A row galley was a term used by the early

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

for an armed watercraft that used oars rather than sails as a means of propulsion. During the

age of sail The Age of Sail is a period in European history that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th (or mid-15th) to the mid-19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in global trade and warfare culminated, particularly marked by the int ...

, row galleys had the advantage of propulsion while sail boats might be stopped or running at slow speed because of lack of wind for their sails. While called

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

s, they were based on different hull type than the Mediterranean galley, the term being used mainly due to the employment of oars. Row galleys were often fitted with sails in addition to the oars.Winfield, Rif. ''British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1714-1792''. 2007. p. 334 During the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, row galleys, such as and , with crews of up to 60 oarsmen, were employed successfully in battle against larger

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as b ...

s. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Union Navy, and Confederate Navy ships operating in rivers and other interior waterways, would send row galleys to surprise and capture enemy ships anchored for the night.

References

Ship types {{ship-type-stub