USS Contoocook (1864)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Albany and USS Contocook.

USS Contoocook was a screw sloop-of-war built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She is named after a river and village in New Hampshire. She was launched 3 December 1864 at Portsmouth Navy Yard and commissioned 14 March 1868, commanded by Captain George Balch.

History
Name	USS Contoocook
Builder	Portsmouth Navy Yard
Launched	3 December 1864
Commissioned	14 March 1868
Decommissioned	7 January 1870
Renamed	Albany on 15 May 1869
Fate	Sold on 12 December 1872
General characteristics
Type	Sloop-of-war
Displacement	2,348 tons
Length	296 ft (90 m)
Draft	9 ft 9 in (2.97 m)
Armament	8 × 9" guns 1 × 60-pounder gun 4 × 24-pounder guns 2 × 12-pounder guns

Her first cruise, as flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron, took her to the West Indies, where she patrolled extensively for the protection of American interests during 1868 and 1869. Her name was changed to Albany on 15 May 1869. After another cruise to the West Indies in the fall of that year, Albany was placed out of commission on 7 January 1870. She served as a quarantine ship at New York until sold 12 December 1872.

Cootoocook-class sloop

• USS Contoocook (1864)
• USS Worcester (1866)
• USS Severn (1867)
• USS Congress (1868)

Cancelled ships include:

• USS Tahgayuta (1863)^[1]
• USS Arapahoe (1864)
• USS Keosauqua (1864)
• USS Mondamin (1864)^[2][3]
• USS Wanaloset (1865)
• USS Willamette (1865)

References

1. "Tahgayuta". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
2. The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships has no entry for Mondamin, but refers to all members of her class as sloops.
3. Per Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905, whether Tahgayuta and Mondamin would have been considered sloops or frigates depended on whether or not they would have been built with a spar deck, without which they have been a sloop, but it is unknown whether they would have had a spar deck or not because they were never built and because their completed sisters differed in this regard.

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.