The most famous and gloried ship of the United States Navy
is the sailing ship, USS Constitution, ‘Old Ironsides’. However, on this 4th of July, Independence
Day celebration, what could be more appropriate than to take a look at one of Constitution’s
sister ships, the aptly named USS United States.
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| USS United States |
The USS United States was conceived in response to the
actions of the Barbary pirates and the continued harassment of American ships
by the British. Congress passed the
Naval Act of 1794 authorizing the construction of six frigates – four of 44 guns
and two of 36 guns. The Constitution was
the most famous of the group but the United States was the first launched on
10-May-1797 and commissioned 11-Jul-1798.
The ship was built in Philadelphia to Joshua Humphreys’ plan. The ship’s figurehead was the ‘Goddess of
Liberty’.
She first sailed under Captain John Barry, performing trials
and patrols before being laid up in 1801 during which her armament was upgraded
along with other changes.
The ship reportedly sported two narrow red stripes, one each
above and below the gunports, as opposed to the classic black and white scheme
of the Constitution.
USS United States was activated for the War of 1812,
captained by Stephen Decatur. On
25-Jul-1812, she encountered the British frigate Macedonian and in a two and a
half hour battle dismasted the British ship and took her as a prize. Macedonian was eventually repaired and taken
into the US Navy.
United States was later chased into New London, Connecticut by a British squadron
and sat out the remainder of the war.
Among other noteworthy post-war accomplishments, the USS United
States saw the enlistment of Herman Melville (author of Moby-Dick) as an
ordinary seaman on 18-Aug-1843.
The ship was decommissioned in Feb-1849 and lay in Norfolk
until the Civil War when she was seized by Confederate forces and taken into
service for harbor defense and training.
She was eventually scuttled when the Confederates abandoned
Norfolk. The Union raised the ship
before finally breaking it up in 1864.
Though not as famous as her sister ship, Constitution, the
United States still led a proud and productive naval service. It is well that we remember her.
Interestingly there has never been another USS United States. Several attempts like a Lexington class battlecruiser, an aircraft carrier, and then a Nimitz class one were suppose to be named but weren't built or named changed. USS Harry S Truman was supposed to be United States.
ReplyDeleteI wish we would go back to the classic names for the carriers like Langley, Lexington, Saratoga, Hornet, Yorktown, etc. Also go back to denizens of the deep for the subs.
"I wish we would go back to the classic names"
DeleteAmen!
The USS United States was the poorest sailing ship of the original three 44-gun frigates. It was grounded on launch at Philadelphia, and maybe that's what caused that.
ReplyDeleteIt had the nickname of "The Wagon" because of it's rough ride, but that didn't keep it from being a successful warship.
Lutefisk
"The USS United States was the poorest sailing ship of the original three 44-gun frigates."
DeleteInitially, yes. In later years, after some remasting, ballasting, and re-rigging she was known as one of the fastest, if not the fastest, ship in the US or RN navies, having beaten several ships from both navies in various races over the years, including the Constitution.
Quite a turnaround in performance and proof of the critical nature of exact mast placement, rake, ballast, and rigging. She was once documented to have achieved over 13 kts which is quite a performance for a large sailing ship!
The original 44 gun frigates were amazing examples of advanced and intelligent ship design and emphasis on the correct warship characteristics (armor, firepower, and speed). Shamefully, we abandoned those characteristics after WWII and now no longer even pay lip service to them. We build cruise ships with slight nods to weapons just for appearance sake. No armor, no real firepower, no endurance, no survivability. Embarrassing.
To your list of things we have long since abandoned as unimportant I would add the superlative seamanship and gunnery skills born of constant practice and training which always impress me deeply when I read accounts of those 18th and early 19th Century naval battles.
DeleteIt's easy to forget that history didn't stop after the War of 1812.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that they had kept improving her performance.
Lutefisk
Also of note is her sister ship USS President. In fact I recommend reading the book Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy by Ian W Toll. Very interesting book.
ReplyDeleteThe book is a solid member of my reference library!
DeleteThe President, apparently, was the fastest of the three until it ran aground trying to get out of New York to the open sea.
ReplyDeleteLutefisk