The USS Columbia (1836) was a three-masted, wooden-hulled sailing frigate constructed at the Washington Navy Yard, with her keel laid in 1825 and launched on 9 March 1836. Armed with 54 guns, she was a significant vessel of the U.S. Navy during the mid-19th century. Her initial cruise, from May 1838 to June 1840 under Lieutenant George A. Magruder, marked a historic achievement as she circumnavigated the globe, returning via Cape Horn after rounding the Cape of Good Hope. During this voyage, she served as the flagship of Commodore George C. Read in the East India Squadron and participated in the 1838 Second Sumatran Expedition in response to a Malay attack on an American merchant vessel. Throughout her service, Columbia held the role of flagship in various squadrons, including the Home Squadron, Brazil Squadron, and Mediterranean Squadron. Between 1842 and 1847, she alternated between these commands, often serving as flagship. Her activities in the 1850s included a notable cruise as flagship of the Home Squadron from 1854 to 1855, during which her crew suffered severe outbreaks of disease, including smallpox, cholera, and yellow fever. These outbreaks prompted a petition from her crew and a report from Commodore John Thomas Newton, leading to her return to Norfolk for medical care for her sick crew. During the Civil War, following the Union occupation of Norfolk Navy Yard, the Columbia was scuttled and burned by Union forces on 21 April 1861 to prevent her capture by Confederates. After the war’s end, she was raised and sold at Norfolk on 10 October 1867. The USS Columbia’s service history reflects her importance as a naval flagship and her participation in early American overseas expeditions, as well as the challenges faced by naval crews dealing with disease and wartime destruction.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.