CONGRESS

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.

USS CONGRESS (Screw Sloop)

 

    "The fifth CONGRESS was launched by the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 17 July 1868, sponsored by Miss P. Drake, daughter of Senator Drake of Missouri; and commissioned 4 March 1870, Captain N. Harrison in command. The ship was variously known as "PUSHMATAHA", and "CAMBRIDGE" prior to 10 August 1869 when she was renamed CONGRESS, the name under which she performed all her service.
    Her initial cruise, undertaken in 1870, was as flagship for Commodore J. Green of the South Atlantic Squadron. Returning to Boston on 29 May 1871 she was placed under Commander H. Davenport. In the summer of that year she transported supplies from New York to the POLARIS which was anchored at Godhavn, Disco Island, preparatory to departing on an Arctic expedition. Late in 1871 CONGRESS served also as flagship for Vice Admiral Rowan who had been designated to accord suitable reception to a visiting Russian squadron.
    After a cruise to Haiti in early 1872, CONGRESS sailed from Norfolk on 14 February to join the Mediterranean Squadron. This lengthy tour included visits to many ports of Europe and ended at Key West, Florida, where she arrived on 5 January 1874. She was back in the Mediterranean by 9 April and visited ports on the coasts of Africa and Europe before returning to Philadelphia to visit the Centennial Exposition of 1876.
    CONGRESS was decommissioned on 26 July 1876, at Portsmouth, N.H., and laid up in ordinary until 20 September 1883, when she was sold. {DANFS}
 
Each entry provides a link to the image of the front of the cover. There is also the option to have a link to the image of the back of the cover if there is anything of significance there. Finally, there is the primary date for the cover and the classification types for all postmarks based on the Locy System.

 

Thumbnail Link To Cachet Close-Up Image	Thumbnail Link To Full Cover Front Image	Thumbnail Link To Postmark or Back Image	Primary Date Postmark Type Killer Bar Text --------- Cachet Category

 

N/A			1872-09-21 Double-ring CDS Geneva Switzerland
			Mail to LCDR William T. Sampson

The piece was mailed from Switzerland (Geneva) on September 21st, 1872 to Sampson c/o the American Consulate at Brest, France. The back shows a trail to Lyon, France on the same day, at Paris on the 22nd, and to Brest on the 23rd.
LCDR Sampson would rise in rank to Rear Admiral and command the Battle of Santiago de Cuba in 1898.

 

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