be further sorted by date of earliest known usage.

A postmark should not be included unless accompanied by a close-up image and/or an image of a cover showing that postmark. Date ranges MUST be based ONLY ON COVERS IN THE MUSEUM and are expected to change as more covers are added.
 
>>> If you have a better example for any of the postmarks, please feel free to replace the existing example.

 

Postmark Type --- Killer Bar Text	Postmark Date	Thumbnail Link To Postmark Image	Thumbnail Link To Cover Image

 

None

1853-05-28 (As per enclosed letter)

From the Gary Weiss collection.
U.S. STEAM FRIGATE/SUSQUEHANNA. Two-line woodcut handstamp with matching "ON/PUBLIC SERVICE" two-line handstamp on 9.75 by 4-inch blue linen-lined envelope addressed to "Lieut Comd. Maury", pencil "Orders 'Caprice'" below the "On Public Service" handstamp, with original letter signed "M. C. Perry" as Commander of East India Squadron, datelined "U.S. Steam Frigate Susquehanna off the river Yang tse Keang May 23d 1853" to "Lieutenant Commandant Wm. L. Maury, Commg U.S. Storeship Caprice, China Sea", with orders to "Proceed with all despatch with the U.S. Storeship 'Caprice' under your command to the port of Napa Keang, Island of Loo Choo" VERY FINE. THE ONLY RECORDED EXAMPLE OF ANY OFFICIAL HANDSTAMPED MARKING ASSOCIATED WITH THE 1853-54 PERRY EXPEDITION TO JAPAN, WHICH LED TO THE TREATY OF KANAGAWA AND OPENING OF JAPAN TO RELATIONS WITH WESTERN NATIONS. APART FROM THE POSTAL HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COVER, THE LETTER SIGNED BY COMMODORE PERRY DURING THE EXPEDITION HAS ENORMOUS IMPORTANCE AS A HISTORICAL MANUSCRIPT. WITHOUT QUESTION THE PREMIER POSTAL ARTIFACT RELATED TO THE OPENING OF JAPAN. Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry, the renowned Father of the Steam Navy and younger brother of Oliver Hazard Perry, was 59 years old and suffering from the effects of rheumatoid arthritis and alcohol-induced liver disease when he sailed into Edo Bay in July 1853 and successfully pressured the Tokugawa shogunate government to allow him and his military entourage to land on Japan's shores and present a letter from President Fillmore to Emperor Komei. At first reluctant to take on what he considered to be a nearly impossible mission, Commodore Perry embarked from Hampton Roads on November 24, 1852, in command of the steam-powered U.S.S. Mississippi. After coal stops at Madeira, St. Helena, Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius, Ceylon and Singapore, the Mississippi arrived at Hong Kong on April 7, 1853, where she was joined by two sloops of war, the U.S.S. Plymouth and Saratoga. The expedition's designated flagship, the U.S.S. Susquehanna, had already left Hong Kong to transport three diplomats to Shanghai. Perry ordered the Plymouth to Shanghai to instruct the Susquehanna's commander to wait for the rest of the squadron to arrive. After stopping at Macau and visiting Canton, Perry traveled up the Yangtze River to Shanghai, arriving on May 4. For the next two weeks, preparations were made and the commander's flag was transferred to the Susquehanna. On May 16 and 17 the Mississippi, Susquehanna, Supply and Caprice embarked from Shanghai and anchored at the mouth of the Yangtze River. The Plymouth remained at Shanghai to guard American interests, and the Saratoga awaited the arrival of the expedition's interpreter. The entire squadron planned to meet at "Loo Choo," the American name for the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa). On May 23 Perry ordered Lieutenant Commander William L. Maury to take the supply ship Caprice to Napha on "Loo Choo," which is documented in the letter offered here. The squadron landed there on May 26. After a mid-June visit to Ogasawara Island, they left for Japan on July 2 and arrived in Edo Bay on July 8. For the next five days, Perry and what the Japanese called his four "Black Ships" engaged in gunboat diplomacy to force the government to grant permission for a landing party to present President Fillmore's letter to the Emperor. On July 14 Perry was received at Kurihama Hall amid a display of American pomp and circumstance, and he presented the presidential letter, as well as three missives of his own and, according to some historians, a fourth message accompanied by two white flags, with instructions for how to use them in the event it became necessary. Illustrated in Frajola-Perlman-Scamp book (p. 26). (Siegel Auctions description)

 

None

1853-05-28 (As per enclosed letter)

From the "Opening of Japan" expedition with Commodore Matthew Perry. From the Gary Weiss collection.

 

Other Information

NOTABLE DUTY -
Assigned as flagship of the East India Squadron in 1851.
Commodore Matthew Perry's flagship during his negotiations with Japan to open ports in that country.
Joined the Mediterranean Squadron in July 1856.
Assigned to the Atlantic Blockading Squadron in 1861.
Susquehanna participated in the joint Army-Navy expedition to Hatteras Inlet, N.C.
In September 1861, USS Susquehanna captured two British schooners: Argonaut and Prince Alfred and took two Confederate schooners as well: San Juan and Baltimore
Susquehanna participated in Flag Officer Du Pont's expedition to South Carolina, capturing Port Royal Sound and Beaufort and established a blockade at the mouth of the Broad River
Operating primarily on blockade duty off Charleston Susquehanna took the British schooner Coquette on 3 April 1862
While at Hampton Roads she participated in the bombardment of Confederate batteries at Sewell's Point, Va., on 8 May. Three days later, CSS Virginia (I) (ex-USS Merrimack) was blown up by her crew, ending her threat to Union shipping in the Hampton Roads
Reassigned in May 1862 to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, while enroute to the Gulf she captured the Confederate schooner Princeton on 11 June, and with USS Kanawha seized British steamer Ann
Ordered to New York for repairs in the spring of 1863, while enroute north she captured schooner Alabama off the Florida coast.
USS Susquehanna was assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and participated in the attacks on Ft. Fisher, N.C., on Christmas Eve 1864 and in mid-February 1865
At the end of the Civil War, Susquehanna operated on the Atlantic coast of South America until 1866.
Susquehanna served as flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron and in the West Indies Squadron
While anchored in the harbor of St. Thomas, 18 November 1867, Susquehanna rode out the tsunami effects of a nearby magnitude 7.5 earthquake without damage

 

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