- USS Wasp (1775)
"Scorpion", a merchant schooner built at Baltimore, was purchased by the
Continental Navy late in1775 and renamed USS "Wasp" —the first of that name. She was outfitted at Baltimore during the winter of 1775–1776; and commissioned in December 1775 or January1776 , Capt. William Hallock in command."Wasp" set sail from Baltimore on
14 January 1776 in company with USS|Hornet|1775|2 and a convoy of ships bound for theDelaware Capes . By virtue of their voyage to meet Commodore Esek Hopkins' squadron at the Delaware Capes, "Wasp" and "Hornet" appear to be the first ships of the Continental Navy to get to sea. They joined Hopkins' squadron on13 February ; and, four days later, the first American squadron to put to sea began its maiden voyage.Interpreting his orders rather liberally, by ignoring those portions which related to operations in the
Chesapeake Bay and along the southern coast of the colonies, Hopkins led his fleet directly to theBahamas . The ships, minus "Hornet" and USS|Fly|1776|2, arrived at Abaco in the Bahamas on1 March , and Hopkins began laying plans for the raid onNew Providence . The fleet ran in to attempt a landing at the port of Nassau but failed to achieve surprise. The landing, therefore, went forward several miles to the east of the town. "Wasp" and USS|Providence|1775|2 covered the Marines as they went ashore, but their guns never fired because the landing was not opposed. That afternoon, the landing force tookFort Montague and the following day captured the town of Nassau andFort Nassau . They took a large quantity ofcannon —close to 90 pieces, and 15 brass mortars—but the governor had managed to foil the mission in its primary objective by spiriting away the bulk of the gunpowder which had been stored there. Hopkins had to settle for 24 casks of powder out of the 174 originally stored there. The cannon and other military stores captured, however, more than justified the enterprise.The fleet remained at Nassau for about two weeks loading the booty of war. So large was the take that several local ships had to be pressed into service to carry the materiel back to North America. Hopkins' squadron finally hoisted sail on
17 March and set course forNew England . "Wasp", however, parted with the main fleet and made her way independently back to the Delaware capes and thence into port at Philadelphia, where she arrived on4 April .After repairs at Philadelphia, "Wasp" returned to duty in the
Delaware River and Bay. On5 May , two British men-of-war, the 44-gun HMS|Roebuck and the 28-gun HMS|Liverpool|1758|2, entered the bay with several prizes. In the face of these two formidable enemies, "Wasp" retreated intoChristiana Creek , but came out again on the 8th to join a force of galleys in attacking "Roebuck" after she had run aground. During the ensuing engagement, the Continental schooner captured the British brig "Betsey" and took her into Philadelphia where the British officers were placed in jailFact|date=March 2007. The schooner continued to operate on theDelaware River and Bay and along the nearby Atlantic coast for the remainder of her career. Near the end of the year, she took three more prizes—"Leghorn Galley" late in October, "Two Brothers" in December, and an unnamed sloop that same month. She also recaptured "Success", an American ship previously taken by HMS "Roebuck".Into the fall of
1777 , "Wasp" continued her operations in the vicinity of the Delaware Capes until November when she and four other ships unsuccessfully engaged the British force under Admiral Sir Richard ("Black Dick") Howe. Philadelphia had already fallen to Admiral Howe's brother, General Sir William Howe, late in September, but American forces retained control of the river below the city until losing that engagement. Following the clash, "Wasp" was run aground, set afire, and destroyed when her gunpowder exploded.References
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