.jpg) The only known photograph of Active
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Active |
| Builder | J. A. Westervelt (New York, NY) |
| Launched | 5 September 1849 |
| Christened | Gold Hunter |
| Completed | November 1849 |
| Acquired | (by U.S. Coast Survey): 1852 |
| Commissioned | 1852 |
| Decommissioned | 1861 |
| Fate | Wrecked south of Cape Mendocino June 5, 1870 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Survey ship |
| Tons burthen | 600 |
| Length | 172 ft 5 in (52.55 m) |
| Beam | 24 ft 5 in (7.44 m) |
| Draft | 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 × side-lever engines; sidewheels |
| Speed | 12 knots |
| Crew | 68 (in 1860) |
Active was a survey ship that served in the United States Coast Survey, a predecessor of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, from 1852 to 1861. Active served on the U.S. West Coast. She conducted the Coast Survey's first reconnaissance from San Francisco, California, to San Diego, California, in 1852. Active sometimes stepped outside her normal Coast Survey duties to support U.S. military operations, serving as a troop transport and dispatch boat during various wars with Native Americans and during the San Juan Islands "Pig War" with the United Kingdom in 1859. She also rushed Union troops to Los Angeles, California, in 1861 during the early stages of the American Civil War.
She was sold by the government in 1862 and sailed along the West Coast for a number of private companies until June 5, 1870. In a dense fog she hit a rock near the shore in Humboldt County, California and had to beach to prevent sinking in deep water. Her passengers and crew were saved, but the ship was lost.