USS United States was a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy and the first of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794. Joshua Humphreys designed the frigates to be the young Navy's capital ships, and so United States and her sisters were larger and more heavily armed and built than standard frigates of the period. She was built at Humphrey's shipyard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and launched on 10 May 1797 and immediately began duties with the newly formed United States Navy protecting American merchant shipping during the Quasi-War with France.
The first USS Ticonderoga was a schooner in the United States Navy. Ticonderoga was built as a steamer in 1814 at Vergennes, Vermont. She was purchased by the Navy at Lake Champlain, converted to schooner rigging, and relaunched on 12 May 1814. She was the first of several U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name Ticonderoga.
USS Growler (1812-2), was a 112-ton sloop, armed with ten 18-pounders and one 6-pounder, during the War of 1812. Growler was purchased on Lake Champlain in 1812. The British captured her in 1813 and renamed her HMS Chub or Chubb. The Americans recaptured her at the Battle of Lake Champlain. She was sold in 1815.
USS Eagle, a sloop, was a merchant ship purchased at Vergennes, Vermont on Lake Champlain in 1812 and fitted for United States naval service. The British captured her in 1813 and renamed her HMS Finch, only to lose her back to the Americans at the Battle of Lake Champlain in 1814. She was sold in 1815.
The first USS Oneida was a brig of war in the United States Navy during the War of 1812.
Cornelius Kinchiloe Stribling was a rear admiral in the United States Navy who served during the War of 1812, the Second Barbary War, the Mexican–American War, and the American Civil War.
USS Guerriere was the first frigate built in the United States since 1801. The name came from a fast 38-gun British frigate captured and destroyed in a half-hour battle by USS Constitution on 19 August 1812. This victory was one of the United States' first in the War of 1812.
USS Saratoga, named for the Battles of Saratoga, was a corvette built in Vergennes, Vermont, for service on Lake Champlain in the War of 1812.
HMS Confiance was a 36-gun fifth-rate frigate that served in the Royal Navy on Lake Champlain during the War of 1812. Confiance served as Captain George Downie's flagship at the Battle of Plattsburgh, on 11 September 1814. Surrendered to the American Squadron following a nearly 2½ hour battle, she was eventually taken to Whitehall, New York where she was taken into the U.S. Navy and placed in ordinary. The vessel was formally abandoned by the Navy in 1820 and after being partially salvaged, was allowed to sink at her moorings. As a danger to navigation, the sunken hulk was destroyed with dynamite charges during dredging operations on the channel in 1873.
HMS Linnet was a 16-gun brig, built in 1814 by the Royal Navy at Ile aux Noix, Canada, as Niagara. Renamed Linnet and commanded by Commander Daniel Pring, RN, she served on Lake Champlain during the War of 1812. The Americans captured her in 1814 at the Battle of Lake Champlain at Plattsburgh, New York, and took her into service though she never sailed again. She was sold in 1825.
Provincial Marine was a coastal protection service in charge of the waters in the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River and parts of Lake Champlain under British control. While ships of the Provincial Marine were designated HMS, they were operated in more of a coast guard manner than as a full-fledged navy. Operations were maintained and staffed by the Royal Navy. Most ships of the Provincial Marine were built in the Great Lakes.
USS Congress was a row galley that served the Continental Navy during the American Revolution.
The first USS Boston was a gundalow built at Skenesborough, New York, in 1776, with a crew of 45 for General Benedict Arnold's short-lived Lake Champlain Fleet. She took part in the Battle of Valcour Island that delayed the British invasion. She was probably commissioned sometime early in August 1776, with a Captain Sumner in command.
USS Preble (1813), sometimes called Commodore Preble, was the first ship of the United States Navy named for Commodore Edward Preble. A sloop purchased on Lake Champlain in 1813, she was commissioned 6 August 1813, Lt. Charles Augustus Budd in command. Operating with Commodore Macdonough's squadron, she participated in the Battle of Lake Champlain, 11 September, which gave control of that lake to the Americans and forced General Prevost to retire back to Canada. Laid up after the battle, Preble was sold at Whitehall, New York, in July 1815.
USS Lee (1776) was a galley built for the Continental Navy. She participated in the Battle of Valcour Island during which she was grounded and lost. However, her participation in the battle helped delay the British advance on New York City by a year.
The historical battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts sparked the beginning of the American War for Independence on 19 April 1775; soon after, the rest of the thirteen American colonies were pulled into the conflict. Many of the leaders in the rebellion recognized that a naval engagement against the British was the primary option to prevent the British from restoring Crown rule by military occupation.
The USS Firefly, was a brig with two masts, square-rigged, formerly named Volant and originally built as a schooner for use as a privateer. The vessel was purchased at New York by the U.S. Navy on 8 December 1814 and was fitted out as US war ship with 14 guns and used in service during the War of 1812 and Second Barbary War of 1815. Firefly was purchased because of the several US blockade efforts where smaller ships with better maneuverability were needed for the task.
USS Allen was a row galley built in 1814 at Vergennes, Vermont, by Adam and Noah Brown. She was commissioned during the summer of 1814, with Sailing Master William M. Robins in command. She became a unit of Commodore Thomas Macdonough's squadron on Lake Champlain and participated in the Battle of Lake Champlain in September 1814, during which the American squadron captured the remnants of the British squadron under Captain George Downie. After the War of 1812, she remained in active service for another decade. She was sold at Whitehall, New York, sometime in late 1824 or early 1825.
The first USS Trumbull was a row galley built in 1776 at Skenesboro, New York, for service in General Benedict Arnold's fleet on Lake Champlain. She was launched on 10 September 1776 and began active service soon thereafter, Capt. Seth Warner in command.
