USS Wabash was a steam screw frigate of the United States Navy that served during the American Civil War. She was based on the same plans as . Post-war she continued to serve her country in European operations and eventually served as a barracks ship in Boston, Massachusetts, and was sold in 1912. Pre-Civil War service Wabash—the first U.S. Navy ship to bear that name—was laid down on May 16, 1854 by the Philadelphia Navy Yard; launched on October 24, 1855, sponsored by Miss Pennsylvania Grice; and commissioned there on August 18, 1856, Captain Frederick K. Engle in command. Wabash departed Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 7, 1856, stopping at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to embark President Franklin Pierce for passage to Annapolis, Maryland. She arrived at New York on October 23, 1856, sailing on November 28, 1856 to become flagship of Commodore Hiram Paulding's Home Squadron. The squadron was instrumental in foiling the expedition against Nicaragua underway by American filibuster, William Walker, who had dreamed of uniting the nations of Central America into a vast military empire led by himself. Through insurrection, he became president of Nicaragua in 1855 only to have Cornelius Vanderbilt—who controlled the country's shipping lifelines—shut off supplies and aid. A revolt toppled Walker from power, and he was trying for a military comeback before he was captured in 1857 by the Home Squadron. Stateside controversy over the questionable legality of seizing American nationals in foreign, neutral lands prompted President James Buchanan to relieve Commodore Paulding of his command. Wabash was decommissioned on March 1, 1858 at the New York Navy Yard. First recommissioning, 1858–1859 Wabash was recommissioned on May 25, 1858, Captain Samuel Barron in command, and became the flagship of Commodore Elie A. F. La Vallette's Mediterranean Squadron. The future naval hero of the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War, George Dewey—then a midshipman—served aboard the Wabash when she touched at her first port of call, Gibraltar, on August 17, 1858. Dewey would later write in his autobiography that "The Wabash was quite the finest ship of the foreign fleet and also the largest." In April 1859, Wabash ran aground at Livorno, Grand Duchy of Tuscany. She was refloated with the assistance of a British steamship having had her cannon taken off. Wabash returned to the New York Navy Yard on December 16, 1859 and decommissioned there on December 20, 1859. Civil War service,