USS Congress was a three-masted heavy frigate, one of the first six ships of the newly created US Navy. Built by James Hackett at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, she was launched on 15 August 1799 and nominally rated as a 38-gun frigate (despite often carrying up to 48 guns). The name Congress was chosen from a list of ten names submitted to President George Washington by Secretary of War Timothy Pickering in March 1795.Pickering, Timothy (14 March 1795). Letter to George Washington. Founders Online, National Archives. Retrieved 25 September 2019 As Joshua Humphreys intended for the frigates to serve as the young Navy's capital ships, Congress and her sister ships were larger and more heavily armed than the standard frigates of the period.
Her first duties with the newly formed United States Navy were to provide protection for American merchant shipping during the Quasi War with France and to defeat the Barbary pirates in the First Barbary War. During the War of 1812, she made several extended length cruises in company with her sister ship and captured or assisted in the capture of twenty British merchant ships. At the end of 1813, because repair materials were lacking, she was placed in reserve for the remainder of the war. In 1815, she returned to service for the Second Barbary War and made patrols through 1816. In the 1820s, she helped suppress piracy in the West Indies, made several voyages to South America, and was the first U.S. warship to visit China. Congress spent her last ten years of service as a receiving ship until she was broken up in 1834.
Construction
In 1785, Barbary pirates, most notably from Algiers, began to seize American merchant vessels in the Mediterranean. In 1793 alone, eleven American ships were captured, and their crews and stores held for ransom. To combat this problem, proposals were made for warships to protect American shipping, resulting in the Naval Act of 1794.Allen (1909), pp. 41–42.Beach (1986), pp. 26–27. The act provided funds to construct six frigates, but included a provision that if peace terms were agreed to with Algiers, the construction of the ships would be halted.Beach (1986), p. 29.
Joshua Humphreys' design was unusual for the time, involving a diagonal scantling (rib) scheme intended to restrict hogging while giving the ships extremely heavy planking. This design gave the hull a greater strength than a more lightly built frigate. Humphreys' design was based on his realization that the fledgling United States of the period could not match the European states in the size of their navies. This being so, the frigates were designed to overpower other frigates with the ability to escape from a ship of the line.Toll (2006), pp. 49–53.Beach (1986), pp. 29–30, 33.Allen (1909), pp. 42–45. However, Congress was a scaled-down version of his more famous designs for Constitution, United States and President, being closer in size to the standard European frigates of the day, and mounting the usual armament of 18-pounder guns.
Congress was given her name by President George Washington after a principle of the United States Constitution.Toll (2006), p. 61. Her keel was laid down by 12 December 1795Allen (1909), p. 47. at a shipyard in Kittery, Maine (then a district of Massachusetts). James Hackett was charged with her construction, and Captain James Sever served as a superintendent. Her construction proceeded slowly and was completely suspended when, in March 1796, a peace treaty was signed with Algiers.An Act to provide a Naval Armament. (1794). Library of Congress. Retrieved 17 December 2010. Congress remained at the shipyard, incomplete, until relations with France deteriorated in 1798 with the start of the Quasi-War. At the request of then President John Adams, funds were approved on 16 July to complete her construction.Allen (1909), p. 56.
Armament
The Naval Act of 1794 had specified 36-gun frigates. However, Congress and her sister-ship, the , were re-rated to 38s because of their large dimensions, being in length and in width.Chapelle (1949), p. 128.Beach (1986), p. 32.
The "ratings" by number of guns were meant only as an approximation, and Congress often carried up to 48 guns.Roosevelt (1883), p. 53. Ships of this era had no permanent battery of guns such as modern Navy ships carry. The guns and cannons were designed to be completely portable and were often exchanged between ships as situations warranted. Each commanding officer outfitted armaments to their liking, taking into consideration factors such as the overall tonnage of cargo, complement of personnel aboard, and planned routes to be sailed. Consequently, the armaments on ships would change often during their careers, and records of the changes were not generally kept.Jennings (1966), pp. 17–19.
During her first cruise in the Quasi-War against France, Congress was noted to be armed with a battery of forty guns consisting of twenty-eight and twelve . For her patrols during the War of 1812, she was armed with a battery of forty-four guns consisting of twenty-four 18-pounder long guns and twenty 32-pounder carronades.
Quasi-War
Congress launched on 15 August 1799 under the command of Captain Sever. After fitting-out in Rhode Island, she set off on her maiden voyage on 6 January 1800, sailing in company with the USS Essex to escort merchant ships to the East Indies.Toll (2006), p. 136. Six days later, she lost all of her masts during a gale. Because her rigging had been set and tightened in a cold climate, it had slackened once she reached warmer temperatures.Cooper (1856), p. 133. Without the full support of the rigging, all the masts fell during a four-hour period, killing the ship's Fourth Lieutenant, who had been trying to repair the main mast. She was away from the convoy at the time Essex lost sight of her, probably because of the dismasting, and was located at .Allen (1909), pp. 151–152.Maclay and Smith (1898) Volume 1, p. 191.
The crew rigged an emergency sail, accomplished by 22 January, and limped back to Gosport Navy Yard for repairs, arriving off Hampton Roads on 24 February.Allen (1909), p. 153. While there, some of Sever's junior officers announced that they had no confidence in his ability as a commanding officer. A Court of Inquiry was held on 26 April 1800 on board , and Captain Sever was cleared of any wrongdoing and remained in command of Congress, though many of his crew soon transferred out to .Toll (2006), p. 139. Remaining in port for six months while her masts and rigging were repaired, she finally sailed again on 26 July for the West Indies.Morris (1880), p. 120. Congress made routine patrols escorting American merchant ships and seeking out French ships to capture. On two occasions she almost ran aground; first while pursuing a French privateer, she ran into shallow water where large rocks were seen near the surface. Although their exact depth was not determined, Sever immediately abandoned pursuit of the privateer and changed course towards deeper waters.Morris (1880), p. 121. Her second close call occurred off the coast of the Caicos Islands, when during the night she drifted close to the reefs. At daybreak her predicament was discovered by the lookouts.Morris (1880), pp. 121–122, On 29 August 1800, she recaptured the American merchant brig Experiment captured by privateer "Bayonnnese" on 26 August. On 2 October she spotted HMS Ticiphone with a brig following her, her prize under tow. Captain Sever decided to cut between the two ships and didn't notice there was a towline running between them until it was too late to avoid an accident. Sever sent an immediate letter of apology to Captain John Davie.
A peace treaty with France was ratified on 3 February 1801 and Congress returned to Boston by 3 April.Allen (1909), p. 221. In accordance with an act of Congress passed on 3 March and signed by President John Adams, thirteen frigates then currently in service were to be retained. Seven of those frigates, including Congress, were to be placed in ordinary (mothballed).Allen (1909), p. 255. En route to the Washington Navy Yard, she passed Mount Vernon on her way up the Potomac and Captain Sever ordered her sails lowered, flag at half mast, and a 13-gun salute fired to honor the recently deceased George Washington.Allen (1909), p. 258. Congress decommissioned at Washington along with and .
First Barbary War
During the United States' preoccupation with France during the Quasi-War, troubles with the Barbary States were suppressed by the payment of a tribute to ensure that American merchant ships were not harassed and seized.Maclay and Smith (1898), Volume 1, pp. 215–216. In 1801, Yusuf Karamanli of Tripoli, dissatisfied with the amount of tribute he was receiving in comparison to Algiers, demanded an immediate payment of $250,000.Allen (1905), pp. 88–90. In response, Thomas Jefferson sent a squadron of frigates to protect American merchant ships in the Mediterranean and to pursue peace with the Barbary States.Maclay and Smith (1898), Volume 1, p. 228.Allen (1905), p. 92.
The first squadron, under the command of Richard Dale in , was instructed to escort merchant ships through the Mediterranean and negotiate with leaders of the Barbary States. A second squadron was assembled under the command of Richard Valentine Morris in however, the performance of Morris's squadron was so poor that he was recalled and subsequently dismissed from the Navy in 1803.Toll (2006), p. 173. A third squadron was assembled under the command of Edward Preble in and by mid-1804 they had successfully fought the Battle of Tripoli Harbor.Allen (1905), p. 199.
On 21 March 1804 the Secretary of the Navy Robert Smith ordered Lt. John Cassin, supervisor of the Washington Navy Yard, to prepare the ship for sea. President Jefferson reinforced Preble's squadron in April and ordered four frigates to sail as soon as possible. President, Congress, Constellation and Essex were placed under the direction of Commodore Samuel Barron. She was recommissioned on 2 April. Congress was captained by John Rodgers and two months were spent preparing the squadron for the voyage. She sailed from the Washington Navy Yard on 21 May. She sailed from Alexandria, Virginia on 28 May, 1804. She arrived at Hampton Roads on 8 June. She left the capes on 5 July and arrived at Gibraltar on 12 August. Congress and Essex were immediately sent to patrol off the coast of Tangier and when they returned to Gibraltar two weeks later, Congress continued on to Tripoli.Toll (2006), p. 252.Allen (1905), pp. 219–220.
Congress, accompanied by Constellation, assumed blockade duties of Tripoli. On 5 October, 1804 4 small costal boats attempted to run wheat through the blockade, 2 made it in, and 2 were forced ashore west of town. On 26 October captured a Turkish xebec that was without papers. before sailing for Malta on 25 October for repairs. On 9 November Rodgers assumed command of Constitution and in his place, Stephen Decatur assumed command of Congress.Allen (1905), p. 220. The next recorded activity of Congress is in early July 1805 when she was sent in company with to blockade Tunisia. They were joined on the 23rd by additional U.S. Navy vessels.Allen (1905), p. 268. In early September, Congress carried the Tunisian ambassador back to Washington DC, sailing from Tangier Bay 22 September and arriving 13 November in Hampton Roads, was at the mouth of the Potomoc River 25 November and was aground at Greenleaf's Point on 29 November.Cooper (1856), pp. 221–222.Allen (1905), p. 269. Afterward, placed in ordinary at the Washington Navy Yard, she served as a classroom for midshipmen training through 1807.Toll (2006), p. 282.
War of 1812