USS ''Superior'' was built for the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, and was named after one of the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

. ''Superior'' was a

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

built in 1814 at

Sackets Harbor, New York Sackets Harbor (earlier spelled Sacketts Harbor) is a village in Jefferson County, New York, United States, on Lake Ontario. The population was 1,450 at the 2010 census. The village was named after land developer and owner Augustus Sackett, who ...

, by Henry Eckford, and was laid down in February 1814 and launched on 2 May of the same year.

Operations on Lake Ontario

Built for service in

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, a ...

Isaac Chauncey Isaac Chauncey (February 20, 1772 – January 27, 1840) was an American naval officer in the United States Navy who served in the Quasi-War, The Barbary Wars and the War of 1812. In the latter part of his naval career he was President of th ...

squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York. The Canada–United States border sp ...

, ''Superior'' was commanded by Lt. John H. Elton. She joined the squadron in late July off the English base at

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

. The frigate operated there through the summer as Chauncey blockaded Kingston, hoping to lure Sir James Yeo's fleet out for a decisive action. Late in September, ''Superior'' helped transport General Izzard and some 3,000 troops from Sackets Harbor to

Genesee, New York Genesee is a town in Allegany County, New York, United States. The population was 1,653 at the 2020 census. Genesee is in the southwestern corner of the county, southeast of Olean. History The first settler arrived ''circa'' 1823. The town of ...

. She returned briefly to Kingston before sailing back to Sackets Harbor for the winter.

Post-war deactivation

Before warm weather returned, peace ended naval operations on

. ''Superior'' was laid up at Sackets Harbor and sold sometime before 1824.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Superior War of 1812 ships of the United States Superior (1814) Ships built in Sackets Harbor, New York 1814 ships Lake Superior