Joshua Humphreys
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Joshua Humphreys
Joshua Humphreys (June 17, 1751 – January 12, 1838) was an American ship builder and naval architect. He was the constructor of the original six frigates of the United States Navy and is known as the "Father of the American Navy". Humphreys was born in Ardmore, Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, and died in the same place. He was the son of Joshua Humphreys and Sarah Williams, grandson of Daniel Humphreys and Hannah Wynne (daughter of Dr. Thomas Wynne). He was a nephew of Charles Humphreys. His residence, Pont Reading, is still a private residence. Career As a youth, Humphreys was apprenticed to a shipbuilder in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During his apprenticeship, his instructor died and he was placed in charge of the establishment. During the American Revolutionary War he was active as a designer, and played a major part in planning the 32-gun frigate before the British Army occupation of Philadelphia halted that effort. In postwar Philadelphia, Humphreys became a shi ...
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Original Six Frigates Of The United States Navy
The United States Congress authorized the original six frigates of the United States Navy with the Naval Act of 1794 on March 27, 1794, at a total cost of $688,888.82 (). These ships were built during the formative years of the United States Navy, on the recommendation of designer Joshua Humphreys for a fleet of frigates powerful enough to engage any frigates of the French or British navies yet fast enough to evade any ship of the line. Purpose After the Revolutionary War, a heavily indebted United States disbanded the Continental Navy, and in August 1785, lacking funds for ship repairs, sold its last remaining warship, the . But almost simultaneously troubles began in the Mediterranean when Algiers seized two American merchant ships and held their crews for ransom.Daughan (2008), p. 242. Minister to France Thomas Jefferson suggested an American naval force to protect American shipping in the Mediterranean, but his recommendations were initially met with indifference, as ...
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Washington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard (WNY) is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy. The Yard currently serves as a ceremonial and administrative center for the U.S. Navy, home to the Chief of Naval Operations, and is headquarters for the Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Reactors, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, Naval History and Heritage Command, the National Museum of the United States Navy, the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps, Marine Corps Institute, the United States Navy Band, and other more classified facilities. In 1998, the yard was listed as a Superfund site due to environmental contamination. History The history of the yard can be divided into its military history and cultural and scientific history. Military The land was purchased under an Act of Congress on July 23, 1799. The Washington Navy Yard was established on October 2, 1799, ...
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American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states that had seceded. The central cause of the war was the dispute over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prevented from doing so, which was widely believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction. Decades of political controversy over slavery were brought to a head by the victory in the 1860 U.S. presidential election of Abraham Lincoln, who opposed slavery's expansion into the west. An initial seven southern slave states responded to Lincoln's victory by seceding from the United States and, in 1861, forming the Confederacy. The Confederacy seized U.S. forts and other federal assets within their borders. Led by Confederate President Jefferson Davis, ...
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Andrew A
Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived from the el, Ἀνδρέας, ''Andreas'', itself related to grc, ἀνήρ/ἀνδρός ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "courageous", and "warrior". In the King James Bible, the Greek "Ἀνδρέας" is translated as Andrew. Popularity Australia In 2000, the name Andrew was the second most popular name in Australia. In 1999, it was the 19th most common name, while in 1940, it was the 31st most common name. Andrew was the first most popular name given to boys in the Northern Territory in 2003 to 2015 and continuing. In Victoria, Andrew was the first most popular name for a boy in the 1970s. Canada Andrew was the 20th most popular name chosen for male ...
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Samuel Humphreys
Samuel Humphreys (23 November 1778 – 16 August 1846) was a noted American naval architect and shipbuilder in the early 19th century. He served the United States Navy as the Chief Constructor for the Navy from 1826 to 1846. Naval architect Samuel Humphreys supervised the construction of the frigate , which was laid down at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1798, and launched in 1799. He later constructed ships at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and supervised the construction of the ship-of-the-line , the first ship to be laid down at the yard, in 1815. In 1824, Humphreys turned down a very lucrative offer from Emperor Alexander I of Russia to create a Russian navy, saying: "I do not know that I possess the merits attributed to me, but, be they great or small, I owe them all to the flag of my country." In 1826, Humpherys was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society. Humphreys was Chief Constructor for the Navy from 1826 to 1846. He designed Americas first ...
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Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. The term "Continental Congress" most specifically refers to the First and Second Congresses of 1774–1781 and, at the time, was also used to refer to the Congress of the Confederation of 1781–1789, which operated as the first national government of the United States until being replaced under the Constitution of the United States. Thus, the term covers the three congressional bodies of the Thirteen Colonies and the new United States that met between 1774 and 1789. The First Continental Congress was called in 1774 in response to growing tensions between the colonies culminating in the passage of the Intolerable Acts by the British Parliament. It met for about six weeks and sought to repair the fraying relationship between Britain and t ...
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American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and community outreach. Considered the first learned society in the United States, it has about 1,000 elected members, and by April 2020 had had only 5,710 members since its creation. Through research grants, published journals, the American Philosophical Society Museum, an extensive library, and regular meetings, the society supports a variety of disciplines in the humanities and the sciences. Philosophical Hall, now a museum, is just east of Independence Hall in Independence National Historical Park; it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965. History The Philosophical Society, as it was originally called, was founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin, James Alexander (lawyer), James Alexander, Francis Hopkinson, John Bartram, Philip Syn ...
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USS President (1800)
USS ''President'' was a wooden-hull (watercraft), hulled, three-Mast (sailing), masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy, nominally rated at 44 guns. She was launched in April 1800 from a shipyard in New York City. ''President'' was one of the original six frigates of the United States Navy, original six frigates whose construction the Naval Act of 1794 had authorized, and she was the last to be completed. The name "President" 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. Joshua Humphreys designed these frigates to be the young Navy's capital ships, and so ''President'' and her sisters were larger and more heavily armed and built than standard frigates of the period. Forman Cheeseman, and later Christian Bergh were in charge of her construction. Her first duties with the newly formed United States Navy were to provide protection for American merchant shipping ...
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USS Congress (1799)
USS ''Congress'' was a nominally rated 38-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. James Hackett built her in Portsmouth New Hampshire and she was launched on 15 August 1799. She was one of the original six frigates whose construction the Naval Act of 1794 had authorized. The name "Congress" was among ten names submitted to President George Washington by Secretary of War Timothy Pickering in March 1795 for the frigates that were to be constructed.Joshua Humphreys designed these frigates to be the young Navy's capital ships, and so ''Congress'' and her sisters were larger and more heavily armed and built than the standard frigates of the period. Her first duties with the newly formed United States Navy were to provide protection for American merchant shipping during the Quasi War with France and to defeat the Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War. During the War of 1812 she made several extended length cruises in company with her sister shi ...
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USS Chesapeake (1799)
''Chesapeake'' was a 38-gun wooden-hull (watercraft), hulled, three-Mast (sailing), masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She was one of the original six frigates of the United States Navy, original six frigates whose construction was authorized by the Naval Act of 1794. Joshua Humphreys designed these frigates to be the young navy's capital ships. ''Chesapeake'' was originally designed as a 44-gun frigate, but construction delays, material shortages and budget problems caused builder Josiah Fox to alter his design to 38 guns. Launched at the Gosport Navy Yard on 2 December 1799, ''Chesapeake'' began her career during the Quasi-War with France and later saw service in the First Barbary War. On 22 June 1807 she was fired upon by of the Royal Navy for refusing to allow a search for deserters. The event, now known as the Chesapeake–Leopard affair, ''Chesapeake–Leopard'' affair, angered the American public and government and was a precipitating factor that l ...
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USS Constitution
USS ''Constitution'', also known as ''Old Ironsides'', is a three-masted wooden-hulled heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She is the world's oldest ship still afloat. She was launched in 1797, one of six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794 and the third constructed. The name "Constitution" 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. Joshua Humphreys designed the frigates to be the young Navy's capital ships, and so ''Constitution'' and her sister ships were larger and more heavily armed and built than standard frigates of the period. She was built at Edmund Hartt's shipyard in the North End of Boston, Massachusetts. Her first duties were to provide protection for American merchant shipping during the Quasi-War with France and to defeat the Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War. ''Constitution'' is most noted f ...
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