USS Nyack (1863)

USS Nyack (/ˈnaɪ.æk/ (listen)) was a wooden-hulled screw gunboat of the United States Navy, that saw action in the American Civil War. The ship was laid down at New York Navy Yard in 1863, launched on 6 October 1863, and commissioned on 28 September 1864, Lieutenant Commander L. Howard Newman in command.

For other ships with the same name, see USS Nyack.

History
Name:	USS Nyack
Builder:	New York Navy Yard
Laid down:	1863
Launched:	6 October 1863
Commissioned:	28 September 1864
Decommissioned:	15 March 1871
Fate:	Sold, 30 November 1883
General characteristics
Type:	Screw gunboat
Displacement:	836 long tons (849 t)
Length:	179 ft 6 in (54.71 m)
Beam:	29 ft 8 in (9.04 m)
Draft:	11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
Speed:	10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)
Armament:	1 × 10-pounder Parrott rifle 1 × 30-pounder Parrott rifle 2 × 9 in (230 mm) Dahlgren smoothbores 2 × 24-pounder guns 1 × 12-pounder rifle 1 × heavy 12-pounder rifle

Service history

Civil War, 1864–1865

Nyack joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron off Wilmington, North Carolina, for duty through the close of the Civil War. She joined in attacks on Fort Fisher in the Cape Fear River on 24 and 25 December 1864, and participated in the capture of Fort Anderson nearby on 18 and 19 February 1865.

Pacific, 1866–1871

Ordered to the Pacific in 1866, Nyack cruised the coasts of Ecuador, Peru, and Chile, protecting American nationals while maintaining American neutrality during tension between Spain and her former colonies. She gave asylum to General Manuel Pardo, ex-President of Peru, on 10 January 1868 as he fled revolutionary turmoil, carrying him safely to Valparaíso. After similar service to America's foreign relations Nyack returned to San Francisco early in 1871, decommissioning on 15 March 1871. She was sold there to W. E. Mighell on 30 November 1883.

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.