In the matter of naming the public armed vessels of the United States no precise rule or even custom was adopted until recent times, the individual taste of the persons to whom this duty fell being customarily the sole guide. Sentiment has, however, usually indicated a tendency to perpetuate the names of certain fortunate vessels, and, to a less degree, those captured from the enemy; this tendency is noticeably less than that shown by the British and many other services and can never have been said to constitute a policy.
The first vessels purchased for the new American Navy during the latter part of 1775 were the Lexington and the Providence; the former named in commemoration of the then recent encounter with the British and the latter in honor of the city of Providence, at that time one of the chief centers of nautical enterprise. Before the end of the year 1775 Congress authorized the purchase and conversion into men-of-war of seven merchant vessels; the larger of these were named for seamen of prominence, chiefly the discoverers of America; thus the Andrew Doria, Cabot and Columbus were designated; the flagship Alfred was named in honor of the reputed founder of the British Navy. The Hornet, Wasp and Fly, the latter a dispatch vessel, were fanciful names indicating the ships' functions as light cruisers.
At this time Congress further authorized the construction of 13 twelve-pounder frigates to be constructed by 7 of the colonies as follows: New Hampshire was to build the Raleigh, Massachusetts the Boston and the Hancock, Connecticut the Trumbull, Rhode Island the Warren and the Providence, New York the Congress and the Montgomery, Pennsylvania the Randolph, Washington, Effingham and the Delaware, and Maryland the Virginia. The apparent reason for conferring many of these names is quite clear; those of Effingham and Raleigh, however, show that the feeling at that time against the mother country was not sufficient to blind those empowered with the bestowing of names to the high example of these gallant, intrepid and altogether admirable English seamen. The six names of public men were a natural choice. The Providence was the second of the name and those of Boston, Delaware and Virginia explain themselves.
Many vessels, mostly of small size, were purchased and hurriedly outfitted during the Revolutionary War. Names such as Independence, Dolphin, Ranger, Saratoga, Alliance and Washington were first used at this time, beside such un-American ones as Queen of France, Revenge, Vengeance and many others. The name Bon Homme Richard was of course a compliment to Dr. Franklin, at the time American minister to France. The names Queen of France and Alliance were intended to show and to increase the then popular and cordial relations between the two countries.
From 1785 to 1794 we possessed no single public vessel, the Alliance, the last remaining frigate, having been sold during the former year on account of lack of treasury funds. The intolerable pretensions and unlawful actions of the rulers of the Barbary states finally stirred our country to measures of retaliation and in 1794 the following ships were laid down:
Constitution 44 Chesapeake 38
President 44 Constellation 38
United States 44 Congress 38
These names were reflections of the spirit of the times and of national pride; they were fortunate ships with the exception of the ever unlucky Chesapeake and the President. Shortly after the completion of these vessels hostilities with France, an incident of the French Revolution, necessitated the purchase of many vessels. The following familiar names appeared at this time: Portsmouth, Baltimore, Eagle, Richmond and Merrimack. At this time we also had in commission the George Washington, Montezuma, Ganges, Herald and another Virginia, chiefly purchased merchant vessels. The French frigate Le Croyable was captured by the Delaware and purchased into the navy as the Retaliation. By the end of 1799 the Essex, Boston 2d, Adams, John Adams, Connecticut, Maryland, Warren 2d, and Enterprise had been added.
In 1801 all except 13 of our public vessels were sold in accordance with the policy prevailing at the time; seven of those retained being heavy frigates and the remainder vessels of much less value. Although the second war with Great Britain was clearly indicated as early as 1808 yet few additions were made to the navy until the latter part of the first year of that war. The four line-of-battleships, Independence, Washington, Franklin and New Orleans, the latter to have been built on Lake Erie, appeared at this time; they were our first battleships, for their single predecessor, the America, had been given to France immediately after her completion. The second Wasp and the second Hornet appeared at this time.
The first increase in our naval force after this war was granted in 1816, when 9 line-of-battleships and 12 44-gun frigates were authorized. The former were named after the older states, quite as at present, and all laid down, although only about half of them were completed; of the frigates also not more than half were ever commissioned; among these were the Potomac, Brandywine and Columbia, all built at Washington. The purchased Hudson followed in 1827. The Fulton the First, also called Demologus, was the first of our steam navy and was in commission in 1814, the Sea Gull followed in 1822, the Fulton the Second in 1833 and the Mississippi and Missouri in 1842. The Concord appeared in 1830, the Michigan in 1843, our first iron steamer, and the Princeton in 1844. The steam sloops Kearsarge and Richmond were laid down about 1832 and in 1834 followed the steam frigates, Wabash, Niagara, Colorado, Roanoke, Minnesota, and Merrimac, which ended the list of names added prior to the Civil War.
Omitting the vast number of federal vessels in commission during the Civil War the following is a list of names which have been used three or more times in designating our public ships:
Name. Number Name. Number
of Vessels. of Vessels.
Washington 6 Virginia 4
Boston 5 Enterprise 4
Eagle 5 Wasp 4
New York 4 Adams 3
Delaware 4 Alligator 3
Dolphin 4 Boxer 3
Connecticut 3 Preble 3
Congress 3 Providence 3
Franklin 3 Revenge 3
Frolic 3 Saratoga 3
Hornet 3 Spitfire 3
Lawrence 3 Scourge 3
Montgomery 3 Trumbull 3
Ohio 3 Vixen 3
Pennsylvania 3 Warren 3
Philadelphia 3
One name has been used six times, two five times, six four times and twenty-two twice; there have been sixty instances in which a name has been repeated once. Names commencing with the letter P have been the most numerous, the letter S following in second place.
The name Washington, although numerically the most frequently employed of all, has never represented a vessel having any particular history. The first Washington was destroyed by the British in the Delaware River before completion, after the occupation of Philadelphia in 1777; the second was one of our first line-of-battleships and served during peace without distinction; the third, a galley, was captured on Lake Champlain; the fourth was a surveying brig used during the war with Mexico; the fifth, a small vessel, was destroyed at Pensacola at the beginning of the Civil War; and the sixth is the present cruiser.
The five Bostons were unfortunate and the name considered unlucky; the first was captured by the British, the second was destroyed at Washington to prevent her falling into the hands of the same enemy, the third was a small gondola on Lake Champlain, the fourth was lost at sea and the fifth is at present in the service.
The five Eagles were small and unimportant vessels.
The New Yorks have not been particularly celebrated; one was never completed or launched, one was almost destroyed by fire in the Mediterranean, and one was a small gunboat. The last of the name, however, served as flagship in the West Indies at the time of the destruction of the Spanish squadron.
The first Delaware was destroyed to prevent her capture by the British, the second captured the French Le Croyable, the third, a line-of-battleship, was the first United States ship to enter a naval drydock, and the fourth is now building.
The Dolphins have been small vessels, the first served chiefly in the English channel, indirectly under Jones, during the Revolution, the third was the first United States man-of-war to visit the Hawaiian Islands and was later sold to the Mexican Government.
The Virginias have not been particularly fortunate; the first was captured within 12 hours of her first getting to sea; the second made a short and uneventful cruise; the third was never launched, and the fourth is our present battleship.
The name Enterprise has always been considered a lucky one. The first of the name captured the British Boxer, and served with distinction in the war with Tripoli; the second was a small schooner used on Lake Champlain; the third a schooner employed between 1831 and 1845 practically in all parts of the world; the fourth, a wooden steam corvette, is still in the service.
The Wasp has proved one of our most honored names, three fine captures having been made under this name; the third of these vessels was lost at sea with all hands.
The Hornet has been a popular name, especially during the early years. The second saw good service before Tripoli and the third fought an excellent action with the British Penguin, usually spoken of as the most praiseworthy of the war.
It is to be noticed that the names of certain vessels, belonging to what may appropriately be termed the "heroic period" of our naval life, have never been repeated; these may be classed as the Bon Homme Richard, Constitution, Randolph and the United States. Such a glamor of patriotic sentiment, however, surrounds these names that, after this lapse of time, it would probably not be advisable to do so. There is, however, what might be termed a secondary class of names, usually of smaller vessels, which, through worthy and usually brilliant fighting, have deserved a constant place on our naval lists.
The Wasp may be said to head this list with three fine equal actions to her name. In this class are also the Ranger, which received the first salute to the present American flag and whipped the Drake in her own home waters; the Enterprise, affectionately called by the older seamen the "lucky little Enterprise," a name carried on the lists during all our maritime wars and which returned more prize money to her crew than any other ship in the service; the Alliance, a name always popular and at one time the only public vessel owned by the United States; the Essex, the original of which name was probably the handiest and best drilled ship we possessed during the War of 1812, which sailed a most romantic and successful cruise in the Pacific, although finally suffering defeat chiefly as a direct result of an unfortunate and Quixotic conception of naval honor; the Hornet, another name represented during all our wars, which commemorates the capture of the British Peacock and later of the Penguin.
The character of names in vogue in the old navy was quite at variance with that considered fitting at the present day. Three of each of the names of Spitfire, Revenge and Scourge have been employed. Flambeau, Crescent, Velocity, Tom Bowline, Vengeance, Ganges and Insomnia sound odd to our ears, but when compared with contemporary English names are not noticeably peculiar.
With the exception of vessels taken in the late Spanish War, we have but two names on the present list perpetuating captures of ships of the enemy; these are the Frolic and the Boxer. The principal names given to entirely new vessels in commemoration of former captures have been the above mentioned Frolic and Boxer, the Cyane, Levant, Guerriere, Java and Peacock. The captures of the Drake, Serapis, L'Insurgente, Avon, Penguin and Reindeer, although particularly deserving of perpetuation, have never been so honored.