USS United States (1797)

USS United States
USS United States by 1852
History
United States
NameUSS United States
NamesakeUnited States[2]
Ordered27 March 1794[2]
BuilderJoshua Humphreys[4]
Cost$299,336[3]
Launched10 May 1797
Nickname(s)"Old Wagon"[1]
FateAbandoned 20 April 1861
Confederate States
NameCSS United States
Acquired20 April 1861[2]
FateAbandoned May 1862[2]
United States
NameUSS United States
AcquiredMay 1862[2]
FateBroken up December 1865[2]
General characteristics
Class and typeFirst class frigate[5]
Tons burthen1576 tons[2]
Length
Beam43 ft 6 in (13.26 m)[2]
Draft23 ft 6 in (7.16 m) aft[2]
DecksOrlop, Berth, Gun, Spar
PropulsionSail
Speed11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph)[2]
Complement400 to 600 officers, enlisted personnel and 50 Marines
Armament32 × long 24-pounders (11 kg), 24 × 42-pounder (19 kg) carronades (War of 1812)

USS United States was a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy and the first of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794. The name "United States" was among ten names submitted to President George Washington by Secretary of War Timothy Pickering in March of 1795 for the frigates that were to be constructed.[6][7] Joshua Humphreys designed the frigates to be the young Navy's capital ships, and so United States and her sisters were larger and more heavily armed and built than standard frigates of the period. She was built at Humphrey's shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and launched on 10 May 1797[8] and immediately began duties with the newly formed United States Navy protecting American merchant shipping during the Quasi-War with France.

In 1861, United States was in port at Norfolk when she was seized by the Virginia Navy. She was subsequently commissioned into the Confederate navy as CSS United States, but was later scuttled by Confederate forces. The U.S. Navy raised United States after retaking Norfolk, Virginia, but the aged and damaged ship was not returned to service; instead, United States was held at the Norfolk Navy Yard until she was broken up in December 1865.

  1. ^ Humphreys (1916), p. 391.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "United States". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  3. ^ Hill (1905), p. 199.
  4. ^ Humphreys (1916), p. 390.
  5. ^ "Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the Navy of the United States, including Officers of the Marine Corps, &c. for the Year 1825". Way & Gideon. 1825. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ Pickering, Timothy (14 March 1795). Letter to George Washington. Founders Online, National Archives. Retrieved 25 September 2019
  7. ^ Brodine, Charles E.; Crawford, Michael J.; Hughes, Christine F. (2007). Ironsides! the Ship, the Men and the Wars of the USS Constitution. Fireship Press. p. 8. ISBN 9781934757147.
  8. ^ Cooper, 1856 p. 125

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