USS United States (1797)

Type

Frigate

Period

18th Century

Nation

United States

Overview: USS United States was one of the original six frigates authorized by the Naval Act of 1794 and designed by Joshua Humphreys, and was the first of the class to be launched, on 10 May 1797. She was commissioned on 11 July 1797 under famed Revolution-era Captain John Barry and became known by the nickname "Old Wagon." Specifications: As a first-class heavy frigate she measured roughly 175 ft between perpendiculars (about 204 ft overall) with a 43 ft 6 in beam and 23 ft 6 in draft aft, on a burthen of 1,576 tons. Her armament evolved over her career, carrying 30–32 long 24-pounders on the gun deck supplemented by 42-pounder carronades (24 in the War of 1812 era) and lighter guns, with a wartime complement of 400–600 officers, sailors, and Marines. Service History: She served in the Quasi-War with France and the Barbary Wars before her most celebrated action, defeating and capturing the British frigate HMS Macedonian on 25 October 1812 under Stephen Decatur. Laid up for long stretches afterward, she was seized by Confederate forces at Norfolk in April 1861 (briefly serving as CSS United States), abandoned again in 1862, retaken by Union forces, and finally broken up in December 1865. Notable Facts: United States was a sister ship to USS Constitution and USS President, sharing Humphreys' distinctive heavy-frigate design intended to outgun and outsail contemporary European frigates. The capture of Macedonian remains one of the most famous single-ship actions of the War of 1812 and a popular subject for ship modelers depicting the frigate in that configuration.