USS Delaware (1776)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name: | USS Delaware |
| Ordered: | 13 December 1775 |
| Builder: | Warwick Coates |
| Launched: | July 1776 |
| Captured: | 27 September 1777 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Frigate |
| Displacement: | 563 tons |
| Length: |
119 ft (36 m) (pp) 117 ft 10 in (35.92 m) (deck) |
| Beam: | 32 ft 11 in (10.03 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 9' 9" |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Armament: | 22 x 12 pounders, 6 x 6 pounders |
The first USS Delaware of the United States Navy was a 24-gun sailing frigate that had a short career in the American Revolutionary War.
She was built under the 13 December 1775 order of the Continental Congress in the yard of Warwick Coates of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, under the direction of the Marine Committee. Upon her launching in July 1776, Captain C. Alexander took command.
Delaware served in the Delaware River, joining with Commodore John Hazelwood's Pennsylvania state ships in operations which delayed the British Fleet in approaching Philadelphia and supplying the British Army. When the British took possession of Philadelphia 26 September 1777, Delaware, now under the command of John Barry, in company with several smaller ships advanced upon the enemy fortifications which were being erected, and opened a destructive fire while anchored some 500 yards from shore.[1] On 27 September she went aground on the ebb tide and came under the concentrated fire of the British artillery. After a brave defense against overwhelming odds, Captain Alexander was compelled to strike his colors. Delaware was taken into the Royal Navy, and sold in March 1783.[2]
See also
- List of sailing frigates of the United States Navy
- List of ships captured in the 18th century
- Bibliography of early American naval history
References
- ↑ Meany, 1911 p.22
- ↑ U.S.Navy, DANFS, Ships Histories, USS Delaware
Bibliography
- Dept U.S.Navy. "Ships Histories Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Department of the Navy - Naval Historical Center.
- Meany, William Barry (1911). E'Book Commodore John Barry, the father of the American navy:
a survey of extraordinary episodes in his naval career Check|url=value (help). Harper & brothers, New York, London. p. 74.