The first Dolphin was a 10-gun cutter purchased in Dover, England, in the spring of 1777, and fitted out in Nantes, France, for the Continental naval service. She put to sea in command of Lieutenant Samuel Nicholson, and cruised in company with the Reprisal and Lexington. Eighteen prizes were made in the Irish Sea in the course of the month of June, 1777, and the American vessels were in turn chased by a large ship-of-war, but “these fellows have three of the fastest Sailing Vessels in the employ of the Colonies and it’s impossible to take them unless it blows hard.” On her return to France, the Dolphin was obliged to undergo repairs to her rigging at St. Malo, after which she was converted into a packet, for which service she had been purchased in the first place, but before she could leave for America, she was ordered sequestered by the French government, in 1777.
The second Dolphin was a 12-gun schooner built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pa., in 1821, under authority of the act of Congress approved May 15, 1820. Her cost was $25,389. Her principal characteristics were: burden, 198 tons; length, 88 ft.; breadth, 23 ft. 6 in.; depth of hold, 10 ft.; draft, 12 ft. 4 in. She carried a battery of twelve long 6’s.
The Dolphin was fitted out at New York on October 7, 1821, and sailed a few days later for the Pacific station, which was destined to be her cruising ground for the next 15 years. Under Lieutenant David Conner (October 7, 1821) she was employed in protecting American interests and our growing commerce in Chile and Peru after which Lieutenant John Percival (May, 1824) took her out to the Society and Sandwich Islands. From 1826 to 1835 she continued to form part of the Pacific squadron, under the following commanders: Lieutenants Beverly Kennon (September 2, 1826), John H. Aulick (1827), Lawrence Rousseau (July 8, 1827), Charles H. Bell (1829), John P. Zantzinger (June 21, 1829), Edward B. Babbitt (October 14, 1829), Charles H. B. Caldwell (January 14, 1831), Andrew Fitzhugh (March 2, 1831), John C. Long (December 1, 1831), Ralph Voorhees (November 5, 1833), and Charles H. Bell (January 8, 1835), On December 2, 1835, the Dolphin was placed out of commission at Callao, Peru, and sold as, on account of her decayed condition, it was thought unsafe to bring her home around the capes.
The third Dolphin was a 10-gun sailing brig authorized by the Naval Appropriation Act of June 30, 1834. She was launched at the New York Navy Yard in 1836, and completed at a cost of $47,469. Her dimensions were: burden, 224 tons; length, 88 ft.; breadth, 25 ft.; depth of hold, 11 ft.; draft, 13 ft. When first commissioned, she carried a battery of 2 long 9’s and eight 24-pdr. carronades, but this was reduced in 1855 to 6 long 32-pdr. and later to 4 guns. Her complement was 80 officers and men.
The Dolphin was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on September 6, 1836, and made her first cruise on the west coast of Africa under Lieutenant W. E. McKcnney, returning by way of the Brazil station, where she remained for several years in charge of Lieutenants William S. Ogden (June 8, 1837), Hugh Y. Purviance (August 5, 1837), and Alexander S. Mackenzie (December 19, 1837). On her return to New York, she was placed out of commission, May 25, 1839, but refitted five months later for special service on the coast of Africa under Lieutenant Charles H. Bell (October 2, 1839). In September, 1841, she was sent to the coast of New Grenada to inquire into certain acts of violence committed against American citizens there, after which she was attached to the Home Squadron. On this cruise, which lasted until October 28, 1843, she was commanded by Lieutenant William W. McKean (August 25,1841), Commanders John Rudd (May 3,1842), and James D. Knight (September 30, 1832).
In November, 1845, the Dolphin was refitted for service on the African station, where she remained for two years under Commander John Pope (November 7, 1845). This was followed by a cruise to the East Indies in 1848-51 under Lieutenants William S. Ogden (April 25, 1848) and Thomas J. Page (October 7, 1849). A new commission dates from the summer of 1852, when under Lieutenant S. Philips Lee, the Dolphin was employed on the Atlantic coast in testing new ocean routes between the United States and Europe. After this Lieutenant Otway H. Berryman (September 10, 1852) cruised in her for a year, testing new routes and perfecting the discoveries made by Lieutenant Maury in the course of his investigations of the winds and currents of the ocean. On this cruise the Dolphin was overtaken by a hurricane, and obliged to throw overboard one of her guns. Between 1855 and 1858, she made two cruises on the slave coast, under Commander Edward R. Thomson (April 23, 1855) and Lieutenant John N. Maffitt (1858), but succeeded in making only one prize, the brig Echo, with 318 slaves on board. On her return to the United States, she was refitted by Commander Charles Steedman (September 25, 1858) for service in Cuban waters, where the presence of American warships was accessary in view of the attempts of British cruisers to revive the right of search. After this she was transferred to the Brazil station, where, in the following year, she participated in Flag Officer Shubrick’s expedition against Paraguay. She returned north towards the close of the year 1860, and was laid up in ordinary at Norfolk, Virginia, December 27, 1860, where she was scuttled, April 20, 1860, upon the abandonment of the navy yard.
The fourth Dolphin was a steel dispatch boat of the third rate built by contract by John Roach and Sons of Philadelphia, Pa., at a cost of $315,000. She was one of the vessels of the new navy authorized by the acts of August 5, 1882, and March 3, 1883. She was laid down in October, 1883, and launched on April 12, 1884. Her dimensions were: displacement, 1,486 tons; length, 256 ft. 6 in.; breadth, 32 ft.; draft, 14 ft. 3 in. She was fitted with single-screw vertical compound engines of 2,253 hp. and four Scotch boilers. Her trial speed was 15.50 knots. When first commissioned, the Dolphin carried one 6-in. B.L.R., two 6- pdr. R.F., and six machine guns. This battery was replaced in 1892 by two 4-in. B.L.R.’s and six rapid-fire guns. During the Spanish war, she mounted three 4-in. B.L.R’s and eight R.F. guns. In 1906 she rated two 4-in. R.F., five 3-pdr. and two automatic rifles, but in 1918 she carried only two 3-in. rifles and four 6-pdr. Her complement was 7 officers and 130 men.
The Dolphin was placed in commission at the New York Navy Yard on December 8, 1885, and made her shaking-down cruise under Captain Richard W. Meade, after which she was attached to the North Atlantic and Pacific stations for several years, in command of Captain George F. F. Wilde (December 6, 1886). Under Commander Charles O’Neill (November 30, 1889) she served in the West Indies as flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron, being later transferred to the Squadron of Evolution. From March 14, 1892, to November 24, 1897, she was engaged on special service under Commanders Willard H. Brownson (March 14, 1892), William T. Burwell (October 6, 1895), Lieutenant Commander Richardson Clover (April 30, 1896), and Commander Henry W. Lyon (May 29, 1897). She was placed out of commission at the New York Navy Yard in the fall of 1897, but in anticipation of the outbreak of hostilities with Spain, she was refitted on March 24, 1898, and again placed in charge of Commander Lyon. On April 29, she joined Commodore Watson’s squadron on the Havana blockade, where she intercepted one schooner and participated in the Dorst expedition. On the conclusion of hostilities, she was ordered north and resumed her peace-time routing of “special service with the Secretary of the Navy.” Her commanding officers from 1899 to 1913 were: Lieutenant Commanders William H. H. Southerland (June 20, 1899), Albert Gleaves (November 2, 1901), George M. Stoney (June 28, 1902), John H. Gibbons (June 11, 1903), Webster A. Edgar (December 12, 1905), Thomas Washington (June 3, 1907), Rufus Z. Johnston (December 1, 1909), and George W. Laws (March 25, 1910). In the fall of 1913, the Dolphin was ordered to the West Indies to observe conditions in Santo Domingo, after which she was sent to the coast of Mexico to protect American interests at Tampico. On this cruise she was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Ralph Earle (November 1, 1913). After this she returned to the North Atlantic, where she cruised under orders of the Secretary of the Navy. Commander Gatewood S. Lincoln commanded her in 1914, and was succeeded in the following year by Lieutenant Commander William D. Leahy (September 18, 1915). In the years immediately preceding the outbreak of hostilities with Germany, the Dolphin operated in the West Indies. During the reorganization of the government of Haiti and the occupation of Santo Domingo, she was the flagship of Rear Admiral Caperton. In the spring of 1917, she was detailed for special duty in connection with the establishment of an American government in the newly acquired Virgin Islands, following which she sailed for the Gulf of Paria in search of a Danish steamer suspected of assisting German raiders in South American waters.
Commander John T. Tompkins relieved Commander Leahy in command of the Dolphin at Key West, Florida, on July 3, 1917, and was in turn succeeded a few days later by Lieutenant Commander Kenneth G. Castleman (September 8, 1917). The Dolphin then proceeded to Guantanamo Bay, where Rear Admiral Anderson hoisted his flag on board as commander of the American Patrol Detachment in the West Indies. After the war, the Dolphin was ordered to the Washington Navy Yard, for “duty with the Secretary of the Navy,” until 1921. She was sold out of the service on February 25, 1922.
The fifth Dolphin was a motor patrol boat acquired on July 21, 1918, on a free lease from John A. Miller. She was formerly known as the Ora Belle having been built as a pleasure craft in 1911. Her dimensions were: gross tonnage, 10 tons; length, 39 ft.; breadth, 10 ft. 2 in.; draft, 3 ft. 6 in. She was fitted with a single-screw standard 4-cycle engines of 27 hp. Her crew numbered 6 men. She was commissioned on August 24, 1918, and assigned to section patrol. She was returned to her owner on December 16, 1918.
The sixth Dolphin was a mine sweeper of 176 tons acquired during the World War. She was a wooden vessel, built at Pocomoke City, Maryland, in 1908, and rebuilt in 1911. Her dimensions were: length, 135 ft.; breadth, 20 ft.; draft, 7 ft. 6 in. Her propelling machinery consisted of a Steeple compound engine of 300 hp., driving a single screw, with one marine leg boiler. Her speed was 9.5 knots.