USS Congress (1841)

USS Congress (1841)
History
Name	USS Congress
Builder	Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
Launched	August 16, 1841
Commissioned	May 7, 1842
Fate	Sunk, March 8, 1862
General characteristics
Type	Frigate
Tonnage	1867
Length	179 ft (55 m) (p.p.)
Beam	47 ft 9.6 in (14.569 m)
Draft	22 ft 6 in (6.86 m)
Propulsion	Sails
Complement	480 officers and enlisted
Armament	4 × 8 in (203 mm) guns 48 × 32 pdr (15 kg) guns

USS Congress—the fourth United States Navy ship to carry that name—was a sailing frigate, like her predecessor, USS Congress (1799).

Congress served in the Mediterranean, South Atlantic Ocean, and in the Pacific Ocean. She continued to operate as an American warship until the American Civil War, when she was sunk by the ironclad CSS Virginia in battle of Newport News, Virginia.