USS Congress Stats-- Part 3

From Wikipedia.

Namesake:  The United States Congress

Ordered 27 March 1794

Builder:  James Hackett

Cost:  $197,245

Laid Down:  1795

Launched:   15 August 1799

Maiden Voyage:  January 6, 1800

******************************

Type:  38-gun frigate

Displacement:  1,265 tons

Length:  164 feet

Beam:  41 feet

Depth of Hold:  13 feet

Decks:  4  (Orlop, Berth, Gun, Spar)

Propulsion:  Sail

Complement:  340 officers and enlisted

Armament:

1799

28  Eighteen Pounders and 12 Nine Pounders

1812

24  Eighteen Pounders and 20 Thirty-Two Pounders (carronade)

--Brock-Perry

Dueling Frigates-- Part 3: The Shannon Versus Chesapeake

Proud of their ships and eager to fight them, captains sometimes went to the extreme of issuing an outright challenge  for a ship-to-ship duel.

One of the most famous ones of these took place between the HMS Shannon and USS Chesapeake on June 1, 1813.

British Captain Philip Bowes Vere Broke had such a well-trained crew on the HMS Shannon that he was really looking for a fight with an American frigate.  His counter-part, Captain James Lawrence, formerly of the USS Hornet, was also looking for a fight on his USS Chesapeake.

Both ships were rated at 38-guns, but both had  about 50, mostly 18-pounders.  The Chesapeake had a crew of 379 and Shannon 330.

On June 1, 1813, Captain Broke sent a challenge to Captain Lawrence, but he didn't get it as he was already on his way out of Boston Harbor and looking for a fight.  Late that afternoon, about 18 miles off of Boston, the Chesapeake, flying a large white banner reading "Free Trade and Sailors' Rights," came across the Shannon.

--Brock-Perry

Dueling Frigates-- Part 2: Advantages of American Super Frigates and Frigates

The strength of a warship were measured in several ways

First was number of guns carried.  The American Super-Frigates which carried at least 44 and sometimes 50 cannons were more heavily armed than all but a few British frigates, which usually carried 38 guns.

Second was the weight of cannon balls fired.    U.S. frigates were commonly armed with cannons firing 24-pound shot, whereas British vessels commonly had 18-pounders.

Thirdly, was the size of the crew.  Naval battles often were settled by boarding an enemy ship and hand-to-hand fighting.  A large crew would help in this case and American crews were generally larger.

So, especially when it was an American Super-Frigate like the USS Constitution up against a smaller British frigate like the HMS Guerriere, the American ship had a decided advantage in a ship-to-ship fight.

--Brock-Perry