Original page can be found at the Naval Historical Center homepage
USS Madawaska
A
town in Aroostook County, Maine, on the St. John River, 17 miles east‑northeast
of Fort Kent.
I
(ScFr:
dp. 3,281; l. 355'; b.
45'2"; dr. 21'8"; s. 13.9 k.; cpl. 480; a. 2 8" r.; 2 100‑pdr.; 1 60‑pdr.;
18 9" sb.)
Madawaska, a screw frigate
built of wood at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, was launched
She was renamed
Her spaciousness and the comfort of her quarters as well as
her handling characteristics made her a favorite duty station.
Her duties included service as flagship of the Asiatic
Squadron under Rear Adm. William Reynolds, with Capt. William W. Low in
command. By 1879 she was flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron under Rear
Adm. Robert W. Wyman, with Capt. David B. Harmony in command.
In “The Steam Navy of the United States” Frank M. Bennet relates that during the time Tennessee was
flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron she was “the largest vessel then in commission
in the American Navy, and the era of mastless steel
cruisers was yet so far away that she was not suspected, by the youngsters at
least, of being obsolete and stood as the type of all that was excellent and
majestic in ship construction.”
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