USS Scorpion (1847)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Scorpion.

The third USS Scorpion was a steamer in commission in the United States Navy from 1847 to 1848.

History
United States
Name	USS Scorpion
Namesake	Scorpions
Builder	Bishop and Simonson, New York, New York
Completed	1846
Acquired	7 January 1847
Commissioned	23 February 1847
Decommissioned	21 August 1848
Fate	Sold 23 December 1848
Notes	In commercial service as SS Aurora 1846-1847 In commercial service as SS Isthmus 1848-1854 Lost at sea 1854
General characteristics
Type	Steamer
Tonnage	339
Length	160 ft 9 in (49.00 m)
Beam	24 ft 6 in (7.47 m)
Draft	8 ft 0 in (2.44 m)
Propulsion	Steam
Speed	7.5 knots
Complement	60
Armament	2 × 8-inch (203-millimeter) guns 2 × 18-pounder carronades

Scorpion was built in 1846 as the commercial steamship SS Aurora by Bishop and Simonson at New York City for Sidney Mason and William D. Thompson. The U.S. Navy purchased Aurora at New York on 7 January 1847 for use in the Mexican War and commissioned her as USS Scorpion on 23 February 1847 with Commander Abraham Bigelow in command.

Ordered to the Gulf of Mexico, Scorpion joined the Home Squadron at Anton Lizardo, Mexico, on 27 April 1847. She participated in the expedition against Tabasco on 16 June 1847 at the Second Battle of Tabasco, serving as the flagship for Commodore Matthew C. Perry.

Scorpion returned to Anton Lizardo on 25 July 1847, and for the remainder of the war patrolled the coast of Mexico. At the close of the war, she sailed for the Brooklyn Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, arriving there on 11 August 1848. She was decommissioned on 21 August 1848 and sold at auction on 23 December 1848.

Once again in civilian service, she became the merchant steamer Isthmus, and was lost at sea in 1854.

References

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