USS Anacostia (1856) - M. W. Chapin Becomes The USS Anacostia

M. W. Chapin Becomes The USS Anacostia

The first volumes of the steamer's logs under the name Anacostia—which she received upon becoming Navy property or soon thereafter—have been lost. In any case, we know that the vessel was assigned to the Washington Navy Yard—located on the north bank of the river which gave the ship her Navy name. She was still serving there as a tender when the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency on 6 November 1860 precipitated the secession crisis and set the United States on an inexorable course toward civil war.