Before "Old Ironsides"-the Origins of USS Constitution and Her First Captain, Samuel Nicholson ust north of downtown Boston in the Charlestown Navy Yard quietly sits USS Constitution, one of the most famous ships in American naval histo ry. Nicknamed "Old Ironsides" because cannon balls glanced off her thick oaken hull, Constitution defeated four British frigates during the War of 1812. In the summer of 2012, the Constitution was at the center of attention again during the celebrations for the war's bicentennial. Yet long before the War of 1812 and the glory of her pivotal victories at sea, the Constitution and her first captain were already an integral part of the United States' naval heritage. W hile the American Revolution is best known for arduo us and bloody land battles that eventually defeated England, America's war of independence also took place at sea. In October 1775, the Continental Congress
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decided to establish a small naval force "to offset to some extent what would otherwise be an uncontested exercise of British sea power." 1 This force grew inro the Continental Navy. Among the Continental Navy's first officers was Captain Samuel Nicholson. Born to a prominent Maryland family, Nicholson was already captain of his own ship engaged in trade with England during the earliest days of the revolution. In December 1776, Nicholson m et with Benjamin Franklin, one of the American Commissioners in Paris, about a commission in the new navy. Unbeknownst to both, the Continental Congress had already given Nicholson his commission, and over the next several years, Nicholson conducted Conti nental Navy affairs in Northeastern France as directed by the American Commissioners. After searching
Portrait of Captain Samuel Nicholson by Danish artist Christian Gullager, c. 1789-18 10.
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by J. Phillip London
for and purchasing a new cutter, Dolphin, for the Continental Navy, he served as its captain in 1777. N icholson was also tasked with acquiring and refitting a frigate, Deane, for his command (1778-1782). His European exploits with both ships included capturing numerous prizes around France and the British Isles . Nicholson returned to the United States in 1779 aboard the Deane with valuable supplies and spent most of the year patrollingAmerican waters off the Delaware coast. Between 1780 and 1782, Nicholson's career included a cruise of the West Indies, where he captured three British prizes and served on two courts-m artial. Nicholson wo uld also be tried twice for allegedly mistreating an insubordinate junior officer. The first court of enquiry in 1781 was invalidated because of procedural errors and misconduct, and Nicholson was honorably acquitted at a valid court-martial in late 1783. Nonetheless, at the time N icholson was then relieved of his command. Over the course of the war, the Continental Navy fleet sailed some fifty armed vessels that captured nearly 200 British prizes and much-needed supplies. The navy contributed "to the demoralization of the enemy and [forced) the British to divert warships to protect convoys and trade ro utes." 2 Sea power had proven pivotal to winning the war. Without control of the Atlantic, it was difficult for the British to transport and sustain a large army in America. The navy also carried correspondence and diplomats to Europe and helped bring the French into the war. As important as the Continental Navy had been, it began to decline around 1779. It had fewer ships, mainly patrolling the Eastern shore and West Indies. The Continental Congress auctioned off the last remaining navy vessel by August of 1785, shutting down the Continental Navy for good. Some men of the Continental Navy transitioned to civilian life, like Sam uel N icholson , while others stayed at sea on private ships and in foreign navies, such as John Paul Jones, who briefly served in the Imperial Russian Navy. In the early 1790s, the need to revive a naval fome became apparent as American merchant ffleets needed protection from attacks by 1Algerian (Barbary) pirates and SEA lHISTORY 142, SPRING 2013