USS Argus (1803)

Type

Brig

Period

19th Century

Nation

United States

Overview: USS Argus was one of the U.S. Navy's early Barbary War-era brigs, originally laid down as USS Merrimack and renamed Argus before completion. She is best remembered both for her active Mediterranean service and for her dramatic final battle against HMS Pelican in the War of 1812. Specifications: The brig measured 299 tons burthen, with a gun-deck length of about 94 ft 6 in and a beam of 28 ft 2 in. Her armament consisted of 2 x 12-pounder long guns and 18 x 24-pounder carronades, with a complement of 142 officers and men — a good reference point for a modeler seeking an accurate rigging and gun layout for an early 19th-century American brig-of-war. Service History: Argus enforced the Embargo Act of 1807 and served in the First Barbary War, taking part in the blockade of Tripoli and the celebrated capture of Derna in 1805. During the War of 1812 she raided British merchant shipping in home waters for roughly a month before being intercepted and, after a sharp engagement, captured on 14 August 1813 by the more heavily armed British brig-sloop HMS Pelican. Notable Facts: Argus was noted in contemporary accounts as an unusually fast and handsome vessel, though she reportedly pitched heavily when lying to. Early commanding officers included Stephen Decatur and Isaac Hull, both prominent figures of the era; her final captain, Master Commandant William Henry Allen, was mortally wounded in the losing fight with Pelican, an engagement frequently depicted in period naval art.