# USS Preble (1839)

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Sloop-of-war of the United States Navy

For other ships with the same name, see [USS Preble](/source/USS_Preble).

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The sloop-of-war USS Preble History Name USS Preble Builder Portsmouth Navy Yard Launched 13 June 1839 Commissioned 1840 Fate Exploded and sunk, 27 April 1863 General characteristics Type Sloop-of-war Displacement 556 long tons (565 t) Length 117 ft (36 m) Beam 32 ft (9.8 m) Depth of hold 15 ft (4.6 m) Propulsion Sail Armament 16 × 32-pounder guns

**USS *Preble*** was a [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) [sloop-of-war](/source/Sloop-of-war) with 16 guns, built by the [Portsmouth Navy Yard](/source/Portsmouth_Navy_Yard), [Kittery](/source/Kittery), Maine, launched June 13, 1839 and commissioned in 1840. She was named after Commodore [Edward Preble](/source/Edward_Preble) (1761–1807).

## Early Service

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*Preble* first sailed for [Labrador](/source/Labrador), and then went to cruise in the [Mediterranean Sea](/source/Mediterranean_Sea) in 1843. She was attached to the [African Squadron](/source/African_Squadron) in 1845. In 1846, *Preble* sailed for [New York](/source/New_York_City) and joined the [Pacific Squadron](/source/Pacific_Squadron) on the West Coast of the United States, where she participated in the [Mexican–American War](/source/Mexican%E2%80%93American_War).

## Sail to East Asia

In 1848, Captain [James Glynn](/source/James_Glynn) took her first to Hong Kong and then to [Nagasaki](/source/Nagasaki), Japan, where she picked up some fourteen American and Hawaiian seamen who had become castaways in that ["closed country"](/source/Sakoku).[1][2]

On 1 November 1850, she set sail for the east coast of the United States, where she became a practice ship for [midshipmen](/source/Midshipmen) until 1857, when she was placed in ordinary service.[3]

## Civil War Service

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During the [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War), in July 1861, *Preble* joined the [Gulf Blockading Squadron](/source/Gulf_Blockading_Squadron) and participated to the [blockade](/source/Union_blockade) of the [Mississippi River](/source/Mississippi_River). She was posted at [Head of the Passes](/source/Head_of_the_Passes) on the Mississippi River on 12 October 1861 when the blockading squadron there was attacked by a [Confederate States Navy](/source/Confederate_States_Navy) force that included the first [ironclad warship](/source/Ironclad_warship), [CSS *Manassas*](/source/CSS_Manassas). Being a [sail](/source/Sail)-powered ship, she did not join the battle but rather made a swift retreat out the [Southwest Pass](/source/Southwest_Pass_(Mississippi_River)) to safety in the [Gulf of Mexico](/source/Gulf_of_Mexico).

*Preble* was serving as a [guard ship](/source/Guard_ship) when, on 27 April 1863, while moored in Pensacola Bay off [Pensacola](/source/Pensacola%2C_Florida), [Florida](/source/Florida), she caught fire due to the carelessness of a crewman. She was abandoned and exploded.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Van_Zandt_1-0)** Van Zandt, Howard (1984). *Pioneer American Merchants in Japan*. Tuttle Publishing. p. 13. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9994648144](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9994648144).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Asiatic: Japan"](https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/38451939). *[South Australian Register](/source/South_Australian_Register)*. Adelaide. 13 July 1850. p. 4. Retrieved 6 January 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Preble II (Sloop-of-war)"](https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/p/preble-ii.html). *Naval History and Heritage Command*. 24 August 2015.{{[cite web](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_web)}}: CS1 maint: url-status ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_url-status))

*This article incorporates text from the [public domain](/source/Public_domain)*[Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships](/source/Dictionary_of_American_Naval_Fighting_Ships)*. The entry can be found [here](https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/p/preble-ii.html).*

- {ORN, volume 16}

## Further reading

- Arnold, Bruce Makoto. [Diplomacy Far Removed: A Reinterpretation of the U.S. Decision to Open Diplomatic Relations with Japan](https://www.academia.edu/5461862/Diplomacy_Far_Removed_A_Reinterpretation_of_the_U.S._Decision_to_Open_Diplomatic_Relations_with_Japan). Unpublished Thesis. University of Arizona, May 2005.

- [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) (1850). *Deposition of Ranald MacDonald regarding his imprisonment in Japan, made to Commander James Glynn, USS Preble*. G.P.O.[Available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection](http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/publications_detail.aspx?p=95) Senate executive document, 31st Congress, 1st session, no. 84

## External links

- [American Civil War portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:American_Civil_War)

- [Photo gallery](http://www.navsource.net/archives/09/86/86498.htm) of USS *Preble* (1839) at NavSource Naval History

Dale-class sloops-of-war Dale Decatur Marion Preble Yorktown List of sloops of war of the United States Navy

v t e Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1863 Shipwrecks 1 Jan: Neptune 1 Jan: USS Westfield 11 Jan: USS Hatteras 14 Jan: USS Columbia 15 Jan: CSS J. A. Cotton 17 Jan: USS Columbia 23 Jan: USS Morning Light 30 Jan: USS Isaac Smith 7 Feb: USS Glide 7 Feb: HMS Orpheus 23 Feb: USS Kinsman 24 Feb: USS Indianola 25 Feb: USS Indianola 28 Feb: Rattlesnake 14 Mar: USS Mississippi 19 Mar: CSS Georgiana 25 Mar: USS Lancaster 29 Mar: Absalom c. Mar: Star of the West 2 Apr: USS Alligator 8 Apr: USS Keokuk 27 Apr: Ada Hancock 27 Apr: Anglo Saxon 27 Apr: USS Preble 18 May: USS Shepherd Knapp 27 May: USS G. L. Brockenborough 28 May: USS Lily 30 May: Margaret and Jessie c. May: CSS Ivy 5 Jun: CSS Stono 17 Jun: USS Atlanta 24 Jun: USS Sumpter 6 Jul: Pride of the Yarra 13 Jul: USS Baron DeKalb 14 Jul: USS Sciota 20 Jul: William J. Romer 6 Aug: USS Paw Paw 8 Aug: Petronila 17 Aug: USS Crocus 18 Aug: CSS Oconee 21 Aug: USS Bainbridge 9 or 10 Sept: CSS Pontchartrain 11 Oct: USS Madgie 15 Oct: H. L. Hunley 19 Oct: Blossom 5 Nov: Curlew 6 Dec: USS Weehawken 10 Dec: Hooghly 30 Dec: Montana Unkn: Beejapore Other incidents 1 Jan: USRC Harriet Lane Feb: Carrier Dove 28 Feb: SS Aden 10 May: USS Wyoming 28 May: USS Choctaw 14 Jul: USS Antona Jul: HMS Racoon 6 Aug: Pervenets 6 Aug: HMS Warspite 14 Oct: HMS Malacca 30 Oct: HMS Prince Consort 15 Nov: USS Camanche 3 Dec: HMS Ajax 7 Dec: Chesapeake 8 Dec: Great Britain Unkn: J. M. Chapman ← 1862 1864 →

[30°23′05″N 87°11′56″W / 30.3847°N 87.1989°W / 30.3847; -87.1989](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=USS_Preble_(1839)&params=30.3847_N_87.1989_W_)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [USS Preble (1839)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Preble_(1839)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Preble_(1839)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.