USS Trippe (1812)

The first USS "Trippe" was a sloop in the United States Navy during the War of 1812. She was named for John Trippe.

Originally named "Contractor", she was purchased by the Navy on the Niagara River in New York in 1812 — was converted to a warship by Henry Eckford of New York; renamed "Trippe"; and placed in commission soon thereafter, Lieutenant Thomas Holdup Stevens in command.

For a while, "Trippe" and her sister ships, fitted out on the Niagara River, were bottled up by British shore batteries at Fort George. However, Commodore Isaac Chauncey's squadron joined the troops under Colonel Winfield Scott in a combined attack upon the fort, and it fell on 27 May 1813. The fall of Fort George forced the British to evacuate Fort Erie as well. With the river open, Chauncey's ships began passage of the Niagara rapids on 6 June 1813 and, on the 19th joined Oliver Hazard Perry's fleet at Erie, Pennsylvania.

"Trippe" and the rest of Perry's squadron remained at Erie for another month. At first, the need for additional men to complete its crews kept the fleet in port. Later, a British blockade restricted its movement. However, the British were not exceedingly vigilant; and, on 4 August, "Trippe" and the other ships crossed the bar to leave Erie harbor. They remained near Erie until the 12th when they set sail for the western end of Lake Erie.

Perry established his operating base in Put-In-Bay at South Bass Island. That location afforded him excellent lines of communications with American forces to the south and put him within easy striking distance of Commodore Robert Barclay's British fleet, based just inside the mouth of the Detroit River at Amherstburg.

For over a month, the British ships remained at their base under the protection of heavy shore batteries. However, Barclay had to order his ships out of the river in order that supplies might be delivered to British troops operating near the Detroit River. They weighed anchor on 9 September and departed Amherstburg. At sunrise the following morning, American lookouts sang out, "Sail ho." Perry's ships, including "Trippe", cleared for action and headed out in the line of battle with flagship and "Little Belt" attempted to flee, "Trippe" and USS|Scorpion|1813|2 overhauled them and herded them back to their defeated fleet.

The Battle of Lake Erie, "Trippe"'s only action in the War of 1812, assured American control of Lake Erie and enabled American troops led by General William Henry Harrison to win a decisive victory in the Battle of the Thames. Throughout the remainder of her career, "Trippe" carried supplies to support General Harrison's land operations. In October, the British attacked Buffalo at the east end of the lake and forced the Americans to evacuate the city. They found "Trippe" aground near Buffalo Creek and set fire to her. She and her cargo of supplies burned completely.

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