USS St. Lawrence was a frigate in the United States Navy that saw service during the mid-19th century, including the American Civil War. She was based on the same plans as . Construction and commissioning Although St. Lawrence was laid down in 1826 by the Norfolk Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia, she remained uncompleted on the ways until work on her, interrupted by a shortage of funds, was resumed during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). The frigate was finally launched early in 1848 and commissioned on 17 August of that year with Captain Hiram Paulding in command. Service history European voyage, 1848–1850 On 29 August, the Navy Department, at the request of the Prussian Minister to the United States, directed Paulding to "take on board a Mister H. W. Foster and rate him Master's Mate." The German states, then striving to establish a German Federation, had recently become aware of the need for a German navy and had asked the United States for help in establishing and training a national fighting force afloat. The ship got underway on 8 September and headed eastward across the Atlantic. After touching at Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, the ship reached the mouth of the Weser River on 7 October. The next day, she was towed to Bremerhaven. She remained at that port for the next month and one-half while Capt. Paulding visited important cities in several German states to discuss with various leaders matters important to the establishment of the new navy. Before departing Bremerhaven, St. Lawrence received on board four Prussian midshipmen for training, and they served on the frigate, learning the customs, discipline, and seamanship of the United States Navy. The frigate left the mouth of the Weser on 22 November and reached Southampton, England, on 2 December. She was anchored at the port for more than a month while her officers and men exchanged courtesies with their English counterparts, building good will between the two nations. Early in January 1849, the ship sailed for Portugal and reached Lisbon on the 12th. But for a visit to Cadiz, Spain, from 5 February to 14 March, she remained at Lisbon until again sailing for England on 1 May. In July, she returned to Bremerhaven where Paulding discharged the German midshipmen on the 10th, since Prussia was then at war with Denmark, the next country on the frigate's itinerary. St. Lawrence got underway