SHIPS OF THE CONTINENTAL NAVY

Chapter 5 Naval History - 12018_155

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engagements between the Americans and the British actually occurred before the Continental Congress authorized a Navy. Though the American Navy officially began in October 1775, some time passed before the new Navy had any effect on the mighty British Navy. SHIPS OF THE CONTINENTAL NAVY What constituted a warship in the late 1700s? During the revolutionary war and into the 19th century, naval vessels were grouped into three major classes— 1. Ships-of-the-line. These were the battleships of the sailing days. These ships were the largest of all sailing warships and carried 64 to over 100 guns of various sizes. However, our Navy’s ships-of-the-line didn’t come into existence until years later, long after the Revolutionary War was over. 2. Frigates. These were the cruisers of the 18th century. These cruisers were next in size, usually smaller and faster than average ship-of-the-line. They generally carried 28 to 44 guns. 3. Sloops-of-war. These were the small sailing warships. They carried 10 to 20 guns. Another group of naval vessels were the privateers. Privateers were commissioned by the Continental Congress and by individual states to capture enemy merchant ships as prizes of war. Typical of the independent “fleet” of privateers was the schooner. The schooner was a small, fast, flexible, flush-deck ship that carried smooth-bore cannon. With small ships like these schooners, the colonists broke the British stranglehold on main New England harbors by slipping past the Royal Navy’s men-of-war and hiding in inlets. Unable to meet the British head-on, the American ships outmaneuvered them and jabbed here and there instead of standing full force and slugging it out. Navy ships in the Continental Navy included the Providence, a 12-gun sloop; the Lexington, a 16-gun brig (converted from a merchantman); and the Bonhomme Richard, a loan from the French, an old East Indiaman. Later in this chapter, you will find out how other ships bearing some of these names made history in their own right. THE FIRST UNITED STATES SUBMARINE A young American experimented with a subsurface craft he hoped would help drive the British out of New York harbor and away from American shores for good. David Bushnell was a Yale medical student who had been working on a small submarine for some 4 years and finally completed it in 1775. This first warfare submarine, named the Turtle, was described by Bushnell as having “some resemblance to two upper tortoise shells of equal size, joined together…” It was 7.5 feet deep, and under ideal conditions had a maximum speed of 3 knots. A single operator could stay down for 30 minutes. The Turtle was armed with an oak casing filled with 150 pounds of explosives. This charge could be attached to the bottom of an enemy ship where it was intended to remain until detonated by a simple clockwork mechanism. After completing the submarine, Bushnell took it for several dives to prove its seaworthiness. Finally, in September 1776, he was ready to try it against the British in New York harbor. Sergeant Ezra Lee, a volunteer from the Connecticut militia, maneuvered the Turtle through the use of hand-driven screw propellers. His mission was to attach a time-fuse charge of gunpowder to the hull of HMS Eagle. However, the mission was aborted when the auger failed to penetrate the copper sheathing of the Eagle. Bushnell made a few more attempts to use the Turtle against the British in the Delaware River. He attached mines to the Turtle and floated the mines against ships. These attempts failed. The submarine was finally sunk by the British in New York harbor—the first recorded instance of an antisubmarine attack. 5-2 Student Notes:

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