Galatea I (Screw Steamer)
1864-1865
The first and second ships named Galatea each retained the name carried at the time of their acquisition.
(Screw Steamer: tonnage 1,244; length 209'6"; beam 35'6"; depth of hold 20'8"; speed 10 knots; armament 8 32-pounders, 1 100-pounder, 2 30-pounders)
I
The first Galatea -- built at New York, N.Y., in 1862 under the direction of J. B. and J. D. Van Dusen, Master Builders -- was purchased by the Navy on 31 July 1863 from the Neptune Steamship Co.; and commissioned on 29 January 1864, Cmdr. John Guest in command.
Galatea departed New York on 21 February 1864 for service in the West India Squadron. Based at Cap Haitien, where she arrived 29 February, she gave convoy protection in the West Indies to California mail steamers plying between New York and Aspinwall [Colon], Panama. She had twice returned to New York for repairs by 10 November 1864 when she was assigned with two other ships to convoy California mail steamers from Cap Haitien through the Windward Passage, between the islands of Nacassa and Mariguana. During that cruise, leaks developed that rendered Galatea unfit for arduous convoy duty. Remaining on station at Cap Haitien, she cruised to Key West for provisions and dispatches and afforded protection to U.S. citizens in Haiti until convoy service was discontinued in June 1865.
Galatea arrived New York from Cap Haitien on 1 July 1865; decommissioned on 12 July; and was sold to the Haitian government on 15 August.
Corrected, Robert J. Cressman
23 September 2016
