{{short description|Sloops-of-war of the United States Navy}} {{other ships|USS Cyane}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} {{More footnotes needed|date=October 2011}} {{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image= USS Cyane Taking Possession Of San Diego 1846 by Carlton Chapman.jpg |image_caption=USS ''Cyane''"USS ''Cyane'' Taking Possession of San Diego Old Town July 1846", by Carlton T. Chapman }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |country=United States |flag= {{USN flag|1887}} |name= USS ''Cyane'' |namesake= |ordered= |builder=[[Boston Navy Yard]] |laid_down= |launched= 2 December 1837 |acquired= |commissioned= May 1838 |decommissioned= 20 September 1871 |in_service= |out_of_service= |struck= |reinstated= |homeport= |motto= |nickname= |honours= |fate= Sold, 30 July 1887 |notes= }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |type= [[Sloop-of-war]] |tonnage= 792 |length= {{convert|132|ft|4|in|m|abbr=on}} |beam= {{convert|26|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}} |draft= {{convert|16|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}} |propulsion=Sails |sail_plan= |speed= |range= |complement=200 officers and enlisted |armament=*18 × 32-pounder guns * 4 × 24-pounder guns |notes= }} }} The second '''USS ''Cyane''''' was a [[sloop-of-war]] in the [[United States Navy]] during the [[Mexican–American War]].
''Cyane'' was launched on 2 December 1837 by [[Boston Navy Yard]]. She was commissioned in May 1838, with Commander [[John Percival]] in command.
She sailed on 24 June 1838 for duty in the Mediterranean, returning to [[Norfolk, Virginia]] 16 May 1841. She cleared 1 November 1841 for the [[Pacific Squadron]], returning 1 October 1844. Sailing again for the Pacific 10 August 1845 with Passed Midshipman [[Benjamin F. B. Hunter]] as her Sailing Master, ''Cyane'' served on the west coast during the Mexican War. On 7 July 1846 her commanding officer, Captain [[William Mervine]], led a detachment of [[United States Marine Corps|Marines]] and sailors from Commodore [[John D. Sloat]]'s squadron ashore at [[Monterey, California]], hoisting the American flag at the Customs House and claiming possession of the city and all of present-day California.
On 26 July 1846 Lieutenant Colonel [[John C. Frémont]]'s [[California Battalion]] boarded ''Cyane'', now under the command of Commander [[Samuel Francis Du Pont]], and the ship sailed for [[San Diego]], California on 29 July 1846. She landed Marines at nearby La Playa, where they were warmly welcomed by the largely pro-American civilian population. The Marines took abandoned guns from [[Fort Guijarros]] and used them to lay [[siege]] to Old Town San Diego.<ref name="Ballast">{{cite news |url=http://www.ballastpoint.com/history_page.htm |title=History of Ballast Point |work=BallastPoint.com |access-date=2008-03-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309160053/http://www.ballastpoint.com/history_page.htm |archive-date=9 March 2008}}</ref> A detachment of Marines and sailors from ''Cyane'' took possession of the town, raising the American flag. They were followed by the Fremont volunteers and ''Cyane''{{'}}s detachment returned aboard to sail for [[San Blas, Nayarit|San Blas]], where a landing party destroyed a Mexican battery on 2 September.
Entering the [[Gulf of California]], ''Cyane'' seized [[La Paz, Baja California Sur|La Paz]] and burned the small fleet at [[Guaymas]]. Within a month, she cleared the Gulf of hostile ships, destroying or capturing 30 vessels. In company with {{USS|Independence|1814|2}} and {{USS|Congress|1841|2}}, she captured the town of [[Mazatlán]], Mexico, 11 November 1847. On 22 January 1848, she arrived off [[San José del Cabo]] to relieve the besieged garrison there. She landed a force of about 100 men who [[Siege of San José del Cabo|fought]] the final engagement and broke the Mexican siege. She returned to Norfolk 9 October 1848 to receive the congratulations of the [[United States Secretary of the Navy|Secretary of the Navy]] for her significant contributions to American victory in Mexico.
Between 9 October 1851 and 24 June 1852, ''Cyane'' sailed in the [[Home Squadron]], rejoining it on 10 October 1852 to cruise constantly on the Atlantic coast and in the Caribbean from [[Nova Scotia]] to [[Colón, Panama#History|Aspinwall]] for the protection of American citizens. She [[Bombardment of San Juan del Norte|bombarded]] and destroyed [[San Juan del Norte|Greytown]], [[Mosquito Coast|Mosquitia]] on 13 July 1854, in retaliation for an incident where local protesters had thrown a broken bottle at [[Solon Borland]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Schoultz|first1=Lars|title=Beneath the United States: a history of U.S. policy toward Latin America|date=1998|publisher=Harvard University Press|location=Cambridge, MA: Harvard University|isbn=0-674-92276-X|page=[https://archive.org/details/beneathunitedsta00scho/page/60 60]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/beneathunitedsta00scho/page/60}}</ref> On 3 June 1857, the ''Cyane'' retrieved from [[San Juan de Nicaragua|Greytown]] more than 150 filibusters who surrendered with William Walker at Rivas, Nicaragua, on 1 May, some of whom had their families with them. The ship afterward protected the disputed fisheries along the coast of Nova Scotia from 2 September to 30 October 1857. She sailed for [[Haiti]] 19 November 1857 and joined a special expedition surveying the [[Isthmus of Darien]] as a possible canal site. [[File:Bombardment of San Juan del Norte, 1854.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Bombardment of Greytown, Miskito Kingdom, July 1854]]
In August 1858, ''Cyane'' stood out for the Pacific, joining the Pacific Squadron. In 1863, during the Civil War, the ''Cyane'' prevented the sloop ''[[J. M. Chapman (privateer)|J. M. Chapman]]'' from being used as a [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[privateer]] when her armed boarding party took control of the ship as it was preparing to leave San Francisco.<ref>[http://www.militarymuseum.org/Pac%20Sqdn.html The California Military Museum, "The Pacific Squadron of 1861-1866," The following article is taken from Aurora Hunt's book, The Army of the Pacific; Its operations in California, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, plains region, Mexico, etc. 1860-1866, under the chapter The Pacific Squadron of 1861-1866.]</ref>
Except for necessary overhauls, the ''Cyane'' was constantly employed on the coasts of North and South America until she was decommissioned and placed [[in ordinary]] at [[Mare Island Navy Yard]] on 20 September 1871. She was sold at auction on 30 July 1887.
==References== ;Notes {{Reflist}} ;Bibliography {{refbegin}} * Linder, Bruce, "Intertwined Heritage", ''Naval History'' magazine (October 2007) - The role of the USS ''Cyane'' in first laying claim to San Diego {{DANFS|https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/c/cyane-sloop-ii.html}} {{refend}}
==External links== {{Commons category|USS Cyane (ship, 1837)}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cyane}} [[Category:Sloops of the United States Navy]] [[Category:Mexican–American War ships of the United States]] [[Category:Ships built in Boston]] [[Category:1837 ships]] [[Category:History of San Diego]] [[Category:History of the Gulf of California|USS Cyane]] [[Category:History of San Francisco]]