Captain W. H. Gardner was in command. (Colorado didn't become a state until 1876.) During the Civil War, it assisted the capture of Fort Fisher in Wilmington, North Carolina. The statue was designed by Captain Jack Howland, a member of the First Colorado Cavalry. During the Civil War, Dewey was highly praised for his seamanship, leadership and courage, and at war’s end he was promoted to lieutenant commander. The first USS COLORADO was the three-masted steam screw frigate named for the twisting Colorado River, launched at the Gosport(Norfolk) Navy Yard on June 19, 1856. The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (CWSS) is a database containing information about the men who served in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. Contents[show] Pre-Civil War … During the Civil War, it assisted the capture of Fort Fisher in Wilmington, North Carolina. The first USS Colorado — a 3,400 long tons (3,500 t)-class, three-masted steam screw frigate — was launched on 19 June 1856 by the Norfolk Navy Yard. On November 9, 1861, a steamer named USS Keystone State disappeared. From 1863-65, Dewey served on USS Brooklyn, USS Agawa, and finally USS Colorado. The first USS Colorado was a 3500 ton three-masted steam frigate commissioned in 1858 and named after the Colorado River. (Colorado didn't become a state until 1876.) The first USS Colorado was a 3,400 long tons (3,500 t)-class, three-masted steam screw frigate.It was launched on 19 June 1856 by the Norfolk Navy Yard.It was sponsored by Ms. N. S. Dornin and commissioned on 13 March 1858. Colorado put to sea from Boston on 12 May 1858. Constructed by New York Shipbuilding Corporation (Camden, NJ), the battleship entered service in 1923. The first USS Colorado was a 3500 ton three-masted steam frigate commissioned in 1858 and named after the Colorado River. Pensacola and the surrounding area was home to several key clashes in the early stages of the American Civil War.The Confederate Secretary of the Navy, Stephen Mallory, was a Pensacolian and is buried in historic Saint Michael's Cemetery. The first USS Colorado served during the Civil War. What made this strange were the circumstances: The Civil War–era ship was nowhere near the battlefronts—the vessel had been unassumingly hauling passengers and iron goods from Detroit to Milwaukee on the Great Lakes of Michigan. ... Pre-Civil War. 3 The Disappearance Of The USS Keystone State. Based on Pearl Harbor from 27 January 1941' Colorado operated in the Hawaiian training area in intensive exercises and war games until 25 June when she departed for the west coast and overhaul at Puget Sound Navy Yard which lasted until 31 March 1942. The Colorado's men destroyed the Judah, and occupied the navy yard. This statue of a Civil War cavalryman, dismounted with rifle in hand, honors the Colorado soldiers who fought and died in the Civil War. During the Civil War she participated in the Union Navy’s Gulf Blockading Squadron. The local Confederate force quickly left, leaving the Confederate privateer, Judah.