Benjamin Drummond served aboard the USS Portsmouth from December 1, 1861, to February 2, 1862, while being transported from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to the Gulf of Mexico for duty with the Gulf Coast Blockading Squadron. The original copy of this photograph is held by the Naval Historical Center at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, DC.
Launched in 1844 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, New Hampshire, this was the second US Navy warship named USS Portsmouth. During the Mexican-American War the ship captured San Francisco (the spot where her crew raised the American Flag is now called Portsmouth Square). From 1848 to 1851 the USS Portsmouth served on slavery suppression patrols with ships of the Royal Navy off the African Coast. In 1856 she was sent back to the Pacific, participating in an engagement with the Barrier Forts at Canton (see the illustration above). During the Civil War the Portsmouth was assigned to the Gulf Blockading Squadron in the Gulf of Mexico. Thereafter assigned to a variety of duties, the decommissioned in 1915 and burned. For more information refer to the Dictionary of American Fighting Ships
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Last updated October 28, 2008
