Idaho – the first U.S. Navy ship to bear that name—was launched as a wooden steam sloop 8 October 1864 by Henry Steers of Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

She was completed in 1866 but upon sea trials in May was found to be far slower than the contract speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph), having been in commission between 2 April and 26 May under the command of Captain John Lorimer Worden.

A board of Naval Officers recommended her rejection, but Dickerson appealed to the United States Congress and obtained a resolution in February 1867 for her purchase by the navy.

In mid-August 1869 Idaho moved to Yokohama, Empire of Japan, to prepare for the long voyage back to the United States, and soon afterward, 20 September, she got underway for San Francisco, California.

Her masts were carried away and her hull was severely damaged, but the stout ship stayed afloat and was brought back to Yokohama by her crew, with the assistance of the German corvette Medusa.