USS Minnetonka was one of eight wooden steam frigates authorized by the United States Navy during the American Civil War to provide a postwar general purpose fleet.

USS California (1870-1875) Moored off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, circa 1871-1873
USS California (1870-1875) Moored off the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, circa 1871-1873
History
United States
NameUSS Minnetonka
BuilderPortsmouth Navy Yard
Launched3 July 1867
Sponsored byMiss Margaret Bailey
Commissioned7 October 1870
RenamedCalifornia, 15 May 1869
FateSold, May 1875
General characteristics
TypeJava-class sloop-of-war
Tonnage2,354 long tons (2,392 t)
Length313 ft 6 in (95.55 m)
Beam46 ft (14 m)
Depth of hold17 ft 1 in (5.21 m)
Armament
  • 18 × 9 in (230 mm) guns
  • 2 × 100-pounder Parrott rifles
  • 1 × 60-pounder gun
  • 2 × 20-pounder Dahlgren smoothbores
  • 1 × 12-pounder Dahlgren rifle
  • 5 × 12-pounder smoothbore guns

She was launched on 3 July 1867 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine; and sponsored by Miss Margaret Bailey. Renamed USS California on 15 May 1869, she first went to sea on 7 October 1870, and served briefly in the Pacific. However, because she had been constructed of partially seasoned timber due to an unprecedented volume of shipbuilding during the war, her hull deteriorated rapidly and she was sold at Mare Island Navy Yard in May 1875.

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