Another USS New York Burned to Prevent Enemy Capture

Earlier this month I wrote about the frigate USS Columbia being burned at Washington Navy Yard in 1814 to prevent capture by the British and that another frigate named USS Columbia had been burned to prevent capture by Confederates in 1861 at Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk, Virginia.

And, the USS New York name had a similar story.  The 1800 USS New York, which I have been writing about was burned at Washington Navy Yard in 1814.  The next USS New York was a 74-gun ship of the line that was laid down in 1820 at Norfolk Navy Yard, but never launched and burned in 1861 to prevent capture by the Confederates.

--Brock-Perry

USS New York-- Part 3: Service in the Mediterranean and Burned at Washington Navy Yard

The USS New York sailed to Malta on June 14, 1803, where she received a 17-gun salute from the British Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson and then sailed for Gibraltar by way of Naples and Malaga..  Once there on September 14, she met the fleet of Commodore Edward Preble sent to relieve the New York and Commodore Morris.

Captain John Rodgers came aboard and relieved Morris and a month later, the New York sailed for home.  She arrived at Washington Navy Yard 9 December 1803 and was immediately placed in ordinary.

The New York remained in that state for the next eleven years and was burned when the British captured Washington, D.C., on August 24, 1814.

--Brock-Perry

USS New York-- Part 2: First Barbary War

The New York arrived in the Mediterranean Sea on 6 April 1803 and became the flagship of the fleet.  The small Moorish kingdoms along Africa's north coast had been attacking and harassing American commerce aand the American fleet was inclined to convince them otherwise.

En route to Tripoli, the New York had a powder explosion, killing four men.  Repaired at Malta, it arrived at Tripoli and negotiations began, but not until two brief engagements  convinced the Tripoli government of the superiority of American ordnance.  Talks went better after that.

Midshipman John Downes distinguished himself in the two battles.

On June 29, a tentative treaty was reached and the American ships left.  However, the Bashaw of Tripoli resumed his encroachments after the fleet left.

--Brock-Perry

USS New York-- Part 1: Quasi War and First Barbary War

From Wikipedia.

A three-masted, wooden sailing frigate that saw service during the Quasi War with France and the First Barbary War.  It was built by public subscription by citizens of New York, one of five frigates built by states to supplement the original six provided for by the Naval Act of 1794.

Length 145 feet, beam 28 feet,  340 officers and men,  Armament:   twenty-six  18-pdr. guns and twenty 32-pdr carronades.

It was built in New York City and commissioned in October 1800 with Captain Richard Valentine Morris in command.  The Quasi War took place in the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas where French warships preyed on American shipping interests.  In 1800, the New York patrolled Caribbean waters.

In 1802, it went to the Mediterranean Sea.  Became flagship of the Mediterranean Squadron in 1803.

--Brock-Perry

USS Columbia, Burned at Washington Navy Yard in 1814, the Second USS Columbia Burned at Norfolk To Prevent Capture By Confederates in 1861

Also burned at the Washington Navy Yard in August 1814, was the 44-gun frigate Columbia which was approaching completion.  It was never rebuilt.  But, in 1836, a new USS Columbia was launched at the Washington Navy Yard.

Though it's keel was laid in 1825, but as was often in the Navy during that time, many years would lapse between the beginning of a ship and its launch and commissioning.

It was 175 feet long and rated for 50 guns with a crew of 480.

The Columbia was scuttled and burned April 21, 1861, to prevent capture by the Confederates.  It was raised at the end of the war and sold in 1867.

--Brock-Perry

So That Is the Story Behind the USS Argus Being Burned At Washington Navy Yard in 1814

I had some confusion about the USS Argus and its being burned at the Washington Navy Yard in August 1814.  I had come across another USS Argus which had been captured by the British in 1813,

It turns out that the Argus at Washington was to continue the name of Argus to replace the one captured by the British.  Evidently, it was not rebuilt after it was burned to prevent the British from capturing it.

--Brock-Perry

The USS Constitution's Last Visits to Washington, D.C.

The Constitution's final visits to Washington Navy Yard and D.C.  were during her National Cruise following a four-year restoration that was completed in 1931.   The "Old Ironsides" arrived at the Yard on November 7, 1931, and stayed for eleven days.  During that time thousands of visitors walked its decks, including President Herbert Hoover on November 11.

On November 18, the minesweeper USS Grebe towed the ship back down the Potomac River to warmer climes for the rest of its tour.  The Grebe, a World War I ship, remained the Constitution's tender and towing ship for the whole tour.  The Grebe was also at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

The Constitution returned on April 16, 1932, where it remained until December 8.

By the time of the ship's last visit, Washington Navy yard was no longer a shipbuilding facility.  Now it was better known as a Naval Gun Factory.  However, the Yard still had  people with the needed skills to  to repair wear and tear on the ship's wooden decks caused by the trampling of feet from over two million visitors during its National Cruise.

--Brock-Perry

USS Constitution Goes to Washington Navy Yard-- Part 4: The Yard Goes Up in Flames, So Do the Ships

It was a good thing the USS Constitution was not at the Washington Navy Yard in August 1814, as we would not have her around today.  The Navy Yard burned, both by the Americans, preventing the British from capturing items and the British.

On August 24, 1814, with the British approaching, the commandant of the yard, Thomas Tingey, ordered the Yard torched.  As darkness fell that night, the nation's capital city was all aglow with flames, the Yard as well.

The Navy's storehouses burned as well as as the USS New York, USS Boston, USS General Greene, USS Argus and the almost completed frigate USS Columbia.

I have seen several sources who list the Argus as being burned at Washington Navy Yard, but, the only USS Argus I can find was a brig captured in 1813 by the HMS Frolic.  I have even listed it as one of the burned ships.  Perhaps the Navy was building a new USS Argus.

I can not find any more information on the USS Columbia.

--Brock-Perry

The USS Constitution Goes to Washington Navy Yard-- Part 4: Heading for the Guerriere

The ballast load was also reduced to improve the ship's sailing performance.  By early June, stores began to arrive as Captain Hull prepared to return to open sea.  On June 10, the Constitution left the Washington Navy Yard for Alexandria, Virginia, just a few miles downriver, for additional provisions and the installation of a new lower capstan.

The Constitution left Alexandria on June 18, after learning that war had been declared.  Two months later, the Constitution was victorious in its battle with the HMS Guerriere 19 August 1812.

A Fast Turn-Around.  --Brock-Perry

The USS Constitution Goes to Washington Navy Yard-- Part 3: Heaved Over and Ready to Go

In contrast to the slow work done on the USS Chesapeake, not so for the USS Constitution.  There was a sense of urgency because of the increasingly bad relations with Britain and all the cries for conflict from the Congressional War Hawks.

The Constitution arrived on March 5, 1812.  The Secretary of the Navy, Paul Hamilton visited the ship to determine what needed to be done.  Once the spars and uppermasts were removed and anything else removable removed, the ship was heaved down.  Heaved down is when a ship is turned onto her side so that work below the waterline can be done.  This would occur in very shallow water where a dry dock was not available.

It was heaved down on May 2 using teams of oxen to perform the heavy moving.  First the port side was exposed, then the starboard.  By May 12, cleaning and patching  the copper sheathing  and caulking was completed.  Work began to re-rig the ship with new spars and foremast.

The bowsprit had been intended for the USS Constellation, but Captain Hull redirected this  and other timbers to his ship.  The Constellation would have to wait.  Sky poles  and a double dolphin striker (no idea what these are) were added.

Preparing for War.  --Brock-Perry

Funeral Service for Richard Cole, Doolittle Raider, Held Today

From the  Springfield (Ohio) News-Sun.

Lt. Cole was on a training mission with the 17th Bombardment Group at Pendleton, Oregon, when he heard of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  His group did anti-submarine patrol until February 1942, when he was told he had been transferred to Columbia, South Carolina.

While he was there, he and his group volunteered for or a mission with no known details.  He thought perhaps they would be going to North Africa.  For weeks he and the others  practiced flying maneuvers on the B-25 Mitchell, a U.S. Army Air Corps two engine bomber with a crew of five.

They practiced as if taking off from the deck of an aircraft carrier in what was being called the first joint Army-Navy action.  When they finally got on an aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet, they were at sea for two days before they learned that the ship and the bombers were heading towards Tokyo for some payback.

Cole was to be co-pilot for unit leader Lt.Col. Jimmy Doolittle in B-25 Mitchell bomber B-25 #40-2344.  They were to be the first to take off, and the ones with the least amount of desk space, just 467 feet.

The USS Constitution Goes to Washington Navy Yard-- Part 2

Thomas Tingey was a former British naval officer who had served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolution and distinguished himself during the Quasi-War .  At Washington Navy Yard (WNY) he proved himself an able administrator and remained at that post from 1799 until his death in 1829.  His residence is now home of the Chief of Navy Operations.

During his long tenure, WNY turned into a nearly full-service facility just coming up short because it did not have a drydock.  In 1806, the sloop of war Wasp became the first of several 19th century warships built there.

Despite being an excellent facility, however, the competence of its workforce came into question when the frigate USS Chesapeake took six months to refit for recommissioning in 1807.  When she was finally ready to go this is when the Chesapeake/Leopard Affair took place when the ship was engaged by the British frigate HMS Leopard, boarded and four American sailors taking off.

This is one of the reasons for the War of 1812.

However, work on the USS Constitution, with the threat of war with Britain impending, went on quickly when it arrived for repairs March 5, 1812.

--Brock-Perry

The USS Constitution Goes to Washington-- Part 1

From the USS Constitution Museum 14 March 2018.   By David F. Winkler.

The USS Constitution was built in Boston and has spent most all of the last  120 years at the Charlestown Navy Yard, but there was a time it visited many U.S. navy yards.

The need for repairs and outfitting led the ship to Washington Navy Yard just before the War of 1812.  It was originally supposed to go to the yard in 1801 when President Thomas Jefferson wanted to decommission all of the Navy's frigates and maintain them in Washington as a cost-saving measure.

However, the Constitution remained in ordinary for two years and then saw duty in the Mediterranean at the outbreak of the first Barbary War.  By 1805, eight of the Navy's eleven frigates were at the Washington Navy yard, but the Constitution remained in the Mediterranean as the flagship, along with the USS Essex.  The USS Adams sailed the eastern U.S. seaboard.

The land for the Washington Navy Yard was originally acquired in 1799 by Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert and in the first decade of the 19th century was a work in progress with Thomas Tingey
 the first commandant.

--Brock-Perry

The Washington Navy Yard in the War of 1812-- Part 2: The "No Pen Can Describe the Appalling Sound"

As the British marched into Washington, holding the yard became an impossibility.  With smoke rising from the Capitol, Thomas Tingey ordered the yard burned to prevent capture of naval equipment and ships.

On August 30, 1814, Mary Stockton Hunter, an eyewitness to what happened next, wrote her sister:  "No pen can describe the appalling sound that our ears heard and the sight our eyes saw.  We could see everything clearly from the upper part of our house as plainly as if we had been in the Yard.

"All the vessels of war on fire- the immense quantity of dry timber, together with the houses and stores in flames produced an almost meridian brightness.  You  never saw a drawing room so brightly lighted as the whole city was that night."

--Brock-Perry

The Washington Navy Yard in the War of 1812-- Part 1: the Navy Yard Rifles and Battle of Bladensburg

During the War of 1812, the Navy Yard was important not only in its support capacity, but also as a link in the defenses of Washington, D.C..  Sailors from the yard were hastily assembled to resist the British advance at Bladensburg.

An independent volunteer militia rifle company of civilian workers there were organized by naval architect William Doughty and trained regularly after working hours.  They were designated the Navy Yard Rifles.  They were under the overall command of Washington's first mayor, Major Robert Brent of the 2nd Regt.  of the District of Columbia Militia.

In late August the company was ordered to assemble at Bladensburg, Maryland, to form the first line of defense against the approaching British.  When the first line was ordered to retreat, the Navy Yard Rifles fell back to the third line of defense and joined  the Chesapeake  Bay Flotilla sailors and U.S. Marines and with devastating artillery fire and desperate hand-to-hand combat before being forces to withdraw.

This defense slowed the British advance.

--Brock-Perry

The Washington Navy Yard in the Early 1800s

From Wikipedia.

The land was purchased under an Act of Congress in 1799, and the Navy Yard was established in October of that year.  It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy and was built under the direction of Benjamin Stoddert, the first Secretary of the Navy and supervised by  by the yard's first commandant, Thomas Tingey, who served in that capacity for 29 years.

The Navy Yard became the main shipbuilder of the U.S. Navy.  Twenty-two vessels were constructed there from small  70 foot gunboats to the 246-foot steam frigate USS Minnesota (which was at the Battles of Fort Fisher and the Battle of the Ironclads between the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia during the Civil War).

The USS Constitution came to the yard in 1812 for a refit.

Good thing it wasn't there when the British came.

--Brock-Perry

Burning of Washington Navy Yard-- Part 2: Navy Yard Commander Thomas Tingey

From Greater Greater Washington  "Breakfast Links:  10 interesting facts about Navy Yard you probably didn't know"  Latisha Johnson.

6.  The entire Navy Yard complex was burned down (by Americans) in the War of 1812.

When the British thoroughly defeated American defenders at the Battle of Bladensburg outside of Washington, D.C. in 1814, they then entered the capital city.  The U.S. Secretary of the Navy ordered the Yard's commander, Thomas Tingey to set fire to the yard, and to three large ships being built there to prevent anything from falling into British hands.

He additionally ordered Tingey to save as much gunpowder as possible, but there wasn't enough manpower to do that.

Tingey had previously spent the last decade of his life overseeing the construction of the yard and to just destroy it like that didn't sit well with him, so he waited until the last possible moment, hoping the British could be beaten back.  They weren't stopped so he had to destroy his work.

--Brock-Perry

Burning of the Washington Navy Yard

From Wikipedia  The Burning of Washington.

The Americans had already burned much of the Washington Navy Yard to prevent capture of naval stores and cannons.  The 44-gun frigate USS Columbia and 22-gun USS Argus, both nearly completed, were also burned.

The only buildings to escape destruction were the Navy Yard's Latrobe Gate,  Quarters A and Quarters B.  Also spared were the Marine Barracks and Marine Commandant's House.  I have heard the Marines were spared because their fighting at the Battle of Bladensburg was so remarkable.

--Brock-Perry

Other D.C. Damage-- Part 1: "So the Rascals Could Have No Further Means of Abusing My Name"

The day after the destruction of the White House,  British Admiral George Cockburn entered the building of the Washington newspaper, the National Intelligencer, intending to burn it down.  Several women, though, persuaded him not to burn it down as there was a fear the fire might spread to surrounding homes.    Cockburn had been offended by the paper's reporters referring to him as"The Ruffian".  Instead of burning it, he had it pulled down brick by brick and ordered all type of the letter "C" destroyed "so that the rascals could have no further means of abusing my name."

The British also went to the U.S. Treasury hoping to find money or items of worth and only found old records.  They burned it and other nearby public buildings.  Next was the U.S. Department of War building, but all important records had been removed.  It burned.

The first U.S. Patent Office but it was saved through the efforts of William Thornton, the former architect of the U.S. Capitol and now superintendent of the Patent Office, who convinced them not to burn it.

When the smoke cleared, the Patent Office was the only public building in the U.S. capital left untouched.

I "C" What You Mean.  --Brock-Perry

Paul Jennings Describes the White House That Day-- Part 2

He said that the people who actually saved the painting were:  "John Suse (Jean Pierre Sioussat, the French doorkeeper) and Magraw (McGraw), the President's gardener, took it down and sent it off on a wagon, with some large silver urns and other such valuables  as could hastily be got  hold of.

"When the British did arrive, they ate up the very dinner, and drank the wines, &c.,  that I had prepared for the President's party."

The soldiers burned the President's home and fuel was added to the fires that night to ensure they would continue burning  into the next day.

--Brock-Perry

Paul Jennings Describes the White House That Day

From Wikipedia Burning of Washington.

In the last post I mentioned James Madison's personal slave, 15-year-old Paul Jennings describing the events at the White House 24 August 1814.  He later purchased his freedom from the widower Dolley Madison and in a memoir he published in 1865. related those events.

"It has often been stated in print that when Mrs. Madison escaped  from the White House , she cut out  from the frame of the large portrait of Washington (now in one of the parlors there), and carried it off.  She had no  time for doing it.

"It would have required a large ladder to get it down.  All she carried off  was the silver in her reticule (purse in case you're wondering), as the British were thought to be but a few squares off, and were expected an moment."

He went on to tell who were responsible for saving the painting.

Who Saved the Portrait?  Tomorrow.  --Brock-Perry

Hot Time in the Old Town, Burning Washington, D.C.-- Part 2

But, the books in the Library of Congress contributed to the flames.  Almost all of the 3,000 books in the library were destroyed.  Later, though, former President Thomas Jefferson donated his private book collection to start a new Library of Congress.

But the Capitol was not a complete loss.    The House rotunda, the east lobby, the staircases and Latrobe's famous  Corn-Cob columns in the Senate entrance hall survived.

After burning the Capitol, the British turned up Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House  The president and other government officials had already fled the city, but his wife, Dolley, was still at the White House.  When Madison  urged his wife to leave, she organized the slaves to save  valuables from the British.

Reportedly, she saved the famous Gilbert Stuart painting of George Washington, but another account by James Madison's personal slave, Paul Jennings, then age 15, said she didn't save it herself, that others saved it.

When the British arrived, they happily devoured a feast that had been prepared for Madison before setting fire to the White House.

--Brock-Perry

Hot Time In the Old Town Tonight-- Part 1: The Burning of Washington, D.C.

From Wikipedia.

Sappers and Miners of the British Royal Engineer under Captain Blanchard were employed to burn the principal Washington buildings.  Blanchard reported at the White House that it appeared that President Madison was so sure  that the Americans would be victorious that he had prepared a handsome entertainment and feast.  he said he and his sappers had thoroughly enjoyed that feast before they set fire to the building.

The U.S. Capitol was the only building in the fairly new city  that was "worthy to be noticed."  It was a prime target of the British because of its aesthetic and symbolic  value.    Prior to setting fire to it, they looted it which at the time, besides both houses of Congress, contained  the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court.  One of the items taken was "An account of the receipts and  expenditures of the United States for  the year 1810."

The British intended to burn the building to the ground.  They set fire to the southern wing first, but it burned so quickly they were unable to gather enough wood to burn the stone walls completely.

--Brock-Perry

The Burning of Washington, D.C.-- Part 2: The "Hurricane" Strikes

Less than a day after the attack on Washington began, and in the midst of the burning, it started raining and blowing.  It was a major storm, some think even possibly a hurricane.  This put out the fires and also spun off a tornado which went down Constitution Avenue and lifted two cannons and dropped them, killing British soldiers and several civilians.

After the storm, the British returned to their ships and found many of them also damaged by the storm.

This is often referred to as "The Storm That Saved Washington."

It actually did more damage to the city, however, than the British had done.

--Brock-Perry

The Burning of Washington, D.C.-- Part 1: Brookeville, Md., U.S. Capital for A Day

From Wikipedia.

August 24, 1814

After the Americans were routed at the Battle of Bladensburg, outside Washington, D.C., on August 24, the British Army under General Robert Ross occupied the city and set about burning down a lot of buildings, including the White House, the Capitol and other government buildings.

This burning was partly in response to American sacking and burning of Port  Dover and York (Toronto today) in Upper Canada earlier in the war.  This marked the first and only time since the American Revolution that the nation's capital has been occupied by a foreign country.President Madison, military officials and other government people gad hurriedly abandoned the city as soon as they learned of the defeat at Bladensburg.

They made it to Brookeville, Maryland, and found refuge for the night.  Today, Brookeville bills itself as the "United States Capital for a Day."  Madison spent the night at the home of Caleb Bentley and the house still stands and is known today as the Madison House.

--Brock-Perry

The Singeing of D.C.-- Part 2: "The Storm That Saved Washington"

I am writing about times weather has had an impact on wars today in several blogs.  Check out my Saw the Elephant: Civil War, Tattooed On Your Soul:  World War II and Cooter's History Thing blogs to see the rest of them.

Terrified British troops regrouped at Capitol Hill and decided this was too much and it was time to leave. The wind and rain continued belting them as they headed for their ships to head away.

A Britsh admiral exclaimed to a resident:  "Great God, Madam!  Is this  the kind of storm to which you are  accustomed in this infernal country?"

Some historians say the British never intended to occupy Washington, D.C., only to raze it.  Others disagree.  In any case, they were in and out  in 26 hours, and the incident soon became known as "The Storm That Saved Washington."

Saved By the Hurricane.  --Brock-Perry

The Singeing of Washington, D.C.-- Part 1: A Hot Time In the Old Town Tonight, Then a Real Bad Storm

From the March 20, 2019, Washington Post "Weird Weather Saved America three times" by Gillian Brockell.

Frequently, when an invading country captures an enemy city, they occupy it, but not so when the British did so with Washington, D.C., during the War of 1812.

When they invaded on August 24, 1814,  they set the capital building on fire which at the time housed not only Congress, but also  the Supreme Court and Library of Congress.  Then it was on to the Executive Mansion for the same thing.

The next morning, they continued their arson and would have done more, except that a terrifying thunderstorm, possibly a hurricane,  hit and a pounding rain put the fires out.  High winds sent debris flying, injuring and killing several British soldiers.  Then a tornado touched down in the middle of Constitution Avenue, sending cannons aloft.

Real Bad Weather.  --Brock-Perry