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USS ''De Soto'' was a fast wooden-hulled sidewheel steamship that saw service as a U.S. Navy gunboat during the American Civil War. ''De Soto'' was originally a privately owned vessel, built for passenger service between New York and New Orleans. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, she was purchased by the Navy, commissioned as USS ''De Soto'', and sent to assist with the blockade of Confederate ports. ''De Soto''s speed made her an effective pursuit ship, and she would capture or bring about the destruction of a total of eighteen blockade runners during the war. In the postwar period, ''De Soto'' continued to serve with the Navy, mostly in South American waters, until resold to her original owners in 1868 for resumption of service as a passenger ship. She caught fire and was burned to the waterline in December 1870. ==Construction and design== ''De Soto'' was built by Lawrence & Foulks of Brooklyn, New York in 1859 for Livingston, Crocheron & Co., which ran a line of passenger steamships between New York and New Orleans.〔Morrison, p. 456. Morrison states that the ship was completed in May 1860, but this is clearly an error as a number of voyages made by the ship in 1859 are documented in ''The New York Times''.〕 At 1,675 tons and in length, ''De Soto'' was quite a large steamer for her time, and considered a fine example of her type.〔Morrison, p. 456.〕 She was named after Hernando De Soto, a Spanish explorer and conquistador.〔 ''De Soto'' was powered by a bore, stroke single-cylinder vertical beam engine,〔Baughman, p. 244.〕 built by the Morgan Iron Works of New York.〔〔 The engine, which drove a pair of 30-foot〔 sidewheels,〔〔 was capable of delivering up to 14 mph (12 knots)—a good speed for the time, which would soon make ''De Soto'' a favorite with the travelling public and which would later prove invaluable for pursuing blockade runners during the Civil War.〔(''De Soto'' ), ''Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships''.〕 The ship had a single, raked smokestack forward of the engine, and two masts, one fore and one aft—the fore mast square rigged—to provide auxiliary sail power.〔See the Eric Heyl watercolor at the Naval Historical Center's (photo page ) for USS De Soto.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USS De Soto (1859)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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