USS POWHATAN

Five ships of the United States Navy have borne the name 'USS ''Powhatan''', named in honor of Powhatan (1550–1618), an Indian chief in tidewater Virginia; the father of Pocahontas.

★ The first ''Powhatan'' was a sidewheel steam frigate, launched in 1850 and scrapped in 1887.

★ The second ''Powhatan'' was a side-wheel gunboat transferred by the War Department to the Navy 21 April 1861, was renamed ''King Philip'' 4 November 1861.

★ The third ''Powhatan'' was a tugboat, purchased in 1898. Her name was changed to ''Cayuga'' (YT-12) in 1917; she was scrapped in 1928.

★ The fourth, ''Powhatan'' (SP-3013), originally ''Hamburg'', was built in 1899. She was commissioned as a troop transport and renamed ''Powhatan'' in 1917. She decommissioned in 1919 and was turned over to the Army Transport Service.

★ The fifth, ''Powhatan'' (YT-128), was a tugboat, launched in 1938. She was reclassified YTM-128 in 1944. She was active till at least 1970. Sold for scrap 1976 and lost while under tow from USNS San Juan to a scrapper in the Carolinas.