Naval History and Heritage Command

Tennessee, the 16th state, was admitted to the Union on 1 June 1796. The word Tennessee is derived from a Cherokee Indian term which referred to several Cherokee settlements formerly located in territory now within the state.

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The first Tennessee, a former Confederate, side-wheel steamboat, was captured by the West Gulf Blockading Squadron when Rear Admiral David G. Farragut took New Orleans on 25 April 1862. Commissioned in the United States Navy on 2 May 1862, the ship was renamed Mobile (q.v.) on 1 September 1864.