USS Plymouth (1844)

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History
United States
Name	USS Plymouth
Namesake	Plymouth, Massachusetts
Builder	Boston Navy Yard
Laid down	16 June 1843[1]
Launched	11 October 1843[1]
In service	circa 3 April 1844
Out of service	20 April 1861
Fate	Scuttled to prevent capture, 20 April 1861
Name	CSS Plymouth
In service	23 June 1861
Homeport	Gosport Navy Yard
Fate	Scuttled to prevent capture, 10 May 1862 Raised and subsequently sold, 8 February 1864
General characteristics
Type	Sloop of War
Displacement	989 tons
Length	147 ft 6 in (44.96 m) (lbp)
Beam	38 ft 1 in (11.61 m)
Depth of hold	17 ft 2 in (5.23 m)
Propulsion	Sail
Sail plan	Ship-Rigged
Speed	not known
Boats & landing craft carried	1x Launch, 2x Cutters, 2x Quarterboats, 1x Stern boat
Complement	210
Armament	four 8" shell guns (63 CWT/7,056 lbs) eighteen 32-pounder guns (42 CWT/4,704 lbs)

USS Plymouth was a sloop-of-war constructed and commissioned just prior to the Mexican–American War. She was heavily gunned, and traveled to Japan as part of Commodore Matthew C. Perry's effort to force Japan to open her ports to international trade. She also served in European and Caribbean waters and, later in her career, she was used to train midshipmen.

Plymouth was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for Plymouth, Massachusetts, a town on Plymouth Bay, about 35 mi (56 km) southeast of Boston, Massachusetts. Plymouth was founded by the Pilgrims in 1620.