Severn I (Screw Sloop)
1869–1877
A river in Maryland which joins the Chesapeake Bay at Annapolis.
I
(Screw sloop-of-war: displacement 3,003; length 296'10" (gun deck); beam 41'; draft 9'8"; depth of hold 13'3"; speed 13 knots; complement 250; armament 8 9-inch, 1 60-pounder; class Contoocook)
The first Severn was a wooden screw sloop of war laid down as Masholu in October 1864 by New York Navy Yard; launched on 22 December 1867; and commissioned on 27 August 1869, Comdr. Reigart B. Lowry in command.
Upon completion in December 1869, Severn served as the flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron under Rear Adm. Charles H. Poor, which consisted of monitors Ajax, Dictator, Saugus, and Terror; steamers Congress, Kansas, Nantasket, Nipsic, Severn, Swatara, Tuscarora, and Yantic; tug Pilgrim; and hospital ship Pawnee.
Severn called at Key West, Fla., in January 1871, before setting out to cruise among West Indies ports into the following year. In April, she investigated the alleged mistreatment of the United States consul at Santiago de Cuba, subsequently returning to Hampton Roads, Va., at the end of July. Departing Hampton Roads for Key West in December, Severn returned north to Boston Navy Yard, Mass., and was decommissioned there on 31 December 1871.
Following repairs, Severn was transferred to New London, Conn., in 1875. Returning to New York in 1877, Severn was sold on 2 March 1877 to John Roach as part of his compensation for repairs made to monitor Puritan and then broken up.
Updated by Mark L. Evans
21 September 2017
