USS Iris (1847)

History
Name	USS Iris
Laid down	1847
Acquired	by purchase, 1847
Commissioned	25 October 1847
Decommissioned	16 December 1848
Fate	Sold, 1848 Destroyed by fire, 1856
General characteristics
Type	Steamship
Displacement	388 long tons (394 t)
Length	145 ft (44 m)
Beam	27 ft (8.2 m)
Draft	9 ft 9 in (2.97 m)
Propulsion	Steam engine
Complement	70
Armament	1 × 32-pounder gun

The first USS Iris was a wooden steamship in the United States Navy during the Mexican–American War.

Propelled by radial paddle wheels, Iris was built at New York in 1847 and purchased there by the Navy in the same year. She commissioned at New York Navy Yard on 25 October 1847, Commander in command.

The next day Iris departed New York Harbor for Veracruz, Mexico, where she arrived on 11 December. With the exception of a brief visit to Mobile, Alabama in February 1848 and a voyage to Pensacola, Florida in September, Iris remained on duty in the vicinity of Vera Cruz for the next year. During the closing months of the Mexican–American War, she assisted in maintaining the blockade of the coast of Mexico and protected the Army's water communications. Thereafter she vigilantly protected United States interests in that volatile area lest trouble break out anew.

Iris departed Vera Cruz on 8 November and arrived Norfolk, Virginia 16 December. She decommissioned there on 16 December 1848 and was sold soon thereafter.

She was documented as carrying the name Osprey on 9 March 1849. The ship was destroyed by fire at Kingston, Jamaica on 18 April 1856.

References[]

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