 Painting ofGuerriere at theNational Museum of the United States Navy | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Guerriere |
| Namesake | HMSGuerriere |
| Ordered | 1812 |
| Builder | Philadelphia Navy Yard |
| Laid down | 1812 |
| Launched | 20 June 1814 |
| Decommissioned | 19 December 1831 |
| In service | 1815-1831 |
| Fate | Broken up, 1841 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | First class frigate[1] |
| Tonnage | 1508 |
| Length | 175 ft (53 m) |
| Beam | 45 ft 6 in (13.87 m) |
| Draft | 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) |
| Propulsion | Sail |
| Sail plan | Full-rigged ship |
| Complement | 400 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
|
USSGuerriere was a 53-gunfrigate of theUnited States. She was named afterHMSGuerriere, a 38-gunRoyal Navy frigate captured byUSS Constitution on 19 August 1812. This victory was one of the United States' first in theWar of 1812.
She was built at thePhiladelphia Navy Yard under the supervision ofJoseph andFrancis Grice. She was launched on 20 June 1814 under the command ofCommodoreJohn Rodgers and attached to theDelaware Flotilla. She served in theUnited States Navy during theSecond Barbary War. While in service, Guerriere was employed as a schoolship, hosting a nautical school that educated and developed young naval officers by the direction of CommodoreArthur Sinclair. This modest program later evolved into theUnited States Naval Academy at Annapolis.
Initially namedContinental, the ship was laid down in 1812 at thePhiladelphia Navy Yard and commissioned two years later.[2] After fitting out, she was transferred to the command ofCaptainStephen Decatur and became theflagship of the squadron assembled atNew York. She sailed from New York on 20 May 1815 to lead the squadron in terminatingpiratical acts against American merchant commerce byAlgiers and other Barbary States.[3]
On 17 June 1815, off theAlgerian coast, the frigateConstellationdrove the 44-gun frigateMeshuda, the flagship of the Algerian Fleet, under the guns of Decatur's flagship,Guerriere. With two broadsides, the American frigate drove below all who were not killed or disabled onMeshuda's decks, where after,Meshuda surrendered. Among her fatalities wasRais Hamidu, Algiers' ranking naval officer. Two days later,Guerriere led the squadron indriving the 22-gun Algerian brigEstedio ashore.[3]
On boardGuerriere during the battle was LieutenantJames Monroe of the U.S. Army, who was a nephew of PresidentJames Monroe. Lieutenant Monroe was wounded during the battle and would later serve inCongress.[4]
Guerriere arrived at Algiers on 28 June 1815, ready to act with her squadron for the capture of every Algerian ship that entered port unless theDey ratified the terms of a peace treaty sent him by Decatur. The treaty was negotiated on boardGuerriere on 30 June 1815, ending the payment of tribute to Algiers and exacting full payment for injuries to American commerce.
Guerriere next led the squadron in a show of force that resulted in a peace settlement withTunis on 13 July 1815 and withTripoli on 9 August 1815.
Having enforced the peace in less than six weeks from time of sailing from the United States, she combined with the entireMediterranean Squadron naval force assembled atGibraltar underCommodoreWilliam Bainbridge. The 18 warships, includingship-of-the-lineIndependence, five frigates, twosloops-of-war, sevenbrigs, and threeschooners, was the largest fleet ever collected under the American flag in theMediterranean Sea to that time. It marked the beginning of a permanent naval fleet in the Mediterranean, which has evolved into the powerful6th Fleet of today. Then, as today, the fleet was a factor in keeping the peace and strengthening the international diplomacy of the nation.
Guerriere returned to New York on 12 November 1815 and was laid up in theBoston Navy Yard for repairs on 4 March 1816. She recommissioned under CaptainThomas Macdonough on 22 April 1818 for fitting out. On 24 July 1818 she put to sea, carrying the American Minister toRussia to his new post. After calls at Gibraltar,Cowes andCopenhagen, she disembarked the American Minister and his family atKronstadt, Russia, on 17 September 1818. She then cruised throughout the Mediterranean until 26 July 1819 when she departedLeghorn forNorfolk, Virginia, arriving 4 October 1819. She remained and was placed in ordinary there on 8 November 1820. For the next seven years she served as a schoolship in the Norfolk Navy Yard, training classes ofmidshipmen before the permanent establishment of a naval academy.
Guerriere terminated her schoolship duties late in November 1828 when she was ordered to fit out as the flagship of a U.S. Navy squadron destined for duty in thePacific. She sailed on 13 February 1829, landing passengers atRio de Janeiro before roundingCape Horn forCallao, Peru. In the following two years, she watched over American commerce, including thewhaling fleet, along the western seaboard ofSouth America and westward to theHawaiian Islands. She departed Callao 8 September 1831 and arrived in Norfolk 29 November 1831.Guerriere was decommissioned on 19 December 1831, and remained in ordinary at the Norfolk Navy Yard until broken up in 1841.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.