USS Idaho, a 3241-ton steam sloop, was built at New York as part of a Civil War program of large, very fast, steam cruisers. Completed in May 1866, she ran her trials the following August, making just over eight knots. Her boilers and engines, ordered as a result of political influence, failed totally to achieve her fifteen-knot contract speed.

Briefly laid up after trials, Idaho was converted to a sailing storeship in 1867 and sent to Japan as a base for the U.S. Navy ships operating in Asiatic waters. During that passage, she logged over eighteen knots, making her one of the fastest sailing ships ever built. In September 1869, while en route back to the United States, Idaho was badly damaged by a typhoon. She returned to Japan and remained at Yokohama until sold in April 1874.