USS John Adams (1799)
Columbia and John Adams bombarding Muckie, Sumatra, 1 January 1839
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History | |
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United States | |
Cost | $113,505 |
Launched | 5 June 1799 at Charleston, South Carolina |
Commissioned | circa 1 October 1799 |
Decommissioned | September 1865 |
Stricken | 1865 (est.) |
Fate | Sold, 5 October 1867 |
General characteristics | |
Tons burthen | 544 (bm) |
Length | 139 ft (42.4 m) (between perpendiculars) |
Beam | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
Depth of hold | 16 ft 4 in (5.0 m) |
Propulsion | sail |
Complement | 220 officers and enlisted men |
Armament |
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The first John Adams was originally built in 1799 as a frigate for the United States Navy, converted to a corvette in 1809, and later converted back to a frigate in 1830. Named for American Founding Father and president John Adams, she fought in the Quasi-War, the First and Second Barbary Wars, the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War.
At the end of her career, she participated in the Union blockade of South Carolina's ports. She then participated in the raid on Combahee Ferry that Harriet Tubman, the former slave and Union operative, organized with Union colonel Montgomery. John Adams led three steam-powered gunboats up the Harbor River to Port Royal. The squadron relied on local black mariners to guide it past mines and fortifications. The squadron freed 750+ slaves and unsettled the Confederacy. Tubman was the first woman in U.S. history to plan and execute an armed expedition.[1]
Origin
John Adams was built for the United States by the people of Charleston, South Carolina, under contract to Paul Pritchard and launched in the latter's shipyard some 3 miles (4.8 km) from Charleston 5 June 1799.
Quasi-War
Captain George Cross sailed John Adams on or about 1 October for
Early in January 1800, she began operations against the French, taking an unidentified lugger off San Juan, Puerto Rico and recapturing brig Dolphin. She then retook the brigs Hannibal on 22 March and Atlantic the next day, both prizes of the French privateer President Tout. The French privateer schooner Jason surrendered to her 3 April, and in May she retook schooners Dispatch and William. Sometime in the late spring or summer she recaptured the American brig Olive, and on 13 June she took French schooner Decade. These victories punctuated and highlighted the day-to-day duty of patrolling the West Indies. She continued to protect American shipping through the late summer and fall.
John Adams left on 5 December escorting a convoy to the United States. She was placed in ordinary in Charleston in mid-January 1801, and then in late June she sailed to Washington, D.C. where she was laid up.
As the Quasi-War with France drew to a close, President Adams could report to Congress:
The present Navy of the United States, called suddenly into existence by a great national emergency, has raised us in our own esteem; and by the protection afforded to our commerce has effected to the extent of our expectations the objects for which it was created.
First Barbary War
Peace with France freed the Navy for operations against
One of the most important victories of the war came on 21 June when John Adams and Enterprise captured a 22-gun vessel belonging to Tripoli, thus weakening that state sufficiently to allow the squadron to turn its attention to
Meanwhile, Commodore
Three months later she sailed for New York with Commodore Preble, arriving 26 February 1805. On 6 March 1805 Secretary of the Navy Robert Smith wrote to Captain Isaac Chauncey regarding recruitment of seamen for the frigate's third voyage to the Mediterranean,he emphasized, the Navy wanted,"active men who can fight."
It is my wish to send to the Mediterranean as many men in the John Adams as she can conveniently carry thither. I want to send out 500 Men, of which number at least 200 must be Able Seamen. You will begin to recruit as soon as you conveniently can. Enter the men to serve 2 years (although it is probable they will not be kept in the Mediterranean for 2 years) allow Able Seamen $ 12 per month, Ordinary Seamen $ 8, Boys $ 6. Engage healthy, active men who can fight. Allow 2 to 4 months advance on customary security.[2]
After a third Mediterranean cruise from May to November, she was laid up in ordinary. In service she had been considered a poor sailor; between 1807 and 1809 her forecastle and quarterdeck were removed and she was re-rated as (depending on the source) either a corvette or a sloop-of-war.
War of 1812
The outbreak of the War of 1812 found her undergoing repairs at Boston whence she was hurried to New York to have the work completed. There the British blockade and a critical shortage of seamen kept her in a laid-up status until early 1814. She finally sailed under a flag of truce carrying peace commissioners Henry Clay and Jonathan Russell to Europe and arrived Wargo Island, Norway, 14 April. She returned to the United States 5 September bringing dispatches from the American commissioners the Treaty of Ghent that would end the war towards the end of the year.
Second Barbary War
Meanwhile, the Barbary pirates, taking advantage of the American Navy's preoccupation with the British fleet during the War of 1812, had resumed operations against American merchantmen in the Mediterranean. Fortunately the treaty of peace signed on Christmas Eve 1814 freed United States men-of-war for renewed attention to this chronic trouble spot. In the autumn of 1815 John Adams arrived in the Mediterranean to assist frigates USS United States and USS Constellation and sloops USS Erie and USS Ontario in maintaining peace and order in the area after strong squadrons under Commodores Stephen Decatur and William Bainbridge had induced the Barbary princes to honor their treaty commitments. Early in 1816 she returned home with dispatches, and with marble from Naples for refurbishing the Capitol at Washington.[3]
West Indies
Pirates were also active in the West Indies at this time. Taking advantage of the chaos attendant upon the dissolution of Spain's American empire, lawless vessels from many nations preyed on neutral as well as Spanish commerce in the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, and along the storied Spanish Main. For the next few years John Adams was busy fighting buccaneers. On 22 December 1817 she demanded and received the surrender of Amelia Island, off the east coast of Florida, the base from which corsairs of Commodore Louis-Michel Aury pounced upon merchantmen of all nations.
Venezuela
In the spring of 1819
Commodore
1821–1845
In spite of these successes, piracy remained rampant in the West Indies, and John Adams was part of a strong
John Adams joined the
After extensive repairs in the United States, John Adams sailed from Hampton Roads on 5 May 1838, accompanied by USS Columbia, on a cruise around the world. Particular stress was placed upon showing the flag in the East Indies where the United States enjoyed a prosperous and growing trade. Both ships arrived Rio de Janeiro 10 July but departed separately, John Adams sailing on 25 July. She stopped at Zanzibar en route to Bombay, where she rejoined Columbia before sailing on to Goa and Colombo, Ceylon.
At Colombo the ships learned that natives at Susoh (currently in
Mexican-American and Civil Wars
John Adams finally arrived Boston about the middle of June where she was laid up until 1842. After duty on the
She was anchored off the bar at
John Adams returned to Boston in September 1848 and received extensive repairs before joining the
John Adams was sent to
One of her crew, Coxswain
Fate
Late in the summer of 1865 she sailed to Boston where she was decommissioned in September. She was one of the oldest vessels in the US Navy at the time of her decommissioning.
John Adams was sold 5 October 1867 for $1500 to the British government to use as quarters for the Hong Kong police.[7] She was taken to Hong Kong where her hulk was commissioned in 1868 for use as Water Police Headquarters. In February 1884 the hulk John Adams caught fire and was lost. HMS Merlin later torpedoed and sank the burnt-out hulk.[8]
See also
- List of sailing frigates of the United States Navy
- Bibliography of early United States naval history
References
- ISBN 978-1-62585-004-1.
- ^ Robert Smith to Issac Chauncey, 6 March 1806, Letters, Navy Department, 1805, p.10, Roll 0207, Miscellaneous Records of the Navy Department, RG 45, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington DC.
- ^ National Intelligencer, 10 February 1816
- ^ Sharp, John G.M., Flogging at Sea, Discipline and Punishment in the Old Navy, 25 November 2020, http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/portsmouth/shipyard/sharptoc/oldnavydiscipline.html accessed 23 July 2023
- ^ "Medal of Honor Recipients – Civil War (M–Z)". Medal of Honor Citations. United States Army Center of Military History. 26 June 2011. Archived from the original on 4 June 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
- ISBN 2-35154-004-2.
- ^ "From California and China". North American and United States Gazette (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 21 September 1867; Issue 29,123.
- ^ Hong Kong Police Force: Chronology of Notable Occasions and Events.
Further reading
- Coker, P.C. III (1987) Charleston's Maritime Heritage 1670–1865.
External links
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.