The first USS ''Virginia'' was a 28-gun

sailing 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 ...

of the

Continental Navy The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War and was founded October 13, 1775. The fleet cumulatively became relatively substantial through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron John Adams ...

, a ship with a short and unfortunate career. She was one of 13 frigates authorized by the

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. ...

on 13 December 1775, laid down in 1776 at

Fells Point Fell's Point is a historic waterfront neighborhood in southeastern Baltimore, Maryland. It was established around 1763 along the north shore of the Baltimore Harbor and the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River. The area has many antique, music, ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, by George Wells, launched that August, and commissioned in the spring of 1777,

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

James Nicholson in command. The newly commissioned frigate's first orders directed her to attempt a run through the strong

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

naval

blockade A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force. A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are le ...

at the mouth of

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the ...

and then if successful, to head south to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

and cruise in search of English

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

men. However, her first

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warfare. ...

failed, as did four subsequent attempts to get to sea which she made in May, October, November, and December 1777. These successive failures frustrated ''Virginia's'' restive crew, and many deserted to join the numerous

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s scattered about the wharves of nearby

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. By early January 1778, the desertions had become so numerous that ''Virginia'' was unable to leave the docks. This situation prompted a series of ugly exchanges between Capt. Nicholson, his executive officer Lt.

Joshua Barney Joshua Barney (6 July 1759 – 1 December 1818) was an American Navy officer who served in the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War and as a captain in the French Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars. He later achieved the rank o ...

, and the governor of Maryland Thomas Johnson. New recruits were finally procured through the auspices of the Maritime Committee of the Continental Congress, enabling ''Virginia'' to attempt another run past the blockade in mid-January. This latest dash went smoothly until sighted ''Virginia'' near the Chesapeake capes. The British frigate pursued the Americans back towards Baltimore. ''Virginia'' tied up behind a water battery and chain stretched across the northwest branch of the

Patapsco River The Patapsco River mainstem is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 river in central Maryland that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal port ...

, Md., between Whetstone Point and later Lazaretto Point, where she took on board 20 more seamen. Later that month, when Capt. Nicholson again tried to run the blockade, he sent Lt. Barney ahead in the

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

''Dolphin'' to reconnoiter the positions of the British warships. ''Dolphin'' sighted a large patrol vessel in

Tangier Sound Tangier Sound is a sound of the Chesapeake Bay bounded on the west by Tangier Island in Virginia, and Smith Island and South Marsh Island in Maryland, by Deal Island in Maryland on the north, and the mainland of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and ...

but outran her. Before meeting with ''Virginia'', the schooner recaptured a Baltimore

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

taken earlier. On the basis of Lt. Barney's report, Capt. Nicholson decided to abandon this latest attempt to get to sea and returned to Baltimore. ''Virginia'' lay at anchor at Baltimore for two months repairing and reprovisioning. During this time, Barney was dispatched to

York, Pennsylvania York ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populati ...

, to explain ''Virginia's'' predicament to the Maritime Committee; and he returned in March with orders to make another attempt to get by the British as soon as possible. Awaiting Barney upon his arrival back in Baltimore were a letter of thanks from the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

for his kind treatment of ''Dolphin's'' prisoners and a large English cheese. ''Virginia'' left Baltimore late in March in obedience to the Maritime Committee's orders. Nicholson's plans called for ''Virginia'' to sail first to

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

, to pick up a bay pilot promised by Governor Johnson. Completing this, the frigate and

pilot vessel A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots are regarded as skilled professional ...

weighed anchor off Annapolis on 30 March and proceeded down the bay, plotting a night passage into the Atlantic. However, early on the morning of 31 March, ''Virginia'' grounded with a tremendous crash on the so-called Middle Ground between the capes, opposite the city of

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

. With a strong wind blowing astern, the surf pounded the frigate and forced her over. Her

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

snapped before she could be cleared and was soon lost. Once in the channel, ''Virginia'' was anchored and repairs begun. At dawn, lookouts spotted ''Emerald'' and her fellow frigate approaching from seaward though ''Virginia's'' guns remained undamaged, Capt. Nicholson ordered his

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

broken out and went ashore with the ship's papers. Later that morning, the American frigate surrendered to Capt. Caldwell of ''Emerald''. A Congressional court of inquiry into the fiasco cleared Capt. Nicholson of blame, and all the officers of the unlucky frigate saw action later during the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

. ''Virginia'' herself was soon repaired and eventually purchased by the Royal Navy for use as the 32-gun frigate HMS ''Virginia''. She was placed in service along the American coast and participated in the

Penobscot Expedition The Penobscot Expedition was a 44-ship American naval armada during the Revolutionary War assembled by the Provincial Congress of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The flotilla of 19 warships and 25 support vessels sailed from Boston on July 1 ...

of 1779, capturing, with HMS Blonde, the privateer "Hampden". Later participated in the capture of

Charles Town, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

in 1780. At the end of the war she was condemned and sold.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Virginia (1776) Ships of the Continental Navy Sailing frigates of the United States Navy Vessels captured from the United States Navy Ships built in Baltimore 1776 ships Captured ships