USS Active (1837)

Type

Schooner

Period

19th Century

Nation

United States

Overview: USS Active was a small schooner built in Baltimore as Clara and purchased by the U.S. Navy in September 1837, briefly considered for use in the United States Exploring Expedition (the Wilkes Expedition) before being judged unsuitable for that mission. Contemporary reporting confirms Commodore Jones purchased the schooner Clara, renaming her Active, for eight thousand dollars, with repairs authorized at the New York navy yard. Specifications: As built she measured 122 tons burthen, was armed with just two guns, carried a complement of 50 men, and was entirely sail-powered with no auxiliary propulsion — a very small, lightly built vessel typical of contemporary Baltimore-built merchant schooners of her era. Service History: Under Lt. William G. Woolsey, Active made a brief cruise along the eastern seaboard acting as a relief ship for merchantmen in distress after being passed over for the exploring expedition; she was sold in the summer of 1838, roughly ten months after her purchase, ending a naval career of less than a year. Notable Facts: She is one of several U.S. Navy vessels to bear the name Active, including a later 19th-century Coast Survey steamer of the same name, which creates frequent confusion in records. No contemporary portrait, plan, or model of this particular 1837 schooner has been located in public archives, museum collections, or Wikimedia Commons after targeted searching, making her a genuinely obscure subject that would require original research (period Baltimore schooner draughts of similar size/type) to model with confidence.