USS Worcester (1866)

USS Worcester was a Contoocook-class frigate of the United States Navy. She was laid down as Manitou during the American Civil War to deter British intervention in 1864, although timber shortages and a rushed construction delayed progress. Her first name, after a Native American term, was replaced by the more Anglo-sounding one as part of a new naming system. Renamed and launched in 1869, her design was criticized and unseasoned wood limited her service life. While intended as a sloop, modifications while under construction enlarged her armament and converted her into a frigate. She was rushed into service to carry humanitarian aid to France during the Franco-Prussian War, although most of the food did not reach where it was needed most. After the voyage, she served as the flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron between 1872 and 1875 before she was decommissioned the next year. By 1881, she was reduced to a hulk and condemned due to a rotted hull and sold off in 1883.