USS Charleston

Several United States Navy ships have borne the name Charleston, after the town of Charleston, South Carolina.

• The first Charleston was a galley mounting one 24-pounder gun, identical to Mars (length 52 ft, breadth 15 ft, depth 5.1 ft, complement 28). She was built at Charleston in 1798, commanded by "Captain-of-a-Galley" James Payne, and used to defend the coast of South Carolina during the Quasi-War with France. The ship was sold in Charleston around 1 February 1802.

• The second Charleston (C-2) was a protected cruiser commissioned 1889 and which captured Guam in 1898 but was wrecked the following year.

• The third Charleston (C-22) was a protected cruiser that served from 1905 to 1923.

• The fourth Charleston (PG-51) was a patrol boat used in World War II.

• The fifth(?) Charleston (LKA-113) (originally AKA-113) was an amphibious cargo ship commissioned 1968 and decommissioned 1992, and mothballed at Portsmouth, Virginia.