The second USS Portsmouth was a wooden sloop-of-war in the United States Navy in service during the mid-to-late 19th century. She was designed by Josiah Barker and built in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on the lines of a French-built privateer. She was described as an improvement over the USS Saratoga built in the same shipyard a year earlier. The Portsmouth was launched at the Portsmouth Navy Yard on 23 October 1843 and commissioned on 10 November 1844, with Commander John Berrien Montgomery in command.