USRC Virginia (1797)

USRC Virginia was a schooner built in 1797 for the United States Revenue Cutter Service at Portsmouth, Virginia. At the outset of the Quasi-War in 1798, the only ships available to the Navy were the 10 ships of the Revenue cutter service, the largest of which was the Virginia. She was transferred to the Navy in 1798 and served in the Quasi War until 1800, when she was returned to the Revenue Cutter Service, recommissioned in 1802 and sold in 1807.

History
United States
Name:	USS Virginia[1]
Namesake:	The first English colony in America and one of the original 13 states.[1]
Launched:	1797[1]
Decommissioned:	1800
Fate:	Returned to Revenue Cutter service.
United States
Name:	USRC Virginia[2]
Commissioned:	1802[2]
Fate:	Sold in 1807[2]
General characteristics
Class and type:	Schooner[1]
Displacement:	187 tons[1]
Length:	50 ft (15 m) on Keel
Beam:	18 ft 10 in (5.74 m)[1]
Depth of hold:	8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)[1]
Propulsion:	Sail
Complement:	70 officers and enlisted[1]
Armament:	6 × 6-pounder cannon 8 × 4-pounder cannon[1]

History

The revenue cutter Virginia was a schooner built in 1797 for the United States Revenue Cutter Service at Portsmouth, Virginia. At the outset of the Quasi-War in 1798, the only ships available to the Navy were the 10 ships of the Revenue Cutter Service, the largest of which was the newly built Virginia. She was transferred to the United States Navy and commissioned on 25 June, Capt. Francis Bright in command.[1]

In August 1798, Virginia received orders to join the frigate Constellation off the eastern seaboard of the United States for operations against suspected French warships and merchant ships. She remained on this station until December, when she was assigned identical duty in the West Indies between St. Kitts and Puerto Rico as part of the squadron commanded by Commodore Thomas Truxtun. In addition to cruising with the Navy squadrons, Virginia guarded convoys and relayed messages between fleets. While on duty in the Caribbean, Virginia, assisted by Richmond and Eagle, captured the armed French schooner Louis and her cargo on 26 April 1799.[3]

Despite this success, in June 1799, Virginia was declared unfit for further naval service and returned to the Revenue Cutter Service. She was refitted and commissioned in the Revenue Cutter service in 1802. She was sold in 1807.[2]

Citations

1. "Virginia". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 26 Feb 2011.
2. "Virginia, 1802". United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
3. Evans 1949, p. 16

References

• Evans, Stephen Hadley (1949), The United States Coast Guard, 1790-1915; a definitive history, Annapolis, Md.: United States Naval Institute, hdl:2027/uc1.b3358990
• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.