USS New York (1800) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The second USS New York was a three-masted, wooden-hulled sailing frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

that saw service during the Quasi-War

Quasi-War

The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought mostly at sea between the United States and French Republic from 1798 to 1800. In the United States, the conflict was sometimes also referred to as the Franco-American War, the Pirate Wars, or the Half-War.-Background:The Kingdom of France had been a...

with France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

New York was built by public subscription by the citizens of New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

for the United States Government; laid down in August 1798 by Peck and Carpenter, New York City; launched 24 April 1800; and commissioned in October 1800, Captain Richard Valentine Morris

Richard Valentine Morris

Richard Valentine Morris was a United States Navy officer.-Life:He was the son of Lewis Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence....

in command.

The New York was one of the group of five frigate

Frigate

s built by the States for the Federal Government to supplement the original six provided for by the Naval Act of 1794

Naval Act of 1794

The Act to Provide a Naval Armament, also known as the Naval Act, was passed by the United States Congress on March 27, 1794 and established the country's first naval force, which eventually became the United States Navy...

, 'The ship entered the Navy when the Quasi-War with France was being fought in the Atlantic and Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

where French warships preyed on American shipping interests.

Caribbean

The New Yor departed New York on 22 October 1800, and sailed for the Caribbean, convoying the brig

Brig

A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...

Amazon and her cargo to Martinique

Martinique

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

and then sailing to St. Kitts

Saint Kitts

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts Saint Kitts (also known more formally as Saint Christopher Island (Saint-Christophe in French) is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean...

, arriving on 6 December to meet the frigate there and receive orders. Putting to sea the next day, New York cruised the waters near Guadaloupe on patrol protecting U.S. merchant ships until forced to return to St. Kitts on 31 December by a bad outbreak of fever among her crew. The frigate remained in the West Indies port, putting the forty sickest men ashore and recruiting others to replace them until sailing in mid-January 1801 to resume station on watchful patrol against those French ships, both naval vessels and privateers, which had been attacking Yankee merchant ships trading with the British West Indies

British West Indies

The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...

.

With the ratification of Pinckney's Treaty

Pinckney's Treaty

Pinckney's Treaty, also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo or the Treaty of Madrid, was signed in San Lorenzo de El Escorial on October 27, 1795 and established intentions of friendship between the United States and Spain. It also defined the boundaries of the United States with the Spanish...

with France on 3 February, she was ordered to return home on 23 March and arrived at New York in late April, remaining there until sailing to Washington in mid-May. New York was placed in ordinary at Washington Navy Yard

Washington Navy Yard

The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...

as part of the reserve naval force provided for in the Peace Establishment Act of 1801. The frigate's day to day patrolling performed an invaluable service to the nation, not only protecting American commerce, but also helping to establish the United States Navy as a force to be reckoned with. As part of the infant Navy, New York had, as President John Adams

John Adams

John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...

told Congress of the Navy’s actions, "raised us in our own esteem; and effected to the extent of our expectations, the objects for which it was created."

Barbary Coast

The frigate recommissioned on 14 August 1802, Captain James Barron

James Barron

James Barron was an officer in the United States Navy. Commander of the frigate USS Chesapeake, he was court-martialed for his actions on 22 June 1807, which led to the surrender of his ship to the British....

in command,
to meet another crisis facing the young United States. The small Moorish

Moors

The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...

kingdoms on the Barbary Coast

Barbary Coast

The Barbary Coast, or Barbary, was the term used by Europeans from the 16th until the 19th century to refer to much of the collective land of the Berber people. Today, the terms Maghreb and "Tamazgha" correspond roughly to "Barbary"...

of North Africa

North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

were attacking American ships, killing and imprisoning crewmen and stealing cargo, while demanding high monetary tribute as their price for ending these piratical acts. In response to this challenge, Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

sent a naval squadron to the Mediterranean in May 1801 to protect the nation’s interests, and on 14 November 1802, New York sailed from Washington Navy Yard to reinforce that squadron and join in the blockade.
Arriving Gibraltar 6 April 1803, she met the squadron there and became its flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

when Commodore Morris, her first captain, broke his broad pennant from the frigate’s yardarm.

The squadron sailed on 11 April for Tripoli

Tripoli

Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...

to confront the Pasha

Pasha

Pasha or pascha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord, and was also one of the highest titles in...

with a strong show of American force. En route on 25 April, a powder explosion on board New York killed four men and damaged the ship, forcing the squadron to put into Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

from 1-19 May while she effected repairs. Arriving off Tripoli on the 22nd, the squadron remained there attempting negotiations with the Bashaw. Following two brief engagements, 22 and 27 May in which the American ships’ overwhelming fire drove off attacking Tripolitan gunboats, the talks seemed to bear fruit. Midshipman John Downes

John Downes (naval officer)

Commodore John Downes was an officer in the United States Navy, whose service covered the first half of the 19th century.-Early life and career:...

was one of those recognized for distinguished service on New York during the fighting.

On 9 June, a tentative treaty was agreed to on the condition that the U.S. ships would immediately leave the harbor. Commodore Morris, following these terms, sailed in New York the next day, leaving the rest of the squadron on guard off the coast to follow later, little realizing that the treacherous Bashaw would resume his piratical activities as soon as the American presence was gone.

Toward home

Sailing to Malta 14 June, New York received the 17-gun salute of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson and the British Fleet at Valletta

Valletta

Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...

. The frigate remained there replenishing and allowing her crew to see the sights of the island until sailing for Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

on 8 July by way of Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

and Málaga

Málaga

Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...

and arriving on 14 September. There, she met Commodore Edward Preble

Edward Preble

Edward Preble was a United States naval officer.-Early life and Revolutionary War:Preble was born at Falmouth, Eastern Massachusetts, now Portland, Maine, 15 August 1761, the son of Gen. Jedidiah Preble. As a boy, his home was destroyed in the burning of Falmouth by British Naval Commander Henry...

and his squadron, sent to relieve Commodore Morris. On the day of her arrival, Captain John Rodgers

John Rodgers (naval officer, War of 1812)

John Rodgers was a senior naval officer in the United States Navy who served under six Presidents for nearly four decades during its formative years in the 1790s through the late 1830s, committing the greater bulk of his adult life to his country...

came aboard to relieve Commodore Morris of command of New York and following one month in port, the warship sailed for home. Stopping at Tunis

Tunis

Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....

for supplies on 4 November, she returned to Washington Navy Yard on 9 December 1803 and was immediately placed in ordinary.

There New York remained for the next eleven years. The frigate was burned by the British in the capture of Washington, D.C.

Burning of Washington

The Burning of Washington was an armed conflict during the War of 1812 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States of America. On August 24, 1814, led by General Robert Ross, a British force occupied Washington, D.C. and set fire to many public buildings following...

on 24 August 1814 during the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

Caribbean

Barbary Coast

Toward home

See also