USS ''Delaware'' was a 24-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

United States 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 ...

that had a short career in the

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as the British

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captured her in 1777. The Royal Navy took her in as an "armed ship", and later classed her a

sixth rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works a ...

. The Royal Navy sold her in 1783. British owners named her ''United States'' and then French interests purchased her and named her ''Dauphin''. She spent some years as a

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

and then in March 1795 she was converted at Charleston, South Carolina, to French privateer. Her subsequent fate is unclear.

US Navy

She was built under the 13 December 1775 order of the Continental Congress in the yard of Warwick Coates of

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, Pennsylvania, under the direction of the Marine Committee. Upon her launching in July 1776, Captain C. Alexander took command.''Delaware'' I (frigate).
/ref> ''Delaware'' served in the Delaware River, joining with

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John Hazelwood John Hazelwood (1726 – March 1, 1800) served as a Commodore (rank), Commodore in the Pennsylvania Navy and Continental Navy and was among the most noted naval officers during the American Revolutionary War. Born in England about 1726, he ...

's Pennsylvania state ships in operations that delayed the British Fleet in approaching Philadelphia and supplying the British Army. When the British took possession of Philadelphia 26 September 1777, ''Delaware'', now under the command of John Barry, in company with several smaller ships, advanced upon the enemy fortifications which were being erected and opened a destructive fire while anchored some 500 yards from shore. On 27 September she went aground on the

ebb tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tabl ...

and came under the concentrated fire of the British artillery. After a brave defense against overwhelming odds, Captain Alexander was compelled to strike his colors. ''Delaware'' was taken into the

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy took her in as an "armed ship", and later classed her a

. As an armed ship her captain was Commander James Watt. In April 1778 Commander Christopher Mason commissioned her. On 1 December 1779 ''Delaware'' escorted a convoy of supply ships to Bermuda, and also brought some 100 officers and men of the Royal Garrison Battalion of Veterans to defend Bermuda. She and the troops arrived in time to forestall an American attack. When four American naval vessels arrived later that day they saw ''Delaware'' in place and British troops patrolling, and so left quickly. On 6 June 1779 captured the American privateer ''Oliver Cromwell''. ''Delaware'' and the privateer ''Union'' were in company and so shared in the prize money. On 21 and 23 April 1780 ''Iris'', ''Delaware'', and captured the American privateers ''Amazon'', ''General Wayne'', and ''Neptune''. The capture had taken place a few leagues from

Sandy Hook Sandy Hook is a barrier spit in Middletown Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The barrier spit, approximately in length and varying from wide, is located at the north end of the Jersey Shore. It encloses the southern ...

and ''Iris'' and ''Delaware'' brought them into New York on 1 May.

''United States''

The Royal Navy sold ''Delaware'' on 14 April 1783 for £300 to Mary Hayley, who renamed her ''United States''. She sailed from Falmouth to Boston in April 1784. Hayley had the boat fitted out as a whaler and seal hunting vessel, shipping to the

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in late 1784. The ship returned in 1785 with a cargo of

whale oil Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. Whale oil from the bowhead whale was sometimes known as train oil, which comes from the Dutch word ''traan'' (" tear" or "drop"). Sperm oil, a special kind of oil obtained from the head ...

, which was seized by customs agents. After a trial, the Crown lost its case against Hayley for duty, as she was a British citizen, and was ordered to pay her £4,000 for her losses. ''United States'' first appeared in ''

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...

'' (''LR'') in 1786 with J.Scott, master, Mrs Hayley, owner, and trade London–Boston. She had undergone a thorough repair in 1784.''LR'' (1786), Seq.№U50.
/ref> She was no longer listed in ''LR'' in 1787. In the fall of 1786, Francis Rotch reported that Hayley had sold the ''United States'' to the firm Brothers DeBauque and that he had advised them to send the ship to the Falklands rather than Greenland.

''Dauphin''

''United States'' may have operated under both that name, and under ''Dauphin'' for some years. French records that show ''Dauphin'' in 1785 with Paul Coffin, master.French Whaling Voyages: ''Dauphin''.
/ref> She was described as a frigate of 695 tons. Her known ports of call included Lorient (1792), New Bedford (November 1792), then Brazil,

Delagoa Bay Maputo Bay ( pt, Baía de Maputo), formerly also known as Delagoa Bay from ''Baía da Lagoa'' in Portuguese, is an inlet of the Indian Ocean on the coast of Mozambique, between 25° 40' and 26° 20' S, with a length from north to south of over 90&n ...

, Saint-Laurent Bay, Île de France, and Nantucket in November 1793. She became American again in November 1793, and was in Dunkirk in 1794. As ''United States'' she made a second voyage to the Falklands in 1786. A whaler by the name of ''United States'' arrived at Dunkirk in July 1787 from the Falklands. Francis Rotch commissioned her in August 1787 under the name ''Dauphin''. French records indicate that under Captain Uriah Swain, ''Dauphin'', Francis Rotch, agent, sailed to the coast of Brazil on 18 August 1787, and returned on 4 July 1788 with 1452 barrels of whale oil and 16,000 lbs of whalebone. She returned to Dover in 1788, selling her 25,000 gallons of whale oil duty free. The 13,000 seal skins she had collected were sold in China for ten times their New York value, confirming the lucrative nature of the China Trade. After this voyage, the vessel was sold in 1788 to the French South Sea whaling partnership. In 1791 ''Dauphin'' was under the command of Jonathan Parker. On 22 November 1792 ''Dauphin'' sailed for Brazil and

under the command of Captain Stephen Gardner. At some point he left and Captain Lallermant replaced him. She returned in November 1793 with 1900 barrels of whale oil. In May 1794 ''Dauphin'' arrived at Charleston, South Carolina. She was sold at auction on 23 June to Jean Bouteille who wished to convert her to a privateer. Despite efforts by Benjamin Moodie, the British Vice-consul in Charleston to block her conversion, in March 1795 she was ready and sailed for

Port-de-Paix Port-de-Paix (; ht, Pòdepè or ; meaning "Port of Peace") is a commune and the capital of the Nord-Ouest department of Haiti on the Atlantic coast. It has a population of 462,000 (2015 IHSI estimate). Port-de-Paix used to be a large exporter ...

. Her ultimate fate is unknown.

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * *Storms, Robbi, and Don Malcarne (2001) ''Around Essex: Elephants and River Gods''. (Arcadia Publishing). * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Delaware (1776) Ships of the Continental Navy Sailing frigates of the United States Navy Ships built in Philadelphia 1776 ships Captured ships Sixth rates of the Royal Navy Maritime incidents in 1777 Whaling ships Age of Sail merchant ships Privateer ships of France