''Lady Washington'' was a

row galley A row galley was a term used by the early United States Navy for an armed watercraft that used oars rather than sails as a means of propulsion. During the age of sail row galleys had the advantage of propulsion while ships of sail might be stopped ...

in 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 ...

, named in honor of

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 21, 1731 — May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington served as the inaugural ...

. It was the first U.S. military ship to be named in honor of a woman (and of a future First Lady) and the first named for a person while the person was still alive (see also

List of U.S. military vessels named after living Americans The naming of United States Navy vessels after living people was common in early decades of American history, but by World War II, the Navy had firmly established a practice of naming ships for people only after they had died. In 1969, a Navy pan ...

). ''Lady Washington'' was built in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in the spring of 1776 at the behest of General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

after he transferred his forces from

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 ...

to New York. Constructed with New York funds for the defense of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

, the galley remained active under Washington through June 1777. During the next year the New York fleet captured about a dozen prizes before the permanent British occupation of the city caused the State to abandon naval activities.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lady Washington Row galleys of the Continental Navy Ships of the Continental Navy Ships built in New York City 1776 ships

See also

References