The Real Story of the American Revolution 

U.S. Naval Units and Ships in the American Revolution

Latest Changes: 07Nov30 - add U.S. Navy links / 08Feb12 - more on row-galleys, more on GA navy / 08May02 - brig Lexington, minor engagements /

This page describes and lists U.S. and state navy and marine units
and notes where to find further information about them.

History of the U.S. Naval Forces of the Revolution  When fighting broke out in 1775 the American colonists had no large gunboats, no naval cannon or shot, no warship construction experience, and no captains and crews with experience in multi-ship naval battles. In contrast the British navy had hundreds of large gunships, hundreds of experienced officers, excellent maps, could attack anywhere along the thousands of miles of America's ocean coastline and could deliver troops and firepower well inland via the hundreds of navigable rivers on the eastern seaboard. The U.S. responded to this challenge with an active program of building warships, retro-fitting merchant vessels for military duty, capturing British supply ships and warships, borrowing warships from France, and making an alliance with France (and through France drawing in Spain) that would secure cooperative use of naval power that was larger than Great Britain's. See also Continental Congress and the Navy [U.S. Navy] On 1775 Sep 02: General George Washington commissioned Nicholson Broughton of Marblehead MA as captain of the Hannah, to lead eight schooners based in Massachusetts in what became known as "George Washington's Navy" The original schooners included the . . . Hannah -- 78 tons and a crew of 43 (sailed Sept 5, ruined by grounding Oct 10) . . . Harrison -- 64-tons, 4 guns (under Capt. William Coit of Norwich CT) . . . Washington -- 160-tons, 10 guns, and a crew of 74 Their first mission was to intercept British cargo vessels supplying the British garrison in Boston, and during the 26 months in which this fleet was part of the Continental Army they captured 55 enemy ships. Ships of the Continental Army provided one of America’s greatest naval successes at the battle of Valcour Island in 1776, when a fleet commanded by Brigadier General Benedict Arnold delayed a British invasion from Canada so that they had to withdraw for the winter. This gave time for American strength to grow so that it could overwhelm the next invasion force in 1777 at Saratoga. 1775 Oct 13 is considered to be the birthday of the United States Navy, since this was the day that the Continental Congress ordered that two large vessels be fitted out with 10 cannon each. Note: From 1922 to 1946 Oct 27 was widely observed as Navy Day. Further facts on Navy Day [U.S. Dept. of Defense] On 1775 December 13 the Continental Congress authorized the construction of three 74-gun ships-of-the-line and thirteen frigates for the Continental Navy. All thirteen frigates were constructed, but only one ship-of-the-line was completed. The Continental Navy later included the world's first military submarine. See Other Ships below. On 1775 Dec 22 Congress commissioned Commander-in-Chief: Esek Hopkins Captains: Dudley Saltonstall for the 24-gun frigate Alfred Abraham Whipple for the 24-gun frigate Columbus Nicholas Biddle for the 14-gun brig Andrew Doria John Burrows Hopkins for the 14-gun brig Cabot First Lieutenants: John Paul Jones, Rhodes Arnold, Eli Stansbury, Hoysted Hacker, Jonathan Pitcher Second Lieutenants: Benjamin Seabury, Joseph Olney, Elisha Warner, Thomas Weaver, James McDougall Third Lieutenants: John Fanning, Ezekiel Burroughs, Daniel Vaughan Several states created state navies, and many American merchant ships added cannon and obtained letters of marque so that they could serve as privateers -- sailing the world's oceans and capturing British merchant ships, harrassing the smaller ships of the Royal Navy, and threatening British military supply lines. See State Navies and Privateers below. Full-text On-line References for Further Study The Naval Historical Center has complete information on the birthplace, birthdate, and father of the U.S. Navy. The American Navies and Winning the Independence, by Michael J. Crawford (Naval Historical Center) is a comprehensive online history text. A Naval History of the American Revolution, by Gardner W. Allen (Houghton, Boston, 1913) [posted by AmericanRevolution.org] See the section titled "Old Navy" (pre-1880's) in The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships [Haze Gray] Revolutionary War Naval Minor Engagements 1775-1783 [myrevolutionarywar.com] History of the Continental Navy [www.publicbookshelf.com] -- an article from Vol. 2 of A Household History for All Readers, by Benson J. Lossing (1877). The Evolution of the Continental Navy, an article by Michael Palmer [PDF file, Empire State Soc. Newsletter, SAR] On November 10th, 1775 the Committee of Safety of the Second Continental Congress created the Continental Marines. The development of the Marine Corps is described in The Continental Marines [marine76.8m.com] "The Few, the Proud, the Marines", by Sgt. Philip Tavano [PDF file, Empire State Soc. Newsletter, SAR] The RSAR Bibliography has annotated citations for books on the American Revolution, ordered by the lead authors' surname. For histories of the U.S., French, and Spanish navies and on naval battles of the Revolution look under Coggins, Preston, Taillemite, U.S. Navy, and Warner.

The Continental Navy, circa 1775-76; Esek Hopkins, Commanding
[public domain image courtesy of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, www.nuwc.navy.mil]

Continental Navy during the Revolution  NOTE: Links below are to the Haze Gray Web site unless otherwise noted. U.S. Ships-of-the-line Ships-of-the-line were the battleships of the day, carrying 80 to 120 cannon, many of which were large enough to puncture easily the hulls of a frigates or other smaller ship. Thus in major battles only ships-of-the-line would line up to sail by and fire broadsides into an opposing line of ships-of-the-line. In 1775 Dec the Continental Congress authorized the construction of three ships-of-the-line. The only one completed before the end of the war was the America (66 guns). Although construction of America started in 1777 it was not completed until 1783, when peace was imminent. Congress gave the ship to King Louis XVI of France, in part as a token of thanks and in part to replace the French ship-of-the-line Magnifique, which had been irreparably damaged by running aground while entering Boston Harbor in August of 1782. Comparison of Firepower The table below compares as a British ship-of-the-line with a British frigate, whose design was comparable to many frigates in the Unites States Navy. Ship Name Victory Lowestoffe type of ship ship-of-the-line frigate draft 25 feet 15 feet length of gun deck 186 feet 130 feet number of crew 850 220 number of gun decks three two 42-pound guns    30   0 24-pound guns    28   0 12-pound guns    30  26  6-pound guns    12   6 total cannon   100  32 total pounds all firing 2,364 384 U.S. Frigates Frigates carried 32 to 89 guns and had hulls about 7" (180 mm) thick, made of white oak. In 1775 Dec the Continental Congress authorized the construction of thirteen frigates, used ships loaned by France, and refitted some merchant ships as frigates. While a frigate had no hope of standing up to a ship-of-the-line in battle, they were effective for capturing cargo ships that were guarded only by British frigates. The ships are listed in alphabetic order below. The Alfred (24 guns) was one of the first four ships in the U.S. Navy. Purchased as the Black Prince, it was first captained by Dudley Saltonstall, later John Paul Jones, and then John Barry, under whom it captured the first British warship, Alliance (36 guns) was launched as the Hancock at Salisbury MA in 1778 and renamed Alliance in 1779 in honor of the new alliance with France. Her first commander was Capt. Pierre Landais, who had formerly served in the French Navy. On May 29, 1781, Captain John Barry was wounded while successfully capturing HMS Atlanta" and HMS Trepassy. He recovered and in the last naval battle in U.S waters fought off the frigate HMS Sybylle in March of 1783. Bonhomme Richard (42 guns) was a French frigate placed at the disposal of the United States on 1779 Feb 4 by King Louis XVI. John Paul Jones used this as a flagship to lead a squadron of U.S. ships to raid the coast of England. It sank on 1779 Sept 25 after a furious and successful battle with the British ship Serapis. Boston II (24 guns), was launched in Newburyport MA 1776. It was captured at Charleston SC in 1780 with the frigate Ranger, while the frigates Providence and Queen of France were scuttled to prevent capture. See The Battles for Charleston -- Part 2, by Charles Lampman [SAR Magazine] The Columbus (24 guns) was one of the first four ships in the U.S. Navy. Confederacy (36 guns) was launched at Chatham CT in 1778 and captured by the British off the Virginia Capes in 1781 March. [Ref. Record of Connecticut Men in the Military and Naval Service during the War of the Revolution, p 599] Congress II (28 guns) was launched at Poughkeepsie NY in 1776 summer and then burned in 1777 October to prevent capture by the British. Deane (34 guns) was built in France for U.S. service, finished fitting out in Boston MA in 1779 January, was renamed Hague in 1782 September, and served to the end of the war. Delaware (28 guns) was launched in Philadelphia in July 1776, but went aground and was captured in September 1777 while attacking British positions in Phildelphia. Hancock (I, to distinguish it from Hancock II) (36 guns) was launched at Salisbury MA in 1778. It was re-named Alliance in 1779 -- see that name for later actions. Hancock II (34 guns) finished fitting out in Boston in 1777 May, but was captured by the British in 1777 July. Palloc is mentioned in the reference for Alliance (listed above). Providence (32 guns), was scuttled during the battle of Charleston SC in 1780. (See note under the frigate Boston II above). Queen of France was scuttled during the battle of Charleston SC in 1780. (See note under the frigate Boston II above). Raleigh (32 guns) was launched in Portsmouth NH in 1776 May and captured by the British in 1778 September Randolph (32 guns) was launched in Philadelphia in 1776 July. It blew up during a battle in 1778 March. Trumbull (36 guns) was launched in Connecticut in 1778. It was captured in 1781off the Delaware Capes. [Ref. Record of Connecticut Men in the Military and Naval Service during the War of the Revolution p 598] Virginia (36 guns) was commissioned in Baltimore in early 1777. It failed several times to get past the British blockade of the Chesapeake Bay, ran aground, and was captured by the British in April 1778. Warren was the flagship of the Penobscot Expedition and was sunk near Winterport, Maine (then Massachusetts) in 1779 Aug. U.S. Sloops-of-War and Schooners Sloops-of-War carried 20 to 28 guns, were square-rigged, maneuverable and fast, but the hulls could be punctured by a hit from a 12- or 18-pounder. Three sloops-of-war were built for the Continental Navy. One was Ranger (18 x 6# guns, crew of 145) was commanded by John Paul Jones from 1777 Nov 01 to 1778 May. It was captured by the British in 1780. (See note under the frigate Boston II above.) U.S. Brigantines (Brigs) The U.S. Brig Niagara [Historic Naval Ships Assn.] was built in 1813, but it is typical of what a brigantine of the Revolutionary War period would have looked like. It is located in Erie PA. Several of the Revolutionary War brigs are noted below: The Andrew Doria was one of the first four ships in the U.S. Navy. It was a merchant ship purchased in 1775 Nov, converted in Philadelphia to a brigantine with 14 six-pound cannon, and re-named after the famous 16th-century Italian naval hero, Andrew Doria. On 1776 Jan 4 the ship sailed from Philadelphia and was part of the U.S. squadron that captured the Bahamas fort and town of Nassau on March 4, removing the fort's stores and cannon for use in the U.S. Later forays resulted in the capture of several British transport and supply ships . On 1776 Nov 16 -- during a cruise to the Dutch possession of St. Eustatius to pickup munitions and military supplies -- the Andrew Doria fired an 11-gun salute and received a salute in reply from the port's fort. This was the first salute to an American flag aboard an American warship in a foreign port. This took place before the Flag Act of 1777 defined a new flag for the U.S., and the flag flown on the Andrew Doria was the Grand Union flag rather than a "stars and stripes" flag. On the way back from St. Eustatius the Andrew Doria fought the 12-gun British sloop-of-war Racehorse and took it as a prize. On 1777 Aug 25 the Andrew Doria joined the U.S. frigate Delaware in an effort to clear British frigates from the Delaware River. The effort did not go well. The British navy captured the Delaware in September, and the U.S. navy burned the Andrew Doria on November 21 to prevent her capture. Battle to Control the Delaware River [www.publicbookshelf.com] an article from Vol. 2 of A Household History for All Readers, by Benson J. Lossing (1877). More details [Dictionary of American Fighting Ships]. The brig Cabot was one of the first four ships in the U.S. Navy. The brig Diligent participated in the Penobscot Expedition and was sunk near Bangor, Maine (then Massachusetts) in 1779 Aug. The brig Lexington, was fitted out by the U.S.Committee of Safety and left Philadelphia on March 26 under the command of Capt. John Barry. The brig captured the British sloop HMS Edward off the coast of Virginia on 1776 April 07 -- the first capture of a British warship during the war. The Lexington was captured by the British near Ushant (off France) in 1777 Sept. More details [Dictionary of American Fighting Ships]. The Providence participated in the Penobscot Expedition and was sunk near Bangor, Maine (then Massachusetts) in 1779 Aug. Row-galleys and Gondolas Galleys (sometimes called row-galleys) carried 4 to 10 cannon (from 2-pounders to 24-pounders). They were shallow-draft (54" or 140 cm), single-decked ships, pointed at both bow and stern, and propelled by sailsw or oars, and carried a crew of 40 to 80 men. Their armament typically consisted of one heavy cannon in the bow, with smaller cannon and swivelguns along both sides. They were 70 to 90 feet (21 to 27 m) long, 13 feet (4 m) beam, and had ten oars on each side, each manned by two sailors, who stood while rowing. In addition there was a compliment of marines to provide musket or rifle fire and to repel boarders.

Personnel Strength of the Continental Navy The Early History Branch of the Naval Historical Center estimates the personnel strength of the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War (1775 Apr 19 - 1783 Apr 11) as Year Officers Enlisted Total 1775 60   560   620 1776 90 3,000 3,090 1777 90 2,500 2,590 1778 75 1,500 1,575 1779 75 1,500 1,575 1780 61 1,500 1,561 1781 61 1,000 1,061 1782 61 1,000 1,061 1783 61 1,000 1,061 and [under casualties] that 342 navy personnel and 49 marines were killed in action, while 114 navy personnel and 70 marines were wounded in action. [Ref. the FAQ link under under personnel strength on the Naval Historical Center's Site.

Fleet Strength of the U.S. and States The Colonial Navy of Massachusetts has an extensive list of warships (25), hired and auxiliary ships (33), privateers (157), and seamen of the Revolutionary State Navy of Massachusetts, with considerable historical information and many links. They have a list of the number of sea-going warships under the various states Fleet # U.S. Navy 57 U.S. Army 8 CT 7 DE 0 GA 1 MD 4 MA 38 NH 1 NJ 0 NY 3 NC 1 PA 21 RI 4 SC 27 VA 18 The above list was only partially completed in mid-2007, and no references are given.

State Navies  Several states developed naval units to protect their ports and rivers from British invasion. Massachusetts had 38 ships, including the brigantines Independence and Hazard. Connecticut commissioned a number of vessels. Summary service records for some of them are given on pages 593-602 of Record of Connecticut Men in the Military and Naval Service during the War of the Revolution, which also lists 181 privateers authorized by the state. Name Type Tons Cannon Minerva brigantine 108 . Spy sloop . . Defence brig-of-war . . Whiting(1) row-galley . . Crane(1) row-galley . . Shark row-galley . . Oliver Cromwell frigate . . Trumbull(2) frigate . 28 Confederacy(3) frigate . 36 Notes: (1) captured in the North River near NYC in the fall of 1776 (2) First cruise 1778 Feb, captured 1781 (3) First cruise 1779 Oct, captured 1781 Apr Other naval contributions: (1) CT helped build ships to defend Lake Champlain. (2) CT built two frigates for the U.S. Navy: Trumbull and Confederacy. (3) CT issued letters of marque to about 200 ships (listed in the reference). The Defense of Lake Champlain   In the summer of 1776 two companies of ship carpenters sent from Connecticut (and other states) built a flotilla of 15 small warships on the shores of Lake Champlain. They were under the command of Benedict Arnold, whose assignment was to prevent the British force under Gen. Carleton from advancing toward Fort Ticonderoga or Albany. In October 1776 this fleet was overwhelmed by 29 British vessels off Valcour Island. Although all the American ships were either burned, sunk, or captured, the delay caused by this battle forced the British forces to withdraw to Canada to winter over, adding six months of time for the Continental Army to receive shipments of French weapons and to recuit and train soldiers. Name Commander Congress Gen. Arnold Connecticut Capt. Grant Lady Washington Gen. Waterbury New Haven Capt. Mansfield Philadelphia(1) . Royal Savage Capt. Hawley Trumbull Capt. Warner Note: (1) The Philadelphia carried three-guns: one 12-pounder and two 9-pounders. In 1781 Oct it was scuttled off Valcour Island to avoid capture by the British. It was recovered in 1935 and is now in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. It is the only surviving gunboat built and manned by American Forces during the Revolutionary War. The story of the Philadelphia [Historic Naval Ships Assn.] New York constructed a number of row-galleys. These were much more maneuverable in the narrow confines of a river than were sailing ships with cannon. New York also built and used fireships to discourage British vessels from venturing upstream from the wide estuaries. A burning fireship driven downstream by the river's current and steered by a skeleton crew until near its target was a significant threat to a wooden sailing vessel with canvas sails and a large store of gunpowder. Pennsylvania: On 1775 July 6 the Pennsylvania Assembly established a navy to defend the Delaware River. It authorized the building of 13 row-galleys: Bulldog, Burke, Camden, Chatham, Congress, Dickinson, Effington, Experiment, Franklin, Gen. Washington, Hancock, Ranger, and Warren. Each had a single cannon, from 18- to 32-pounders. Two floating batteries, the Arnold and Putnam, were built in 1776. Many fireships and smaller ships with single cannon are described in the History of the PA State Navy [PAnavy.org] Maryland fitted out several armed barges during the summer of 1781 to protect patriot cargo ships from Loyalist privateers along the Eastern Shore (of the Chesapeake Bay). [Ref. Crawford] Virginia had a small navy but was unable to support it financially. Several ships were captured by turncoat Gen. Benedict Arnold in early 1781, but the schooner Liberty and the pilot boat Nicholson were used to supply provisions to the allied armies besieging Yorktown in the fall of 1781. [Ref. Crawford] Historical Register of Virginians in the Revolution, by John H. Gwathmey (Richmond, 1938 -- E263 V8 G9) has a section on Vessels of the State Navy. South Carolina lost four of its navy vessels during the 1780 battle of Charleston SC. (See article linked from the paragraph in the U.S. frigate Boston II above -- the ships are not named in the article.) In 1777 the U.S. Commissioners in France ordered from a Dutch shipyard a frigate, to be named L'Indien. British pressure in the Dutch required it to be sold to the king of France, who gave it to the duke of Luxembourg in 1780 May. He immediately chartered it to South Carolina in exchange for a substantial share in any prizes it should take. Commodore Alexander Gillon (who had been born in Rotterdam in 1741) was named captain, and the ship was renamed the South Carolina. The ship took several prizes and helped a Spanish expedition capture the Bahamas from the British. The ship was captured on 1782 Dec 20 as she tried to run the British blockade of Philadelphia. Ref.: Neptunes Militia: the Frigate South Carolina during the American Revolution by James Lewis (Kent State Univ. Press, 1999) Georgia had several row-galleys. Four of these had been underwritten by the Continental Congress and were built in Savannah: Bulloch, Congress, Lee, and Washington. They were under the command of Commodore Oliver Brown.

Privateers  However, the U.S. did have many sailors, boats, civilian shipyards, and trees, so they could convert merchant ships to armed vessels and they could build mid-sized warships . Since the late 1600s many Americans had served on privateers, armed vessels owned by private individuals and authorized -- via a letter of marque from the government -- to engage in military operations such as capturing enemy commercial ships and military supply ships. They were basically licensed pirates, but while a captured pirate would be hanged, a captured sailor from a privateer would be imprisoned. Prison conditions were dreadful, so many captured sailors died, but prison was generally considered a better option than hanging. PRIZE MONEY: Many merchants bought several cannon and re-fitted their ships as privateers. They obtained a letter of marque from their state's government and set out to capture British supply ships. The incentive for the owners and crews to engage in this dangerous activity was the fact they were allowed to share the prize money obtained from the sale of the captured vessels and their goods. Even the crews of government warships were allowed to share in half of the value of a captured vessel. The other half went to the government, which bore the cost of building and provisioning the ship, as well as providing the basic pay for the crew. MANPOWER: Boatner (see the RSAR Bibliography) estimates that there were about 1,000 privateers that made more than one or two privateering voyages during the war. Thus there would be over 15 times as many privateers as the 64 vessels of the Continental Navy. The privateers averaged about 9 guns per ship, for a total of about 9,000 cannon -- about 7 times the 1,246 cannon of the Continental Navy. In 1781, when the Continental Navy had only three ships in service there were over four hundred privateers active, mounting over 6,000 cannon. The privateers averaged a crew of one hundred, but since most of them sailed only a few times the total number of sailors involved in privateering is estimated at only 10,000 sailors, since most served on a number of different ships over the eight years of war. SERVICE LIFE: Privateers and Continental navy vessels typically survived only a year or two due to the overwhelming firepower and experience of the British fleet, which burned many ships before they were completed sank most of the Continental navy ships that were completed captured over 1,300 crew members of privateers EFFECTIVENESS: In addition to their vital role in securing miitary supplies from Caribbean ports privateers captured 2,283 British ships -- nearly twelve times the 196 captured by the Continental Navy. Boatner reports that some 600 British navy vessels were captured by U.S. privateers, including 16 ships-of-the-line. Authority Vessels Guns Prizes Congress 64 1,246 196 States * * * Privateers about 1,000 about 9,000 about 2,000 * = no data to report here yet Privateers and Mariners in the Revolutionary War [U.S. Maritime Service Veterans] describes the activities of privateers and gives details of their contributions to the cause of liberty, including a description of the first naval battle of the American Revolution -- on 1775 June 12 in Machias Bay, Massachusetts (now Maine). Notable Privateers: Wasp (14 guns) of Charleston SC under Samuel Bullfinch, 1779 "Because of the small size of the Continental Navy (only 64 vessels over the entire course of the war), the contributions of the approximately 2,600 authorized privateers were essential to the successful prosecution of the war. According to Lloyds of London, privateers captured 2,087 British ships, while the Continental Navy captured 196 ships. The U.S. Merchant Marine estimates that about 55,000 American seamen served aboard privateers, intercepting British shipping in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and even between Ireland and England." -- from Sailing Off To Serve, by Peggy M. Baker, Director & Librarian, Pilgrim Society and Pilgrim Hall Museum (Plymouth MA)

Other Ships in the Revolutionary War  Whaleboats: The Whaleboat Wars of the Revolution [Glen Valis] The First Combat Submarine: The Turtle [Glen Valis] David Bushnell: "Father of the Combat Submarine", by WO1 Mark Denger [PDF file, Empire State Soc. Newsletter, SAR]