NAMESAKES Six USS Delawares in naval history
THE FIRST USS DELAWARE WAS LAUNCHED in July 1776, the month the fledgling United States declared its independence from Great Britain. Delaware was a 24-gun sailing frigate, and her career in the U.S. Navy was eventful and short. In September 1777, Delaware and several other ships bombarded British shore fortifications being erected after the British capture of Philadelphia. Unfortunately, the ship ran aground during an ebb tide, and, helpless, was pummeled by British shore batteries until she was forced to strike her colors. The Royal Navy took her into service for some time before selling her in 1783. Renamed United States, she spent years as a merchant ship and whaler before being sold again. She was converted to a French privateer in 1795, after which she faded from the history books. As an example of shifting alliances in U.S. history, the second USS Delaware served in the U.S. Navy during the Quasi-War with France. Originally built as the merchant ship Hamburgh Packet, she was purchased by the Navy on May 5, 1798. She was 94 feet 9 inches long, displaced 321 tons loaded, and was armed with 16 9-pounder guns and four 6-pounder guns. Her first captain was Capt. Stephen Decatur, Sr., and among those he took to sea with him was his son, Stephen Decatur, Jr., who would become a legend in the U.S. Navy. Between 1798 and 1801, Delaware protected American merchant shipping from French privateers from the coasts of Philadelphia and New York, across the West Indies, and in the waters off Havana, Cuba. On July 7, 1798, Delaware captured the French privateer schooner La Croyable. It was the first capture of any ship by the United States Navy. Delaware took several other prizes, both alone and sailing with the frigate USS United States. She returned to Baltimore and was sold in June 1801. The third USS Delaware was designed and built as a warship. She weighed more than 2,600 tons, was 196 feet long, and had a crew of 820 officers and men. She was armed with 30 long 32-pounder guns, 32 medium 32-pounder guns, and two 32-pounder carronades. Launched in October 1820 in a time of relative peace, she didn’t put to sea until 1828, becoming the flagship of Commodore W. M. Crane in the Mediterranean, returning to be decommissioned in 1830. Recommissioned in 1833, she set sail for the Mediterranean, where she served as flagship for Commodore D. T. Patterson until her return to Hampton Roads, Virginia, again taken out of service until her recommissioning in 1841. Sailing in November 1841 for a tour of duty on the Brazil Station, she was the flagship for Commodore Charles Morris, patrolling the coasts of Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina to represent U.S. interests during a time of unrest in those countries. She departed 54 USS DELAWARE
the coast of South America in 1843 to return to the Mediterranean for another cruise before returning to Hampton Roads in 1844 for her final decommissioning. In the final episode of her naval career, she was burned in Norfolk Navy Yard by the Navy on April 20, 1861, just days after the start of the Civil War, to keep her from falling into Confederate hands. While the third Delaware was burned down to the waterline, a fourth rose almost from the ashes. The Virginia Dare, a sidewheel steamer, 161 feet long and displacing 363 tons, was purchased by the U.S. Navy in October 1861 and commissioned as the USS Delaware. This fourth Delaware had a long and eventful career, first in the U.S. Navy and later in the Revenue Cutter Service, one of several services that merged to eventually become the U.S. Coast Guard. With a crew of 65 in U.S. Navy service, she was armed with four
A view of the second USS Delaware, enlarged from a picture on a china bowl depicting her capturing the French privateer La Croyable on July 7, 1798.
U.S. NAVAL HISTORY AND HERITAGE COMMAND PHOTO COURTESY OF MR. STEPHEN DECATUR, 1934
By Chuck Oldham
