USS Despatch (1873)

USS Despatch (1873)


For other ships of the same name, see USS Despatch.

USS Despatch
Career (United States)
Name: USS Despatch
Namesake: Despatch: As a verb, to send off or away, to dispose of speedily, to execute quickly. As a noun, a message sent with speed.
Acquired: November 1873
Commissioned: 23 November 1873
Fate: Wrecked, 10 October 1891
Notes: Previously the commercial steamer America
General characteristics
Type: Steamer
Displacement: 560 long tons (570 t)
Length: 198 ft (60 m)
Beam: 27 ft (8.2 m)
Draft: 12 ft 4 in (3.76 m)
Propulsion: Steam engine
Speed: 12 kn (14 mph; 22 km/h)
Complement: 81
Armament: 3 × 20 pdr (9.1 kg) guns

The third USS Despatch was a United States Navy steamer in commission from 1873-1891.

Read more about USS Despatch (1873):  Acquisition and Commissioning, The Virginius Affair, 1873, Operations From Washington, D.C., 1874-1877, Operations in The Ottoman Empire, 1877-1879, Cadet Training, Presidential Yacht Duty, and Special Assignments, 1880-1891, Loss