USS Richmond (1860) - Post-war Service

Post-war Service

Richmond departed New Orleans on 27 June, arrived at the Boston Navy Yard on 10 July, and was decommissioned there on the 14th. In 1866 she was fitted out with a new set of engines.

Recommissioned at Boston on 11 January 1869, Richmond departed on the 22d for European waters. Arriving at Lisbon on 10 February, she called at various Mediterranean ports during the remainder of the year and during 1870 was stationed at Villefranche and Marseilles to protect U.S. citizens potentially endangered by the Franco-Prussian War. After the peace was made at Versailles, Richmond cruised the Mediterranean again. She returned to Philadelphia on 1 November 1871 and decommissioned there on the 8th.

Selected for service with the West Indies Squadron, Richmond was recommissioned on 18 November 1872 and stood out from Hampton Roads on 31 January 1873. Arriving at Key West 11 February, she surveyed shoals near Jupiter Inlet, then cruised in the West Indies. On 7 April she was at Santiago de Cuba to assist in securing the release of U.S. seamen held by the Spanish. She then called at Havana and Matanzas before returning to Key West at the end of the month.

Ordered to the Pacific in May, Richmond rounded Cape Horn and arrived at San Francisco, California on 28 November. After repairs, she departed California, 14 January 1874, as flagship of the South Pacific Station. Throughout 1874 and 1875 she cruised the west coast of Latin America. In September 1876 she again doubled Cape Horn and, after cruising off Uruguay and Brazil, reached Hampton Roads on 22 August 1877. On 18 September she was decommissioned for repairs at the Boston Navy Yard.

Recommissioned on 19 November 1878, Richmond's next duty was as flagship of the Asiatic Fleet. Departing Norfolk 11 January 1879, Richmond passed into the Mediterranean and through the Suez Canal, hoisting the flag of Rear Admiral Thomas H. Patterson at Yokohama on 4 July 1879. For four years Richmond cruised among the principal ports of China, Japan, and the Philippines, serving as flagship until 19 December 1883 when Trenton relieved her. While at Shanghai on 17 November 1879, Landsman Thomas Mitchell rescued a shipmate from drowning, for which he was later awarded the Medal of Honor. Receiving a new crew at Panama in September 1880, Richmond remained on station until departing Hong Kong for the United States on 9 April 1884. Again transiting the Suez Canal, Richmond reached New York on 22 August and was decommissioned for repairs.

Completely overhauled, Richmond was recommissioned at New York on 20 January 1887 for duty on the North Atlantic Station. Into 1888 she cruised from Halifax to Trinidad. On 27 June 1888 she was detached for foreign service.

Departing Norfolk on 2 January 1889, Richmond was assigned to the South Atlantic Station. Again serving as squadron flagship, she cruised off Uruguay and Brazil for over a year, returning to Hampton Roads on 28 June 1890. On 7 October, she arrived at Newport, Rhode Island, where she served as a training ship until 1893. The following year she steamed to Philadelphia; served there as a receiving ship until 1900; then remained moored at League Island until ordered to Norfolk in 1903. At Norfolk, she served as an auxiliary to the receiving ship USS Franklin until after the end of World War I.

Richmond was struck from the Navy list in June 1919 and sold to Joseph Hyman & Sons, Philadelphia, on 23 July. She was delivered to that firm on 6 August for breaking up.