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.
