Sloop-of-war (3m).
L/B/D:
132.3 bp × 36.3 × 16.5 (40.3m × 11m × 5m). Tons:
792 om. Hull:
wood. Comp.:
200. Arm.:
18 × 32pdr, 4 × 24pdr. Built:
Boston Navy Yard; 1838.
First assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron, the second USS Cyane was dispatched to the Pacific Squadron in 1841, a period of strained relations between the United States, Mexico, and Great Britain. Acting on erroneous information, on October 19, 1842, Cyane's Captain William Mervine seized Monterey and raised the U.S. flag, only to take it down when he learned there was no war. After a voyage to the East Coast, Cyane returned in time to take part in the Mexican War in 1846. On July 6, 1847, Cyane again seized Monterey—permanently—and then embarked Lieutenant Colonel John C. Frémont's California Battalion for San Diego. In company with USS Warren, Cyane attempted to enforce a blockade along 2,500 miles of Mexican coastline, seizing 30 Mexican vessels and taking part in the capture of Mazatlán on November 11 with
USS Congress and
Independence. From 1852 to 1857, Cyane was assigned to the Home Squadron and cruised between Nova Scotia and Panama. She returned to the Pacific in 1858 and served on the West Coast between Panama and Alaska until laid up at Mare Island in 1871. She was sold in 1887.
Johnson, Thence Round Cape Horn. U.S. Navy, DANFS.
