USS Princeton (1851)

History
Union Navy Jack United States
Laid downJune 1851
LaunchedOctober 1851
Commissioned18 May 1852
Decommissioned10 June 1855
Out of service9 October 1866
General characteristics
Displacement1,370 tons
Length177 ft 6 in (54.10 m)
Beam32 ft 8 in (9.96 m)
Draft25 ft 9 in (7.85 m)
Propulsion
Speed8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph)
Armament
  • six 32-pounder carronades
  • four 8 in (203 mm) 58 cwt. smoothbore guns

USS Princeton was a large 1,370-ton steamer with powerful guns, some of whose timbers were those from the first USS Princeton, the U.S. Navy's first screw steam warship.

Princeton was originally assigned to sail with Admiral Matthew C. Perry's squadron to Japan, but broke down due to boiler problems just as the voyage was to start. She was laid up prior to the start of the American Civil War, but, when that war broke out, she was reactivated as a receiving ship at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.