The first warship of the US Navy

The Continental Navy was disestablished at the end of the American Revolution. In the early days of the Republic the only armed federal ships were operated by the Revenue Cutter Service. After American merchant ships operating in the Mediterranean came under attack by the Barbary pirates, Congress adopted the Naval Act of 1794, appropriating funds for construction of four ships of forty-four guns each and two ships of thirty-six guns each. Knowing that the fledging US Navy could not match ship-for-ship with the European navies, President Washington directed the construction of super-frigates. These ships would be larger, faster, and better armed than the traditional European frigates, able to operate as commerce raiders and able to outrun ships of the line. The first of the large vessels, designated Frigate A, was designed and built by Joshua Humphreys in his Philadelphia shipyard. At the time, Philadelphia was the nation’s capital, so President Washington and members of Congress stopped by regularly to observe construction. Frigate A was designed long and narrow, with diagonal scantlings and heavy planking. Launched on 10 May 1797 as USS United States, the frigate was commanded by Captain John Barry. By that time, hostilities with the Barbary pirates had ended, but depredations by the new French Republic had commenced. USS United States was outfitted with thirty-two 24-pounder cannons, twenty-two 42-pounder carronades, and one 18-pounder long gun and put to sea on 3 July 1798 and soon made for the West Indies. Before the Quasi-War with France was over, USS United States had captured and claimed as prizes a number of French privateers. On 18 June 1812, war was declared against Great Britain, and USS United States was again on war patrol, Captain Stephen Decatur commanding. On 25 October 1812, it encountered the new British frigate HMS Macedonian about 500 miles south of the Azores. After maneuvering for advantage, United States was able to utilize its superior speed and firepower to dismast Macedonian and force it to surrender. The Royal Navy vessel suffered 104 casualties, compared to twelve casualties on United States. It took two weeks to render Macedonian seaworthy, it which time it was brought into New York harbor. Captain Decatur instantly became a national hero. In 1842, while the ship was serving as the flagship of the Pacific Squadron, USS United States sailed to Monterey, the capital of Alta California. Under the impression that the United States and Mexico were at war, Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones demanded and received the surrender of the city. He soon learned to his horror that the two nations were not at war. He rescinded the surrender, but was unable to avoid the political embarrassment. He was soon relieved of his command. Herman Melville sailed as an ordinary seaman in United States in 1843-44. His novel White-Jacket is an only-slightly fictionalized account of that time. The book was highly critical of the commanding officer and of naval customs of the time. In 1849, United States was decommissioned and placed in ordinary (reserve status) at the Norfolk Naval Yard. When the Civil War broke out, the yard and USS United States was captured by Confederate troops. They renamed it CSS United States and briefly utilized it as a receiving ship, equipping it with guns for harbor defense. Union forces recaptured Norfolk in May 1862. By that time, USS United States was no longer serviceable. The ship was broken up in 1865 and many of its timbers were reused.