USS John Adams (1799)
Encyclopedia
The first John Adams was originally built as a frigate
in 1799, converted to a corvette
in 1809 and later converted back to a frigate
in 1830 for use in the United States Navy
. Named for President John Adams
, she fought in the Quasi-War
, the Barbary Wars
, the War of 1812
, the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War
.
This frigate should not be confused with the frigate USS Adams
.
John Adams was built for the United States by the people of Charleston, South Carolina
, under contract to Paul Pritchard and launched in the latter's shipyard some 3 miles from Charleston 5 June 1799. The new frigate, Captain George Cross
in command, sailed on or about 1 October for Cayenne, French Guiana, to operate against French
privateers based at that port. Before she arrived at Cayenne, the British had captured Surinam making the French base in Guiana unsafe for privateers and prompting Captain Cross to sail on to Guadeloupe
to join her squadron.
and recapturing brig
Dolphin. She then retook the brigs Hannibal on 22 March and Atlantic the next day, both prizes of the French privateer President Tout. The French privateer schooner Jason surrendered to her 3 April, and in May she retook schooners Dispatch and William. Sometime in the late spring or summer she recaptured the American brig Olive, and on 13 June she took French schooner Decade. These victories punctuated and highlighted the day-to-day duty of patrolling the West Indies. She continued to protect American shipping through the late summer and fall.
John Adams was dispatched to the United States 5 December escorting a convoy. She was placed in ordinary in Charleston in mid-January 1801, and in late June she sailed to Washington, D.C.
where she was laid up. The remarkable success of the frigate was representative of the new Navy which her namesake, President John Adams
, had called into being to protect the growing and vital commerce of the young nation.
As the Quasi-War
with France drew to a close, President Adams could report on the Navy to Congress
: "The present Navy of the United States, called suddenly into existence by a great national emergency, has raised us in our own esteem; and by the protection afforded to our commerce has effected to the extent of our expectations the objects for which it was created."
, sent out in 1801 for operations against Tripoli
, was followed in 1802 by a much stronger force under Commodore Richard Valentine Morris
. On 22 October John Adams, under the command of Captain John Rodgers
, sailed from Hampton Roads
to join Commodore Morris. After escorting vessels from Gibraltar
to Málaga
and Minorca
, she finally caught up with Commodore Morris at Malta
on 5 January 1803. She then operated with the squadron until 3 May when she received orders to cruise independently off Tripoli. Upon arriving off Tripoli, John Adams, still under the command of Rodgers, boldly attacked the forts and the gunboats anchored under their protection. Several days later she captured 28-gun Tripolitan cruiser Meshuda. After the New York
, and Enterprise
joined her, John Adams engaged a flotilla of enemy gunboats off Tripoli on 22 May sending them scurrying back into the harbor to safety. Five days later—with the added support of Adams
, a sister frigate also named for President John Adams—the squadron again bested a group of pirate gunboat
s.
One of the most important victories of the war came on 21 June when John Adams and Enterprise captured a 22-gun vessel belonging to Tripoli, thus weakening that state sufficiently to allow the squadron to turn its attention to Tunis
, Algiers
, and Morocco
, which were threatening U.S. commerce in the Western Mediterranean. Throughout the summer and early fall John Adams operated in that quarter before returning home with New York.
Meanwhile, Commodore Edward Preble
, who had led a powerful fleet to the Mediterranean, vigorously pressed the fight. In August and September 1804 he made a series of major attacks on Tripoli. As the second of these blows was being delivered 7 August, John Adams, now under Captain Isaac Chauncey
, arrived on the scene deeply laden with stores. Her boats participated in a reconnaissance patrol on the night of 18 August, and 6 days later she slipped in close to the city for an intensive 4-hour bombardment. Two nights later during a similar attack, an enemy shot sank one of John Adam's boats, killing three men and wounding a fourth, as the American Squadron severely punished Tripoli with over 700 well-directed rounds which took effect within the city. After a fifth attack had been successfully completed 3 September, bad weather interrupted operations and John Adams sailed to Syracuse
with other ships of the squadron.
Three months later she sailed for New York with Commodore Preble, arriving 26 February 1805. After a third Mediterranean cruise from May to November, she was laid up in ordinary. In service she had been considered a poor sailer; between 1807-09 her forecastle
and quarterdeck
were removed and she was re-rated as (depending on the source) either a corvette or a sloop-of-war.
found her undergoing repairs at Boston whence she was hurried to New York to have the work completed. There the British blockade and a critical shortage of seamen kept her in a laid-up status until early 1814. She finally sailed under a flag of truce carrying peace commissioners Henry Clay
and Jonathan Russell
to Europe
and arrived Wargo Island, Norway
, 14 April. She returned to the United States 5 September bringing dispatches from the American commissioners at Ghent
.
and Constellation
and sloops Erie
and Ontario
in maintaining peace and order in the area after strong squadrons under Commodores Stephen Decatur
and William Bainbridge
had induced the Barbary princes to honor their treaty commitments. Early in 1816 she returned home with dispatches, and with marble from Naples for refurbishing the Capitol at Washington.
's American empire, lawless vessels from many nations preyed on neutral as well as Spanish commerce in the Caribbean
, the Gulf of Mexico
, and along the storied Spanish Main. For the next few years John Adams was busy fighting buccaneers. On 22 December 1817 she demanded and received the surrender of Amelia Island
, off the east coast of Florida
, the base from which corsairs
of Commodore Luis Aury pounced upon merchantmen of all nations.
selected Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry
for the mission of establishing friendly relations with the government of newly independent Venezuela
and negotiating to obtain restitution for United States vessels that the Venezuelans had illegally taken during the revolution. Perry boarded his flagship John Adams at Annapolis
and sailed in company with schooner Nonsuch on 7 June. A month later he reached the mouth of the Orinoco
, which he ascended to Angostura
in Nonsuch while John Adams sailed on to Trinidad
to await his return at Port of Spain
. After protracted negotiation, the government of Venezuela granted all the demands of the United States on 11 August. However, during the passage down the river, Perry was stricken with yellow fever
and died before he could return to his flagship. Commodore Charles Morris
succeeded Perry in command of the squadron and John Adams accompanied his flagship Constellation on a voyage to the Plata River to continue the negotiations inaugurated by Perry to establish friendly relations with the new Latin American republics and to protect American commerce from South American privateers. After visiting Montevideo
and Buenos Aires
, both ships returned to the United States, arriving Hampton Roads
on 24 April 1820.
created in 1821 to cope with the problem. Nicholas Biddle's ships labored with zeal; but the task, entailing careful searches by small-boat expeditions of innumerable bays, lagoons, and inlets, seemed endless. Yellow fever took a much heavier toll than the enemy necessitating reinforcements which arrived 3 March 1823 when Commodore David Porter
's "Mosquito Fleet
" anchored off Saint Thomas
. Porter, the squadron's new commander, selected John Adams as his flagship. When Porter was recalled, his successor, Commodore Lewis Warrington
retained John Adams as his flagship until 1826. From time to time, thereafter, the frigate returned to the West Indies for operations against pirates until 1829 when she was laid up and almost entirely rebuilt at the Navy Yard in Gosport, Virginia.
John Adams joined the Mediterranean Squadron in 1831 as a frigate. One of her first duties was to take her former commander, ex-Commodore Porter, to Constantinople
where he became the U.S.'s first chargé d'affaires. The ship was granted the rare privilege of passing through the Dardanelles
with guns mounted. Thereafter, she convoyed ships in the Mediterranean and in 1833 visited Liberia
.
After extensive repairs in the United States, John Adams sailed from Hampton Roads on 5 May 1838 on a cruise around the world accompanied by Columbia
. Particular stress was placed unon showing the flag in the East Indies
where the United States enjoyed a prosperous and growing trade. Both ships arrived Rio de Janeiro 10 July but departed separately, John Adams sailing 25 July. She stopped at Zanzibar en route to Bombay, where she rejoined Columbia before sailing on to Goa and Colombo, Ceylon.
At Colombo the ships learned that natives at Susoh (currently in Southwest Aceh Regency
, Aceh
, Indonesia
) had attacked the American ship Eclipse. The squadron immediately sailed to the scene of the Eclipse Incident and bombarded the forts at Kuala Batee to induce the Rajahs of Sumatra to agree to offer assistance and protection to American vessels. They then landed over 300 marines and sailors to attack the village of Muckie, which they destroyed (Second Sumatran Expedition
). Before returning to Rio de Janeiro
on 23 April 1840, the squadron called at Singapore
, Macau
, Honolulu, Valparaíso
, and Cape Horn
.
8 May 1846 during the Battle of Palo Alto
and she maintained a blockading station off the east coast of Mexico for the remainder of the war.
John Adams returned to Boston in September 1848 and received extensive repairs before joining the Africa Station for action with the Royal Navy
against the slave trade. She returned from this difficult duty in July 1853. Thereafter, with the exception of periods at home for repairs, John Adams operated in the Pacific and the Far East
until after the outbreak of the Civil War. She sailed for home from Siam 6 July 1861 and reached New York 11 January 1862, bringing a box containing two royal letters from the King of Siam to the President along with a sword and a pair of elephant tusks.
John Adams was sent to Newport, Rhode Island
, the wartime location of the Naval Academy
, to act as training ship for midshipmen. In the summer of 1863 she joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron and took station off Morris Island
inside Charleston Bar
, where she served as flagship
of the inner blockade until she sailed into the harbor after the evacuation of Charleston in February 1865.
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
in 1799, converted to a corvette
Corvette
A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship, originally smaller than a frigate and larger than a coastal patrol craft or fast attack craft , although many recent designs resemble frigates in size and role...
in 1809 and later converted back to a frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
in 1830 for use in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. Named for President John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
, she fought in the Quasi-War
Quasi-War
The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought mostly at sea between the United States and French Republic from 1798 to 1800. In the United States, the conflict was sometimes also referred to as the Franco-American War, the Pirate Wars, or the Half-War.-Background:The Kingdom of France had been a...
, the Barbary Wars
Barbary Wars
The Barbary Wars were a series of wars between the United States of America and the Barbary States of North Africa in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. At issue was the Barbary pirates' demand of tribute from American merchant vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. If ships failed to pay, pirates...
, the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
This frigate should not be confused with the frigate USS Adams
USS Adams (1799)
The first USS Adams was a 28-gun sailing frigate of the United States Navy. She should not be confused with .-Commissioning:She was laid down in 1797 at New York City by John Jackson and William Sheffield and launched on 8 June 1799. Capt...
.
John Adams was built for the United States by the people of Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, under contract to Paul Pritchard and launched in the latter's shipyard some 3 miles from Charleston 5 June 1799. The new frigate, Captain George Cross
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
in command, sailed on or about 1 October for Cayenne, French Guiana, to operate against French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
privateers based at that port. Before she arrived at Cayenne, the British had captured Surinam making the French base in Guiana unsafe for privateers and prompting Captain Cross to sail on to Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
to join her squadron.
Quasi-War
Early in January 1800, she began operations against the French, taking an unidentified lugger off San Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
and recapturing brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
Dolphin. She then retook the brigs Hannibal on 22 March and Atlantic the next day, both prizes of the French privateer President Tout. The French privateer schooner Jason surrendered to her 3 April, and in May she retook schooners Dispatch and William. Sometime in the late spring or summer she recaptured the American brig Olive, and on 13 June she took French schooner Decade. These victories punctuated and highlighted the day-to-day duty of patrolling the West Indies. She continued to protect American shipping through the late summer and fall.
John Adams was dispatched to the United States 5 December escorting a convoy. She was placed in ordinary in Charleston in mid-January 1801, and in late June she sailed to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
where she was laid up. The remarkable success of the frigate was representative of the new Navy which her namesake, President John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
, had called into being to protect the growing and vital commerce of the young nation.
As the Quasi-War
Quasi-War
The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought mostly at sea between the United States and French Republic from 1798 to 1800. In the United States, the conflict was sometimes also referred to as the Franco-American War, the Pirate Wars, or the Half-War.-Background:The Kingdom of France had been a...
with France drew to a close, President Adams could report on the Navy to Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
: "The present Navy of the United States, called suddenly into existence by a great national emergency, has raised us in our own esteem; and by the protection afforded to our commerce has effected to the extent of our expectations the objects for which it was created."
First Barbary War
Peace with France freed the Navy for operations against Barbary corsairs who had been preying on American shipping in the Mediterranean. A small squadron under Commodore Richard DaleRichard Dale
Richard Dale fought in the Continental Navy under John Barry and was first lieutenant for John Paul Jones during the naval battle off of Flamborough Head, England against the HMS Serapis in the celebrated engagement of...
, sent out in 1801 for operations against Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
, was followed in 1802 by a much stronger force under Commodore Richard Valentine Morris
Richard Valentine Morris
Richard Valentine Morris was a United States Navy officer.-Life:He was the son of Lewis Morris, a signer of the Declaration of Independence....
. On 22 October John Adams, under the command of Captain John Rodgers
John Rodgers (naval officer, War of 1812)
John Rodgers was a senior naval officer in the United States Navy who served under six Presidents for nearly four decades during its formative years in the 1790s through the late 1830s, committing the greater bulk of his adult life to his country...
, sailed from Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
to join Commodore Morris. After escorting vessels from Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
to Málaga
Málaga
Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
and Minorca
Minorca
Min Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....
, she finally caught up with Commodore Morris at Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
on 5 January 1803. She then operated with the squadron until 3 May when she received orders to cruise independently off Tripoli. Upon arriving off Tripoli, John Adams, still under the command of Rodgers, boldly attacked the forts and the gunboats anchored under their protection. Several days later she captured 28-gun Tripolitan cruiser Meshuda. After the New York
USS New York (1800)
The second USS New York was a three-masted, wooden-hulled sailing frigate in the United States Navy that saw service during the Quasi-War with France....
, and Enterprise
USS Enterprise (1799)
The third USS Enterprise, a schooner, was built by Henry Spencer at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1799, and placed under the command of Lieutenant John Shaw...
joined her, John Adams engaged a flotilla of enemy gunboats off Tripoli on 22 May sending them scurrying back into the harbor to safety. Five days later—with the added support of Adams
USS Adams (1799)
The first USS Adams was a 28-gun sailing frigate of the United States Navy. She should not be confused with .-Commissioning:She was laid down in 1797 at New York City by John Jackson and William Sheffield and launched on 8 June 1799. Capt...
, a sister frigate also named for President John Adams—the squadron again bested a group of pirate gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
s.
One of the most important victories of the war came on 21 June when John Adams and Enterprise captured a 22-gun vessel belonging to Tripoli, thus weakening that state sufficiently to allow the squadron to turn its attention to Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
, Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, and Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, which were threatening U.S. commerce in the Western Mediterranean. Throughout the summer and early fall John Adams operated in that quarter before returning home with New York.
Meanwhile, Commodore Edward Preble
Edward Preble
Edward Preble was a United States naval officer.-Early life and Revolutionary War:Preble was born at Falmouth, Eastern Massachusetts, now Portland, Maine, 15 August 1761, the son of Gen. Jedidiah Preble. As a boy, his home was destroyed in the burning of Falmouth by British Naval Commander Henry...
, who had led a powerful fleet to the Mediterranean, vigorously pressed the fight. In August and September 1804 he made a series of major attacks on Tripoli. As the second of these blows was being delivered 7 August, John Adams, now under Captain Isaac Chauncey
Isaac Chauncey
Isaac Chauncey was an officer in the United States Navy.-Biography:Chauncey, born in Black Rock, Connecticut, 20 February 1779, was appointed a Lieutenant in the Navy from 17 September 1798...
, arrived on the scene deeply laden with stores. Her boats participated in a reconnaissance patrol on the night of 18 August, and 6 days later she slipped in close to the city for an intensive 4-hour bombardment. Two nights later during a similar attack, an enemy shot sank one of John Adam's boats, killing three men and wounding a fourth, as the American Squadron severely punished Tripoli with over 700 well-directed rounds which took effect within the city. After a fifth attack had been successfully completed 3 September, bad weather interrupted operations and John Adams sailed to Syracuse
Syracuse, Italy
Syracuse is a historic city in Sicily, the capital of the province of Syracuse. The city is notable for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture, and as the birthplace of the preeminent mathematician and engineer Archimedes. This 2,700-year-old city played a key role in...
with other ships of the squadron.
Three months later she sailed for New York with Commodore Preble, arriving 26 February 1805. After a third Mediterranean cruise from May to November, she was laid up in ordinary. In service she had been considered a poor sailer; between 1807-09 her forecastle
Forecastle
Forecastle refers to the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters...
and quarterdeck
Quarterdeck
The quarterdeck is that part of a warship designated by the commanding officer for official and ceremonial functions. In port, the quarterdeck is the most important place on the ship, and is the central control point for all its major activities. Underway, its importance diminishes as control of...
were removed and she was re-rated as (depending on the source) either a corvette or a sloop-of-war.
War of 1812
The outbreak of the War of 1812War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
found her undergoing repairs at Boston whence she was hurried to New York to have the work completed. There the British blockade and a critical shortage of seamen kept her in a laid-up status until early 1814. She finally sailed under a flag of truce carrying peace commissioners Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...
and Jonathan Russell
Jonathan Russell
Jonathan Russell was a United States Representative from Massachusetts and diplomat.Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Russell graduated from Brown University in 1791. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, but did not practice...
to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and arrived Wargo Island, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, 14 April. She returned to the United States 5 September bringing dispatches from the American commissioners at Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
.
Second Barbary War
Meanwhile, the Barbary pirates, taking advantage of the American Navy's preoccupation with the British fleet during the War of 1812, had resumed operations against American merchantmen in the Mediterranean. Fortunately the treaty of peace signed on Christmas Eve 1814 freed United States men-of-war for renewed attention to this chronic trouble spot. In the autumn of 1815 John Adams arrived in the Mediterranean to assist frigates United StatesUSS United States (1797)
USS United States was a wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy and the first of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794...
and Constellation
USS Constellation (1797)
USS Constellation was a 38-gun frigate, one of the six original frigates authorized for construction by the Naval Act of 1794. She was distinguished as the first U.S. Navy vessel to put to sea and the first U.S. Navy vessel to engage and defeat an enemy vessel...
and sloops Erie
USS Erie (1813)
The first USS Erie was a three-masted, wooden-hulled sloop-of-war of the United States Navy in the early 19th century.Erie was launched 3 November 1813 by Thomas Kemp, Baltimore, Maryland; and first put to sea 20 March 1814, Commander Charles G...
and Ontario
USS Ontario (1813)
The second USS Ontario was a three-masted, wooden-hulled sloop of war in the United States Navy, bearing 16 guns, and saw service during and following the years of the War of 1812 and in the Second Barbary War...
in maintaining peace and order in the area after strong squadrons under Commodores Stephen Decatur
Stephen Decatur
Stephen Decatur, Jr. , was an American naval officer notable for his many naval victories in the early 19th century. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland, Worcester county, the son of a U.S. Naval Officer who served during the American Revolution. Shortly after attending college Decatur...
and William Bainbridge
William Bainbridge
William Bainbridge was a Commodore in the United States Navy, notable for his victory over HMS Java during the War of 1812.-Early life:...
had induced the Barbary princes to honor their treaty commitments. Early in 1816 she returned home with dispatches, and with marble from Naples for refurbishing the Capitol at Washington.
West Indies
Pirates were also active in the West Indies at this time. Taking advantage of the chaos attendant upon the dissolution of SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
's American empire, lawless vessels from many nations preyed on neutral as well as Spanish commerce in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
, and along the storied Spanish Main. For the next few years John Adams was busy fighting buccaneers. On 22 December 1817 she demanded and received the surrender of Amelia Island
Amelia Island
Amelia Island is one of the southernmost of the Sea Islands, a chain of barrier islands that stretches along the east coast of the United States from South Carolina to Florida. It is long and approximately 4 miles wide at its widest point. Amelia Island is situated off the coast in Nassau County,...
, off the east coast of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, the base from which corsairs
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
of Commodore Luis Aury pounced upon merchantmen of all nations.
Venezuela
In the spring of 1819 Secretary of the Navy Smith ThompsonSmith Thompson
Smith Thompson was a United States Secretary of the Navy from 1818 to 1823, and a United States Supreme Court Associate Justice from 1823 until his death in 1843....
selected Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry
Oliver Hazard Perry
United States Navy Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island , the son of USN Captain Christopher Raymond Perry and Sarah Wallace Alexander, a direct descendant of William Wallace...
for the mission of establishing friendly relations with the government of newly independent Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and negotiating to obtain restitution for United States vessels that the Venezuelans had illegally taken during the revolution. Perry boarded his flagship John Adams at Annapolis
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
and sailed in company with schooner Nonsuch on 7 June. A month later he reached the mouth of the Orinoco
Orinoco
The Orinoco is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes called the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3% of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia...
, which he ascended to Angostura
Angostura
Angostura may refer toPlacesThe Spanish word Angostura means "narrows" and so often refers to a narrowing or crossing on a river.* Angostura, Sinaloa, a municipality in northwestern Mexico.* Villa La Angostura is a mountain town in Neuquén, Argentina....
in Nonsuch while John Adams sailed on to Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
to await his return at Port of Spain
Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
. After protracted negotiation, the government of Venezuela granted all the demands of the United States on 11 August. However, during the passage down the river, Perry was stricken with yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
and died before he could return to his flagship. Commodore Charles Morris
Charles Morris (naval officer)
Commodore Charles Morris, USN was a United States naval officer and administrator whose service extended through the first half of the 19th century.-Biography:...
succeeded Perry in command of the squadron and John Adams accompanied his flagship Constellation on a voyage to the Plata River to continue the negotiations inaugurated by Perry to establish friendly relations with the new Latin American republics and to protect American commerce from South American privateers. After visiting Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
and Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, both ships returned to the United States, arriving Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
on 24 April 1820.
1821–1845
In spite of these successes, piracy remained rampant in the West Indies, and John Adams was part of a strong West Indies SquadronWest Indies Squadron (United States)
The West Indies Squadron, or the West Indies Station, was a United States Navy squadron that operated in the West Indies in the early nineteenth century. It was formed due to the need to suppress piracy in the Caribbean Sea, the Antilles and the Gulf of Mexico region of the Atlantic Ocean...
created in 1821 to cope with the problem. Nicholas Biddle's ships labored with zeal; but the task, entailing careful searches by small-boat expeditions of innumerable bays, lagoons, and inlets, seemed endless. Yellow fever took a much heavier toll than the enemy necessitating reinforcements which arrived 3 March 1823 when Commodore David Porter
David Porter (naval officer)
David Porter was an officer in the United States Navy in a rank of commodore and later the commander-in-chief of the Mexican Navy.-Life:...
's "Mosquito Fleet
Mosquito Fleet
The term Mosquito Fleet has had nine main meanings in U.S. naval and maritime history:#It is the term used to describe the United States Navy's fleet of small gunboats, leading up to and during the War of 1812, most were part of the New Orleans Squadron....
" anchored off Saint Thomas
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of...
. Porter, the squadron's new commander, selected John Adams as his flagship. When Porter was recalled, his successor, Commodore Lewis Warrington
Lewis Warrington
Lewis Warrington was an officer in the United States Navy during the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812. He temporarily served as the Secretary of the Navy.-Life and career:...
retained John Adams as his flagship until 1826. From time to time, thereafter, the frigate returned to the West Indies for operations against pirates until 1829 when she was laid up and almost entirely rebuilt at the Navy Yard in Gosport, Virginia.
John Adams joined the Mediterranean Squadron in 1831 as a frigate. One of her first duties was to take her former commander, ex-Commodore Porter, to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
where he became the U.S.'s first chargé d'affaires. The ship was granted the rare privilege of passing through the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
with guns mounted. Thereafter, she convoyed ships in the Mediterranean and in 1833 visited Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
.
After extensive repairs in the United States, John Adams sailed from Hampton Roads on 5 May 1838 on a cruise around the world accompanied by Columbia
USS Columbia
Nine United States Navy ships have been named USS Columbia, after the personification of the United States, also after the city of Columbia, South Carolina....
. Particular stress was placed unon showing the flag in the East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
where the United States enjoyed a prosperous and growing trade. Both ships arrived Rio de Janeiro 10 July but departed separately, John Adams sailing 25 July. She stopped at Zanzibar en route to Bombay, where she rejoined Columbia before sailing on to Goa and Colombo, Ceylon.
At Colombo the ships learned that natives at Susoh (currently in Southwest Aceh Regency
Southwest Aceh Regency
Southwest Aceh Regency is a regency in the Aceh province of Indonesia. The regency covers an area of 2334.01 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 110,667 people...
, Aceh
Aceh
Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
) had attacked the American ship Eclipse. The squadron immediately sailed to the scene of the Eclipse Incident and bombarded the forts at Kuala Batee to induce the Rajahs of Sumatra to agree to offer assistance and protection to American vessels. They then landed over 300 marines and sailors to attack the village of Muckie, which they destroyed (Second Sumatran Expedition
Second Sumatran Expedition
The Second Sumatran Expedition was a punitive expedition by the United States Navy against inhabitants of the island of Sumatra. After Malay warriors or pirates had massacred the crew of the American merchant ship Eclipse, an expedition of two American warships landed a force that defeated the...
). Before returning to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
on 23 April 1840, the squadron called at Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
, Honolulu, Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
, and Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
.
Mexican-American and Civil Wars
John Adams finally arrived Boston about the middle of June where she was laid up until 1842. After duty on the Brazil Station, she went into ordinary where she remained until recommissioned at the beginning of the Mexican-U.S. War. She was anchored off the bar at SantiagoSantiago de Querétaro
Santiago de Querétaro is the capital and largest city of the state of Querétaro, located in central Mexico. It is located 213 km northwest of Mexico City, 96 km southeast of San Miguel de Allende and 200 km south of San Luis Potosí...
8 May 1846 during the Battle of Palo Alto
Battle of Palo Alto
The Battle of Palo Alto was the first major battle of the Mexican-American War and was fought on May 8, 1846, on disputed ground five miles from the modern-day city of Brownsville, Texas...
and she maintained a blockading station off the east coast of Mexico for the remainder of the war.
John Adams returned to Boston in September 1848 and received extensive repairs before joining the Africa Station for action with the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
against the slave trade. She returned from this difficult duty in July 1853. Thereafter, with the exception of periods at home for repairs, John Adams operated in the Pacific and the Far East
Far East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
until after the outbreak of the Civil War. She sailed for home from Siam 6 July 1861 and reached New York 11 January 1862, bringing a box containing two royal letters from the King of Siam to the President along with a sword and a pair of elephant tusks.
John Adams was sent to Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, the wartime location of the Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
, to act as training ship for midshipmen. In the summer of 1863 she joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron and took station off Morris Island
Morris Island
Morris Island is an 840 acre uninhabited island in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina, accessible only by boat. The island lies in the outer reaches of the harbor and was thus a strategic location in the American Civil War.-History:...
inside Charleston Bar
Charleston Bar
Charleston Bar is a series of submerged shoals lying about eight miles southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, United States.-See also:* Battle of Sullivan's Island...
, where she served as flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of the inner blockade until she sailed into the harbor after the evacuation of Charleston in February 1865.