USS ''Warren'' was one of the 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. With half her main armament being 18-pounders, ''Warren'' was more heavily armed than a typical 32-gun frigate of the period. She was named for

Joseph Warren Joseph Warren (June 11, 1741 – June 17, 1775), a Founding Father of the United States, was an American physician who was one of the most important figures in the Patriot movement in Boston during the early days of the American Revolution, ...

on 6 June 1776. ''Warren'' was burned to prevent capture in the ill-fated Penobscot Expedition in 1779.

British blockade

Built at

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

by Sylvester Bowers, ''Warren'' was probably one of the first two of the 13 frigates to be completed. The other was the Rhode Island-built frigate . However, difficulties in manning the two ships and the British occupation of

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

made the tricky task of getting the vessels out to sea doubly difficult. Although the ship was bottled up in the Providence River, Commodore

Esek Hopkins Esek Hopkins (April 26, 1718February 26, 1802) was an American naval officer, merchant captain, and privateer. Achieving the rank of Commodore, Hopkins was the only Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War ...

broke his pennant in ''Warren'' early in December of 1776. Hopkins was ordered to prepare for sea as soon as possible to cruise the upper half of the eastern seaboard to interdict British troop and logistics shipping traveling the

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

route. Hopkins' flagship nevertheless remained anchored in the Providence River for nearly a year afterward. As a result, Hopkins was suspended by the Marine Committee of the Continental Congress for his lethargic performance. ''Warren'', blockaded in

Narragansett Bay Narragansett Bay is a bay and estuary on the north side of Rhode Island Sound covering , of which is in Rhode Island. The bay forms New England's largest estuary, which functions as an expansive natural harbor and includes a small archipelago. Sma ...

, did no cruising.

Successful cruises

Aided by strong winds out of the north with masking snow, ''Warren'', now under the command of Captain John B. Hopkins, finally slipped through the British blockade on 16 February 1778, taking minor damage from HMS ''Somerset'' and HMS ''Lark'' on her way out Narragansett Passage. Hopkins had orders to proceed to a free port, but the men were not dressed for the blizzard conditions so the captain headed to warmer southern waters and began hunting prizes on the open sea. ''Warren'' took two on her first cruise: within sight

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

she took the ship ''Neptune'', bound from

Whitehaven, England Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National parks of England and Wales, National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle, Cumbria, C ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

with a cargo of provisions, and also took the

snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

''Robert'', heading for

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

from

Sint Eustatius Sint Eustatius (, ), also known locally as Statia (), is an island in the Caribbean. It is a special municipality (officially " public body") of the Netherlands. The island lies in the northern Leeward Islands portion of the West Indies, so ...

on false Dutch papers, carrying flaxseed and

fustic Fustic is a common name for several plants and a dye produced from these plants: * A dye made from ''Maclura tinctoria ''Maclura tinctoria'', known as old fustic and dyer's mulberry, is a medium to large tree of the Neotropics, from Mexico to ...

. The Continental frigate put into

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

on 23 March and prepared for another cruise to the West Indies but found manning the ship near-impossible. She finally conducted a second cruise off the eastern seaboard in the autumn, sailing for a time in company with the Massachusetts State Navy ship ''Tyrannicide'' in September. ''Warren'' remained at Boston into the winter of 1778 and apparently did not sortie again until 13 March 1779. The frigate under now-Commodore John B. Hopkins, departed in company with and for a cruise off the northeastern coast. The squadron took the armed schooner ''Hibernia'' as a prize on 6 April. Good fortune smiled upon them even more the following day. At 04:00 American lookouts sighted two "fleets" of ships. One contained ten vessels and the other, nine. ''Warren'' and her two consorts set upon the nine-ship group to windward and, by 14:00, had captured seven of the nine. The British convoy had been bound from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to Georgia. The catch included two ships, four brigs, and a schooner. Most of the prizes were richly laden with provisions for the British Army. ''Warren'' towed the brig ''Patriot'' from 10 April, bringing her triumphantly into port. Initially, Congress expressed great pleasure with Hopkins' exploit, but its satisfaction soon soured. The Marine Committee charged Hopkins with violating his orders, maintaining that he had returned to port too soon and had not sent his prizes to the nearest port. As a disciplinary measure, the Committee relieved Hopkins, suspended him from the Navy, and gave his command to Captain Dudley Saltonstall. The latter decision would have sad repercussions for both ship and her new commander. While ''Warren'' lay at Boston, fitting out for further operations, the British established a base on the Bagaduce peninsula, near the present site of Castine, Maine, in mid-June 1779. This British intrusion into the figurative back yard of the Massachusetts colony could not go unchallenged. Thus a large—but unfortunately uncoordinated—force was assembled in hope of evicting the newly established British. Saltonstall became the naval commander, in ''Warren'', and was given 19 armed vessels and some 20 transports with which to project the Continental invasion.

Penobscot Expedition

On 19 July 1779, the Continental armada sailed from Boston, bound for

Penobscot Bay Penobscot Bay (french: Baie de Penobscot) is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine and Atlantic Ocean in south central Maine. The bay originates from the mouth of Maine's Penobscot River, downriver from Belfast, Maine, Belfast. Penobscot Bay has many ...

. The expedition turned out to be a dismal failure. First, the fleet was unfit for the work and was primarily composed of privateers. The military forces — as in the seagoing ones — lacked decisive leadership; and the land forces lacked artillery and necessary equipment and supplies. Cooperation between military and naval forces was entirely lacking, with the obvious end result that the entire expedition collapsed in disaster. ''Warren'' and the other vessels of the American fleet were consequently burned to prevent their capture by the British. ''Warren'' was probably set afire by her crew on either 14 or 15 August 1779 in the

Penobscot River The Penobscot River (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 22, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's We ...

, above the Bagaduce peninsula. Later that autumn, Saltonstall was tried by court martial on board the frigate in Boston harbor. He was summarily dismissed from 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 ...

British blockade

Successful cruises

Penobscot Expedition

See also

References

Further reading