The Sloop of War USS Tuscarora was built in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1861 and served in European waters during the U.S. Civil War. From 1872 until she was decommissioned and struck from the Navy List in1883, she was mainly engaged in hydrographic duties in the Pacific. Operating out of Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1874-1875, she was engaged in taking Pacific Ocean soundings and in survey work in the South Pacific. The keeper of the Logbook, Midshipman William H. Southerland, was born in New York City in 1852, entered the Navy as an apprentice, and the following year was appointed to the US Naval Academy as a Midshipman. In the course of long and distinguished career he commanded the gunboat Eagle in the Spanish-American war, was promoted to Rear Admiral, and in 1912 became Commander in Chief of the US Pacific Fleet.
From the guide to the U. S. S. Tuscarora Midshipman’s logbook MS 124., 1864-1866, (Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library Rice University, Houston, TX)
