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USS Saratoga (1780)
Encyclopedia
The first ship to honor the historic Battle of Saratoga
was a sloop
in the Continental Navy
. She disappeared in 1781. Her fate remains a mystery to this day.
Saratoga was built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
by Warton and Humphries. She was begun in December 1779 and launched on 10 April 1780. She weighed 150 tons, was 68’ long with a beam of 25'4" and a depth of hold of 12'. Her complement was 86 with an armament of sixteen 9-pounders and two 4-pounders.
, Saratoga departed Philadelphia on 13 August 1780 escorting the packet, Mercury, which was sailing for Europe
carrying Henry Laurens
. The former President of the Continental Congress
was planning to seek money on the European continent to finance the American government.
Two days later, the Saratoga passed frigate
s and in the upper Delaware Bay
. Captain Young and Henry Laurens communicated with the frigates and they were to join Saratoga in a cruise as a squadron. The frigates, continued on up the Delaware River to replenish at Philadelphia.
After waiting in vain for the frigates to return, the Saratoga and Mercury passed through the Delaware Capes out to sea by themselves. Because of inadequate ballast, the Saratoga was unstable under a heavy spread of canvas and was forced to proceed much more slowly than the Mercury. Thus, the Mercury was forced to heave to each night to allow the Saratoga to catch up. This schedule continued until the 23rd of August, when Henry Laurens released the Saratoga from her escorting duty with the suggestion that she "...make a short cruise and then return to Philadelphia..." Afterwards, the unescorted Mercury was captured by the British off Newfoundland and Laurens was imprisoned in England.
He headed his ship toward the unknown sail and set out in hot pursuit. By twilight, he was close enough to see that his quarry was a brig
flying British colors. Some two hours later, Saratoga had closed within hailing distance and learned that the chase was the Royal Navy's brig, HMS Keppel, and not about to surrender. Saratoga opened fire with a broadside and was quickly answered by the Keppel, opening an inconclusive, three-hour battle. During the action, due to gale force seas, coinciding with her insufficient ballast, the Saratoga's guns were unable to inflict any serious damage to the Keppel. After Captain Young’s repeated efforts to close to boarding distance of the Keppel and the British brig evading those efforts, and midnight approaching, Young ordered the helmsman to end the chase and head for home.
, she came upon the HMS Sarah, a British ship bound for New York
laden with rum from the West Indies. The merchantman surrendered without resisting, and the two ships proceeded into the Delaware. They anchored off Chester, Pennsylvania
, the following afternoon where the Sarah was promptly condemned and sold, along with her cargo, which brought the continental treasury funds desperately needed to refit the frigate, , for sea.
coast. A week later, off the Jersey highlands, she came upon the Elizabeth, which had been taken in Chesapeake Bay several weeks before by British privateer
, Restoration. The Saratoga captured the 60-ton American brig, and Captain Young sent the brig to Philadelphia under a prize crew.
Saratoga remained in the vicinity of the Jersey highlands without encountering any further prey. Toward the end of the month, she turned south. The Saratoga cruised parallel to the coast. Captain Young constantly exercised her crew at her guns and in her rigging to sharpen their fighting capability. The crew had an opportunity to prove their seamanship when on 10 October they safely brought their ship through a fearful storm with but superficial damage. This same storm decimated the British squadron which Admiral Rodney
had sent out of New York to patrol the American coast.
, the Two Brothers. When the Saratoga was between the two English vessels, Captain Young ordered the Charming Molly to surrender, but she refused to do so. After the Saratoga had fired a broadside into the Charming Molly, a boarding party, led by Lt. Joshua Barney
, leapt to the merchantman's deck and opened a fierce hand to hand fight which soon compelled the British captain to lower his colors.
An American prize crew under Lieutenant Barney promptly took the place of Charming Molly's British skipper, officers, and tars. Captain Young then set out after the fleeing sloop the Two Brothers which, when overtaken, surrendered without resistance. The second prize, Two Brothers, promptly headed for the Delaware for libeling in Admiralty court in Philadelphia.
and had been scattered by the recent storm. As soon as his crew had finished temporary repairs to Charming Molly's battle-damaged hull, the Saratoga began to search for the remaining merchant fleet, a ship and two brigs. About mid-day on the 11th of October, a lookout saw three sails slowly rise above the horizon dead ahead, and another chase began. As the Saratoga approached the strangers, Captain Young ordered his helmsman to head between the ships. As she passed between the enemy vessels, she fired both broadsides, her port guns fired at the Elizabeth, and her starboard muzzles belched fire and iron at the brig Nancy. The enemy's shots passed above the Saratoga, causing only minor damage to her rigging while the first American salvo knocked the Nancy out of action and did substantial damage to the Elizabeth, which surrendered after taking another volley. Meanwhile, the other brig raced away; and Captain Young, being busy with his two new prizes, allowed her to escape free of pursuit.
The Saratoga's crew labored repairing the battered hulls of the prizes before sending them toward the Delaware Capes. About midnight, the Saratoga herself got underway northward. At dawn, near Cape Henlopen, a blue jacket sailor aloft reported seeing two unknown sails, one dead ahead and the other several miles off her port quarter. The first was later identified as American brig, Providence which was at that time a British prize heading for New York. The second ship was the 74-gun British ship-of-the-line, . Despite the proximity of the British man-of-war, Captain Young set out after the Providence and recaptured her after about an hour's chase. Captain Young quickly put a prize crew on board the Providence and then the Saratoga got underway for the Delaware. The Saratoga was anchored off Chester, Pennsylvania
, at dawn on 14 October.
to pick up a load of French
military supplies which were awaiting transportation to America. New officers and men had come on board to replace those who had left the ship to man her prizes. A number of merchantmen awaited her just inside the capes hoping to be escorted to a safe offing. On the morning of the 20th of October, favorable weather enabled the Saratoga to put to sea escorting her 12 charges. The next afternoon, after one of the merchantmen signaled that an unknown sail had appeared, Saratoga set out to investigate. Within two hours, after seeing the British ensign flying from her mast, the Saratoga had reached within firing range and sent a warning 4-pounder shot across the stranger's bow. Instead of surrendering, the British privateer, Resolution, maneuvered to attack. The ships fired at the same instant, Resolution's gunners fired high and only did superficial damage to the Saratoga. The Saratoga's broadside damaged the Resolution's hull and superstructure and forced her to surrender.
Captain Young embarked the Resolution's crew in Saratoga as prisoners; and placed an American crew on the prize. The two ships then headed toward Cape Henlopen which they reached on New Year's Day, 1781. Captain Young turned his prisoners over to the Continental agent at Lewes, Delaware
, and headed the Saratoga back toward the Caribbean
the same day.
On the morning of 9 January 1781, off the coast of then England
's loyal province of East Florida, the Saratoga captured a 20-gun letter of marquee the Tonyn in a fierce battle. The Tonyn had recently sailed from St. Augustine
laden with turpentine, indigo, hides, and deerskins intended for Liverpool
England
.
Captain Young spent a day repairing the Tonyn and the Saratoga's rigging, then the two ships got underway on the morning of the 11th of January for Hispaniola. On the 16th, Saratoga captured, without resistance, an armed brig, the Douglas, which was carrying wine from Madeira
to Charleston, South Carolina
, that important Southern port which had fallen into British hands. Captain Young sent this prize to Philadelphia.
where Captain Young turned the Tonyn over to the French Admiralty court and arranged to have Saratoga docked to have her hull scraped and coated with pitch while awaiting the arrival of military cargo and French frigates to assist in convoying a fleet of Allied merchantmen. The governor of the French colony of Saint Dominique suggested that the Saratoga join her sister Continental frigates, the and the Confederacy, an American privateer, the Fair American, and a French naval brig, Cat, in a cruise through the Windward Passage to Jamaica. The little fleet departed Cap-Français on 20 February and returned eight days later with a British ship the Diamond, which they had captured as she approached Jamaica laden with plunder taken by the British during Admiral Rodney's conquest of the Dutch
Island, St. Eustatius.
By mid-March, all was ready. The French warships were on hand; the Continental warships were loaded, and 29 heavily-laden merchant ships were in the harbor awaiting escorts. The convoy left from Cap-Français on the 15th, the ides of March. Three days later on 18 March, a lookout high over the Saratoga's deck reported two sails far off to westward, the Saratoga left the convoy in pursuit of the strangers. About mid-afternoon, she caught up with one of the fleeing ships which surrendered without a fight. Captain Young placed an American crew on board the prize and got underway after the second ship. Midshipman Penfield, commander of the prize crew, later reported that as he was supervising his men's efforts to follow the Saratoga, the wind suddenly rose to fearful velocity and almost capsized his ship. When he had managed to get the snow-rigged merchantman back under control, he looked up and was horrified to learn that the Saratoga had vanished. After numerous successful victories and prizes, the first USS Saratoga disappeared, lost at sea. The Saratoga’s fate remains a mystery to this day.
Battle of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga conclusively decided the fate of British General John Burgoyne's army in the American War of Independence and are generally regarded as a turning point in the war. The battles were fought eighteen days apart on the same ground, south of Saratoga, New York...
was a sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
in the Continental Navy
Continental Navy
The Continental Navy was the navy of the United States during the American Revolutionary War, and was formed in 1775. Through the efforts of the Continental Navy's patron, John Adams and vigorous Congressional support in the face of stiff opposition, the fleet cumulatively became relatively...
. She disappeared in 1781. Her fate remains a mystery to this day.
Saratoga was built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
by Warton and Humphries. She was begun in December 1779 and launched on 10 April 1780. She weighed 150 tons, was 68’ long with a beam of 25'4" and a depth of hold of 12'. Her complement was 86 with an armament of sixteen 9-pounders and two 4-pounders.
Diplomatic escort
Commanded by Captain John YoungJohn Young (naval officer)
John Young was a captain in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War, commander of the which was lost at sea....
, Saratoga departed Philadelphia on 13 August 1780 escorting the packet, Mercury, which was sailing for Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
carrying Henry Laurens
Henry Laurens
Henry Laurens was an American merchant and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laurens succeeded John Hancock as President of the Congress...
. The former President of the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
was planning to seek money on the European continent to finance the American government.
Two days later, the Saratoga passed 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"...
s and in the upper Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in area. The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware...
. Captain Young and Henry Laurens communicated with the frigates and they were to join Saratoga in a cruise as a squadron. The frigates, continued on up the Delaware River to replenish at Philadelphia.
After waiting in vain for the frigates to return, the Saratoga and Mercury passed through the Delaware Capes out to sea by themselves. Because of inadequate ballast, the Saratoga was unstable under a heavy spread of canvas and was forced to proceed much more slowly than the Mercury. Thus, the Mercury was forced to heave to each night to allow the Saratoga to catch up. This schedule continued until the 23rd of August, when Henry Laurens released the Saratoga from her escorting duty with the suggestion that she "...make a short cruise and then return to Philadelphia..." Afterwards, the unescorted Mercury was captured by the British off Newfoundland and Laurens was imprisoned in England.
Hunting off Delaware
For more than a fortnight, Captain Young operated east of the shipping lanes while he trained his crew in operating their ship and fighting her guns. On the afternoon of 9 September, a lookout spotted a sail to the northwest. By then, Young had managed to get Saratoga into fighting shape.He headed his ship toward the unknown sail and set out in hot pursuit. By twilight, he was close enough to see that his quarry was a 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...
flying British colors. Some two hours later, Saratoga had closed within hailing distance and learned that the chase was the Royal Navy's brig, HMS Keppel, and not about to surrender. Saratoga opened fire with a broadside and was quickly answered by the Keppel, opening an inconclusive, three-hour battle. During the action, due to gale force seas, coinciding with her insufficient ballast, the Saratoga's guns were unable to inflict any serious damage to the Keppel. After Captain Young’s repeated efforts to close to boarding distance of the Keppel and the British brig evading those efforts, and midnight approaching, Young ordered the helmsman to end the chase and head for home.
Capture of the Sarah
Three days later, as Saratoga approached Cape HenlopenCape Henlopen
Cape Henlopen is the southern cape of the Delaware Bay along the Atlantic coast of the United States. It lies in the state of Delaware, near the town of Lewes, Delaware...
, she came upon the HMS Sarah, a British ship bound for 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...
laden with rum from the West Indies. The merchantman surrendered without resisting, and the two ships proceeded into the Delaware. They anchored off Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...
, the following afternoon where the Sarah was promptly condemned and sold, along with her cargo, which brought the continental treasury funds desperately needed to refit the frigate, , for sea.
Second cruise
The Saratoga spent three days at Chester, where she replenished her stores and took on additional iron for ballast before heading back down the Delaware toward the open sea and another cruise. She cleared the Delaware Capes on the 18th of September and sailed northward along the New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
coast. A week later, off the Jersey highlands, she came upon the Elizabeth, which had been taken in Chesapeake Bay several weeks before by British privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
, Restoration. The Saratoga captured the 60-ton American brig, and Captain Young sent the brig to Philadelphia under a prize crew.
Saratoga remained in the vicinity of the Jersey highlands without encountering any further prey. Toward the end of the month, she turned south. The Saratoga cruised parallel to the coast. Captain Young constantly exercised her crew at her guns and in her rigging to sharpen their fighting capability. The crew had an opportunity to prove their seamanship when on 10 October they safely brought their ship through a fearful storm with but superficial damage. This same storm decimated the British squadron which Admiral Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782...
had sent out of New York to patrol the American coast.
Capture of the Charming Molly
That night, she turned north again. At dawn the next day, she spotted two sails far off her port bow. The Saratoga was due east of Cape Henry when she began the chase. As she closed the distance between herself and her quarry, Captain Young ordered his helmsman to head for the open water between the enemy ships which proved to be the large, 22-gun letter of marquee ship, Charming Molly, and a small schoonerSchooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
, the Two Brothers. When the Saratoga was between the two English vessels, Captain Young ordered the Charming Molly to surrender, but she refused to do so. After the Saratoga had fired a broadside into the Charming Molly, a boarding party, led by Lt. Joshua Barney
Joshua Barney
Joshua Barney was a commodore in the United States Navy, born in Baltimore, Maryland, who served in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.-Revolutionary War:...
, leapt to the merchantman's deck and opened a fierce hand to hand fight which soon compelled the British captain to lower his colors.
An American prize crew under Lieutenant Barney promptly took the place of Charming Molly's British skipper, officers, and tars. Captain Young then set out after the fleeing sloop the Two Brothers which, when overtaken, surrendered without resistance. The second prize, Two Brothers, promptly headed for the Delaware for libeling in Admiralty court in Philadelphia.
Further prizes
From the prisoners captured on the Charming Molly, Captain Young learned that she and the Two Brothers had been part of a small merchant fleet which had sailed from JamaicaJamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
and had been scattered by the recent storm. As soon as his crew had finished temporary repairs to Charming Molly's battle-damaged hull, the Saratoga began to search for the remaining merchant fleet, a ship and two brigs. About mid-day on the 11th of October, a lookout saw three sails slowly rise above the horizon dead ahead, and another chase began. As the Saratoga approached the strangers, Captain Young ordered his helmsman to head between the ships. As she passed between the enemy vessels, she fired both broadsides, her port guns fired at the Elizabeth, and her starboard muzzles belched fire and iron at the brig Nancy. The enemy's shots passed above the Saratoga, causing only minor damage to her rigging while the first American salvo knocked the Nancy out of action and did substantial damage to the Elizabeth, which surrendered after taking another volley. Meanwhile, the other brig raced away; and Captain Young, being busy with his two new prizes, allowed her to escape free of pursuit.
The Saratoga's crew labored repairing the battered hulls of the prizes before sending them toward the Delaware Capes. About midnight, the Saratoga herself got underway northward. At dawn, near Cape Henlopen, a blue jacket sailor aloft reported seeing two unknown sails, one dead ahead and the other several miles off her port quarter. The first was later identified as American brig, Providence which was at that time a British prize heading for New York. The second ship was the 74-gun British ship-of-the-line, . Despite the proximity of the British man-of-war, Captain Young set out after the Providence and recaptured her after about an hour's chase. Captain Young quickly put a prize crew on board the Providence and then the Saratoga got underway for the Delaware. The Saratoga was anchored off Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, with a population of 33,972 at the 2010 census. Chester is situated on the Delaware River, between the cities of Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware.- History :...
, at dawn on 14 October.
Cruise to the Caribbean
On 15 December, after being refitted at Philadelphia, the Saratoga got underway for HispaniolaHispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
to pick up a load of French
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...
military supplies which were awaiting transportation to America. New officers and men had come on board to replace those who had left the ship to man her prizes. A number of merchantmen awaited her just inside the capes hoping to be escorted to a safe offing. On the morning of the 20th of October, favorable weather enabled the Saratoga to put to sea escorting her 12 charges. The next afternoon, after one of the merchantmen signaled that an unknown sail had appeared, Saratoga set out to investigate. Within two hours, after seeing the British ensign flying from her mast, the Saratoga had reached within firing range and sent a warning 4-pounder shot across the stranger's bow. Instead of surrendering, the British privateer, Resolution, maneuvered to attack. The ships fired at the same instant, Resolution's gunners fired high and only did superficial damage to the Saratoga. The Saratoga's broadside damaged the Resolution's hull and superstructure and forced her to surrender.
Captain Young embarked the Resolution's crew in Saratoga as prisoners; and placed an American crew on the prize. The two ships then headed toward Cape Henlopen which they reached on New Year's Day, 1781. Captain Young turned his prisoners over to the Continental agent at Lewes, Delaware
Lewes, Delaware
Lewes is an incorporated city in Sussex County, Delaware, USA, on the Delmarva Peninsula. According to the 2010 census, the population is 2,747, a decrease of 6.3% from 2000....
, and headed the Saratoga back toward the 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...
the same day.
On the morning of 9 January 1781, off the coast of then England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's loyal province of East Florida, the Saratoga captured a 20-gun letter of marquee the Tonyn in a fierce battle. The Tonyn had recently sailed from St. Augustine
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
laden with turpentine, indigo, hides, and deerskins intended for Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Captain Young spent a day repairing the Tonyn and the Saratoga's rigging, then the two ships got underway on the morning of the 11th of January for Hispaniola. On the 16th, Saratoga captured, without resistance, an armed brig, the Douglas, which was carrying wine from Madeira
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
to Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, that important Southern port which had fallen into British hands. Captain Young sent this prize to Philadelphia.
Escort duty and loss
On 27 January, the Saratoga and the Tonyn reached Cap-FrançaisCap-Haïtien
Cap-Haïtien is a city of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the Department of Nord...
where Captain Young turned the Tonyn over to the French Admiralty court and arranged to have Saratoga docked to have her hull scraped and coated with pitch while awaiting the arrival of military cargo and French frigates to assist in convoying a fleet of Allied merchantmen. The governor of the French colony of Saint Dominique suggested that the Saratoga join her sister Continental frigates, the and the Confederacy, an American privateer, the Fair American, and a French naval brig, Cat, in a cruise through the Windward Passage to Jamaica. The little fleet departed Cap-Français on 20 February and returned eight days later with a British ship the Diamond, which they had captured as she approached Jamaica laden with plunder taken by the British during Admiral Rodney's conquest of the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Island, St. Eustatius.
By mid-March, all was ready. The French warships were on hand; the Continental warships were loaded, and 29 heavily-laden merchant ships were in the harbor awaiting escorts. The convoy left from Cap-Français on the 15th, the ides of March. Three days later on 18 March, a lookout high over the Saratoga's deck reported two sails far off to westward, the Saratoga left the convoy in pursuit of the strangers. About mid-afternoon, she caught up with one of the fleeing ships which surrendered without a fight. Captain Young placed an American crew on board the prize and got underway after the second ship. Midshipman Penfield, commander of the prize crew, later reported that as he was supervising his men's efforts to follow the Saratoga, the wind suddenly rose to fearful velocity and almost capsized his ship. When he had managed to get the snow-rigged merchantman back under control, he looked up and was horrified to learn that the Saratoga had vanished. After numerous successful victories and prizes, the first USS Saratoga disappeared, lost at sea. The Saratoga’s fate remains a mystery to this day.