MINNESOTA

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.

Steam Frigate Laid down May 1854 - Launched December 1 1855 USS MINNESOTA Commissioned May 21 1857 - Decommissioned June 2 1859 Recommissioned May 2 1861 - Decommissioned February 16 1865 Recommissioned June 3 1867 - Placed in ordinary January 13 1868 Recommissioned June 12 1875 Loaned to the Massachusetts Naval Militia October 1895 Sold August 1901, to Thomas Butler & Co. of Boston Burned at Eastport, Maine

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. 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

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2nd Commissioning May 2 1861 to February 16 1865

 

Woodstock VA CDS

c1860's-08-26

No Image

Incoming mail to Captain George Butler, USMC.

 

Norfolk VA CDS

1862-07-20

No Image

Note:

 

Newark NJ CDS

1865-01-23

No Image

Incoming mail at Fortress Monroe VA

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While in Ordinary January 13 1868 to June 12 1875

 

Nice France CDS

1868-04-23

Incoming mail to USS MINNESOTA at Brooklyn Navy Yard
Back...New York NY Paid Duplex January 14, Hotel D'Angleterre Nice label

 

New York NY Duplex

c1870-09-06

No Image

Note:

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Recommissioned June 12 1875 to Loaned to the Massachusetts Naval Militia School October 1895

 

USPO Duplex #7 New York NY

1879-03-29

N/A

Mail from Training Ship MINNESOTA. Courtesy of the Jim Myerson collection.

 

USPO Duplex Sta. N USPO Duplex #17 New York NY

1882-11-08

Business Mail forwarded to USS MINNESOTA. Courtesy of the Jim Myerson collection.

 

Other Information

During the Civil War joined the Atlantic Blockading Squadron at Hampton Roads May 13 1861
Captured Schooners MARY WILLIS, DELAWARE FARMER, and EMILY ANN, May 14 1861
Took Bark WINFRED,June 25 1861 and Bark SALLY McGEE June 26 1861
Captured Schooner SALLY MEARS, July 1 1861 and Bark MARY WARICK, July 10 1861
Successfully attacked Fort Clark August 28 1861, and Fort Hatteras August 29 1861 at Hatteras Inlet, N.C.
During the Battle of Hampton Roads, Minnesota grounded and was attacked by Confederate warships including CSS VIRGINIA (ex-USS MERRIMAC)
Participated in the attacks on Fort Fisher in December 1864 and January 1865, at Portsmouth, N.H.

 

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If you have images or information to add to this page, then either contact the Curator or edit this page yourself and add it. See Editing Ship Pages for detailed information on editing this page.

 

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