Built in 1855, the Sabine was among the first of the old navy ships to see service in the Civil War. A sailing frigate with 1,726 tons' displacement, it carried a crew of 375 and was armed with two 10-inch Dahlgrens, ten 8-inch Dahlgrens, and eighteen 32-pounders. In 1862, a substantial portion of the crew of the ironclad Monitor came from volunteers from the Sabine.