Her profile included a standard three-masted approach and her primary gun decks numbered three. Dimensions included a length of 197.1 feet, a beam of 53.5 feet and a draught of 21.5 feet. The crew complement totaled 820 men made up of officers and sailors. As with other tall sailing ships of the period, Vermont was an imposing sight when viewed up close, her many floors towering above the dock. A large rudder held under the stern provided the necessary steering. Vermont was solely wind-powered and never converted to a steam-and-sail warship as some other Civil War-era warships were.
Despite her design as a frontline warship, USS Vermont was never used in her intended role. Instead she was pressed into service as a supply-and-receiving ship for the USN. Her first assignment was as part of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron where she spent some time in Port Royal, South Carolina. There, she served in various roles related to war supplies and medical service. During February of 1862, she took on damage from a strong northwest gale/snow storm that had pressed into the area. Heavily damaged, she was nonetheless salvaged and reassigned to New York waters for the middle of 1864. Here she served in the receiving ship role for a time longer until September 30th, 1865 when she was decommissioned from service. On July 1st, 1884, she was pulled back into active duty and recommissioned to serve as a receiving ship in New York waters (Brooklyn Navy Yard) once more. Once her usefulness had ended, she was decommissioned for a second time on August 31st, 1901, stripped of her goods and sold off on April 17th, 1902.
The Vermont was not part of a formal named class but, due to the first keel being laid down belonging to USS Delaware, the group became known as the Delaware-class. Conversely, because the first commissioned ship of the group became USS North Carolina, the group also came to be known as the North Carolina-class. Of note is that these two mentioned warships were the only two of the class that were ever used in their intended roles - as frontline warships - for the USN. A further two of the six ships were never completed and USS New Hampshire, beginning life as USS Alabama, was also a supply-and-receiving ship for her part in the American Civil War. Her commissioning came in 1864.
Despite a rather tumultuous career, USS Vermont and her crews received to major awards from the United States government for services rendered - the Civil War Campaign Medal and the Spanish Campaign Medal.
Content ©MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.