The Voyages of the First American Ship

743 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Us history II

Years after the birth of the United States, the Navy became part of the new country’s military branch. However, piracy was a huge issue throughout the Imperial age in the United States. In 1794, the legislative body imposed an Act to strengthen the forces of the navy (USS Constitution Association). As the result, David Stodder and his co-builders, Josiah Fox and Joshua Humphreys, built one of the first ships called the USS Constellation 1797, which it gained recognition through barbaric battles and British rival dominance.
This battleship displayed the flag of the United States, representing fifteen states. At first, the frigate was used for commerce before Commodore Truxtun charged it for the upcoming war. During the Quasi-war, the USS Constellation of 1797 took its first battle mission to attack the French pirates in the Caribbean Sea. From this time, this ship was able to surrender the L’Insurgente frigate in 1799. The La Vengeance ship challenged it in return, so the American schooner shot down this ship in the year, 1800. “The Yankee Racehorse” was the nickname for the Constellation. Unfortunately, the heavy currents damaged Constellation on the way back to its headquarters in the shipyard.
As the first Barbary War began in North Africa, this ship was awakened to encounter enemies in the Mediterranean. She went over to Derne to rescue American bureaucrats and marines from the Libyan blockade. In Addition, the ship prepared for a battle in the capital of Tunisia. Furthermore, it engaged Americans to fight with the North African vandals in Gibraltar. Terminally damaged, the battleship was anchored home to take a long time of reconstruction by 1812.
Suddenly, the War of 1812 forced the United States to arm the tro...

... middle of paper ...

...quadron during these three years.
Reaching its final warring duties, the Americans were fighting with England and France in the second Opium war against Chinese rebels. During the springtime, the Yankee Racehorse led East India squadron over China and rescued the American veterans and diplomats and US-owned possessions in 1841. Before being “laid in ordinary” in Maryland, the battleship sailed eastward to Hawaii, preventing an imperialistic threat from London.
All in all, this 38-gun ship used to weigh one thousand two hundred and sixty five tons. In 1853, this early US battleship was now being changed into a different ship that became another Constellation vessel from 1854. In the twenty-first century, this schooner is now a tourist attraction reminding of what it did when the United States was starting to expand its territories through wars and mercantilism.

Show More
Related

  • Submarines in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars

    2009 Words  | 5 Pages

    The American Turtle was ready for her initial mission on September 6, 1776, just after midnight in the New York Harbor. The operator, Ezra Lee, failed in his attempt to sink the HMS Eagle because he failed to secure the screw of the gunpowder magazine to the ship. The Turtle made two more attempts to sink enemy ships but they both failed. The end of the American Turtle is unknown. Some think she was accidentally sunk, dismantled, or destroyed. The Turtle was the very first submarine to be used in the...

    Read More

  • USS Eisenhower Collision

    1386 Words  | 3 Pages

    On the morning of August 29, 1988, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower was returning to her homeport in Norfolk after conducting a six-month deployment in the Mediterranean Sea. She had performed extremely well in exercises and was set to receive the Battle “E.” The carrier had recently taken on approximately 500 Tigers in Bermuda, joining their parents for the final leg of the voyage. Also, the Secretary of the Navy was aboard that morning, and had been present on the bridge prior to his departure at 0807. 14 minutes later, at 0821 according to the deck log, the Eisenhower struck the Spanish bulk carrier Urduliz, which was anchored in a designated anchorage area, “A,” in berth “Z.”

    Read More

  • Dialectic of the Union Blockade during the Civil War

    1869 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Civil War in the United States from 1861 to 1865 serves as a dark reminder of how disjointed a nation can become over issues that persistently cause heated debate among party factions. Most students that have taken courses in American history understand the disadvantage possessed by the Confederate States of America as they fought against the powerful Union army for what they perceived as a necessary institution of slavery. Historians have debated over the effectiveness of the blockade and if it was important in creating the failures faced by the Confederate States of America. This debate has generated the contested question of “Did the Union blockade succeed in the American Civil War?” The blockade, whether considered a success or an absolute failure on the part of the Union, holds grand significance in the history of the United States. The increased development in the Union’s naval department correlates directly with the necessity of possessing ships that could withstand the threat of blockade running.

    Read More

  • USS MAINE

    429 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the late 1800’s the American people and their government became more willing to risk war in defense of American interests overseas, support for building a large modern navy began to grow. Supporters argued that if the United States did not build up its navy and acquire bases overseas, it would be shut out of foreign markets by Europeans. Captain Alfred T. Mahan observed that building a modern navy meant that the U.S. had to acquire territory for naval bases overseas. This would enable them to operate a navy far from home. A country needed bases and coaling stations in distant regions, which was exactly what they did by having Havana, Cuba be one of its ports. Another factor that was part of the Navy’s modernization was the USS Maine, which was probably the most famous ship of its era. The USS Maine was one of the Navy’s first armored battle ships. It was one of the first U.S. naval vessels with electrical lighting. It had a top speed of 17 knots and a crew of 392 officers and enlisted men. On the evening of February 15, 1898 the USS Maine exploded. Of the 345 officers and sailors aboard the Maine, 266 died. There were many ideas of how this explosion occurred, namely: the ship’s ammunition supplies blew up, a fire accidentally ignited the ammunition, and that a mine detonated near the ship set off the ammunition. At the time Cuba was a Spanish colony, but it was in the midst of a revolution. The Cuban people were fighting for independence from Spain. During this Cuban revolt against Spain and the American battleship Maine dropped anchor in the Havana harbor to protect American interests in Cuba. Many Americans regarded the Spanish as tyrants and supported the Cubans in their struggle. This immediately made Americans jump to the Conclusion that Spain blew up the Maine. American’s felt that since they were allies with Cuba that Spain was trying to harm America, as to not interfere with Cuba’s revolt against them. Within a matter of weeks, Spain and the U.

    Read More

  • uss cole

    1036 Words  | 3 Pages

    The USS Cole is a “destroyer to launch guided missile (Alex, Dan); it is usually stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, but there are no details on why it was in Yemen. Following the attack USS Cole was repaired and is still being used. The job of the USS Cole at t...

    Read More

  • Debunking the Mythical Hero: Christopher Columbus

    735 Words  | 2 Pages

    Christopher Columbus is a mythical hero or in other words, not a true hero. The story of Christopher Columbus is part of the many myths of Western civilization. Also the story of Christopher Columbus represents the power of those that are privileged and in most cases white European men that have written this mythical history. Zinn (2009 exposes the truth about Columbus through eyes of the people who were there when he had arrived which were the Native Indians (p.481). Columbus had kept a personal journal for his voyage to describe the people and the journey. What was evident throughout his journal was the Native Americans were very nice, gentle and kind hearted people (Zinn, 2009, 481). As Zinn suggests Columbus spoke of the Native Americans as” they are the best people in the world and

    Read More

  • The Difference of Warfare between World War 1 and World War 2

    1024 Words  | 3 Pages

    The U.S. Navy nurtured into a challenging power in the years previous to World War II, with battleship construction being revived in 1937, commencing with the USS North Carolina . It was able to add to its fleets throughout the early years of the war when the US was still not involved, growing production of vessels both large and small. In a conflict that had a number of amphibious landings, naval superiority was important in both Europe and the Pacific. The mutual resource...

    Read More

  • The Navy Of The Civil War

    1156 Words  | 3 Pages

    The South, knowing their disadvantage in numbers, made the call for commerce raiding of northern ships. The southern government encouraged privateering of northern ships. This privateering would help take the burden of building up the Navy off the government, since privately owned ships and sailors would be assisting the Confederate war goals.

    Read More

  • The Spanish American War

    883 Words  | 2 Pages

    Introduction The Spanish American War marked the emergence of the United States of America as a world power. The war which lasted only 10 weeks between April and August of 1898 took place over the liberation of Cuba. In the course of the war the U.S. won Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippine Islands. A large aspect to the begining of the war was the explosion and sinking of the Maine on February 15 1898 at 9:30 PM in Havana Harbor. 260 American naval personnel where killed or wounded. The USS Maine was the second "second class" battle ship constructed for the U.S. Navy. It took almost nine years to complete three year took waiting for armor. The USS Maine was at the time the largest ship to be built in a U.S. Navy yard. The USS Maine arrived in the Havana harbor in Cuba on Jan. 24 of 1898. The USS Manie was sent to Cuba in response to a small protest by Spanish officers. The ship was under the command of Captian Charles Sigsbee.

    Read More

  • The Battle of the Atlantic

    1647 Words  | 4 Pages

    Immediately, the Battle of the Atlantic began when “the British announced a naval blockage of Germany” on September 3, 1939(“World War II” 391). Eight days later the Germans ordered a “counter-blockage” of the Allies(“World War II” 391). The Germans hoped to stop the shipments of war supplies and food to the countries of France and Britain. After only four months into the war, German U-boats, mines, airplanes, and surface raiders had destroyed more than 215 merchant ships and two of Britain’s largest warships. Over 1,500 people had been killed in this short time. “It was clear that despite the lull on land, a long war lay ahead on the world’s water” (Pitt 8).

    Read More

  • James Madison Accomplishments

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    Madison’s generals William Harrison and Andrew Jackson won some major victories in the West against the Native Americans. In the Battle of the Thames, the leader of the Shawnee, Tecumseh was killed and his army defeated. The winning of the battles against the British allowed the American military and its generals to focus the war effort to the British in the East. The United States’s naval expansion was also going well as American Harbors created twelve warships to fight the british in the Atlantic and in the Great Lakes. The U.S. Navy managed to capture or destroy every British ship in Lake erie. Madison’s decision to convert the U.S. merchant ships to naval ships payed off as well, as over 1,800 British ships were captured during the course of the war.

    Read More

  • What Is A True American?

    961 Words  | 2 Pages

    assume command of it, Americans responded swiftly and forcefully. “Wednesday April 15th pirates bombarded U.S.-flagged Liberty Sun with automatic weapons fire and

    Read More

  • Barbary Pirates Research Paper

    1854 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Barbary Pirates were a strong and powerful force, and they impacted many European and American leaders who planned

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of Christopher Columbus's Letter On His First Voyage

    1136 Words  | 3 Pages

    This is an analysis of Christopher Columbus’s Letter on His First Voyage on page 381. Christopher Columbus wrote a letter to his King and Queen of Spain, while he was in the West Indies. He wrote this letter in February 1493 reflecting on his voyage across the Atlantic in 1492. After reading this letter, I can tell that Columbus felt like he was better than the native people of the different islands he journeyed and that a lot of things they did were very strange to him. I can also tell that the world was a lot different to him and to people in 1492, than it is to people in 2014 because he referred to the native people of the various islands he traveled to as Indians, whereas most people in 2014 know that India and Latin American are not the

    Read More

  • The End of a New Beginning

    971 Words  | 2 Pages

    The USS Maine was the United States Navy’s second commission battleship; however, Maine was classified originally as an armored cruiser. Heavily armed with guns and torpedoes, this ship was ready for battle. The USS Maine, named after the state of Maine, and completed on November 18, 1889. The battleship remained stationed near the east coast of the United States and the Caribbean. In January 1898, President William McKinley sent the 6,789 ton ship, from Key West, Florida to Havana, Cuba in hopes to help protect the United States’ interests during the Cuban Revolt against Spain. Three weeks later the battleship mysteriously exploded inside the Havana Harbor. The captain, Charles Sigsbee and several officers aboard the ship survived, because of their location in the rear end of the ship.

    Read More

More about The Voyages of the First American Ship

Open Document