Young Officer Poses on the USS Santee by a Large Cannon CDV of a young officer next to a cannon on the USS Santee, his cap resting on the rear of the cannon. USS Santee (1855) was a wooden-hulled, three-masted sailing frigate of the US Navy. She was the first US Navy ship to be so named and was one of its last sailing frigates in service. She was acquired by the Union Navy at the start of the Civil War, outfitted with heavy guns and a crew of 480, and was assigned as a gunboat in the Union blockade of the Confederate States. Worked in the West blockading squadron off Texas capturing blockade runners out of Galveston. This CDV albumen was pasted in a scrapbook containing photos of the USS Santee, removed, and had been restored to a period CDV card with no imprint.