USS Essex

Captured

Type	Frigate
Rate	Fifth rate
Guns	32 guns
War	War of 1812

Service

to 1814	Essex	USA
from 1814	Essex Captured at Valparaíso	Britain

Frigate armed almost entirely with short-range carronades. Under David Porter she became the first American warship to round Cape Horn, and in 1813 she wrecked the British whaling fleet in the Pacific. Trapped at Valparaíso by Phoebe and Cherub, she was shot to pieces from long range on 28 March 1814 and struck. She served in the Royal Navy as Essex, latterly as a hulk, until 1837.

Sailing frigate USS Essex (1799), from port side view, as a stylized illustration of the ship, with cannon ports visible, in configuration at the Galapagos Islands. Photo: Joseph Howard, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Armament and specifications

Armament

40 × 32-pounder carronades + 6 × 12-pounder guns

Builder	Enos Briggs, Salem, Massachusetts
Laid down	1798
Launched	30 September 1799
Commissioned	17 December 1799
Displacement	850 long tons (864 t)
Length	Overall: 138 ft 7 in (42.2 m) Keel:117 ft 2+7⁄8 in (35.7 m)
Speed	11.4 knots (21.1 km/h; 13.1 mph)
Complement	262 1 January, 1802

As built, from the ship's Wikipedia article. Figures there may cover later refits too.

Career

Launched

30 September 1799

Battle of Valparaíso

Captured

28 March 1814

David Porter

Joined the Royal Navy

28 March 1814 · Captured at Valparaíso

Fate

Captured

Sold at Public Auction, 6 June 1837