Initial Sea Trials
By late in the spring of 1868, the ship was finally ready to go to sea under her own power and—under the command of Comdr. William D. Whitin—departed New York City on 15 June for a run to Boston, Massachusetts at full speed. Dense fog over much of her course prevented her from proceeding at top velocity during most of the passage, but during one three-hour period she averaged 17.11 knots while moving from Cape Cod to Fort Warren, the highest sustained speed ever attained by a ship up to that time.
Nevertheless, since an unusually large proportion of the space within her hull was taken up by her powerful engines and related machinery, the ship was not commissioned. Instead, she was laid up in the Boston Navy Yard. While there, Ammonoosuc was renamed Iowa on 15 May 1869.
Read more about this topic: USS Ammonoosuc (1864)
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