USS John Hancock (1850)
On 9 September 1851, John Hancock departed New York for Havana, Cuba, to assist in suppressing the last filibustering expedition led by Narciso López, which had been launched from the United States in violation of American neutrality laws.She arrived at Havana on 29 September 1851, but her duty there terminated on 3 October 1851, when extremely stormy weather damaged her and caused her to return to Boston via Charleston, South Carolina, and New York.John Hancock stood out of New York Harbor on 3 May 1853 and joined Commander Cadwallader Ringgold's North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition at Hampton Roads three days later.Besides greatly increasing knowledge of the western and northern Pacific Ocean, stimulating commerce, and easing navigation in previously unknown seas, the operations helped to establish friendly relations between the United States and several countries in East Asia.After repairs at Mare Island Navy Yard in Vallejo, California, she stood out of San Francisco Bay on 20 March 1856 bound for Puget Sound to help suppress Native American uprisings which threatened to wipe out U.S. civilian settlements and United States Army outposts established in the early 1850s.