USS Brandywine (1825)
Encyclopedia
USS Brandywine (1825) (formerly named Susquehanna) was a wooden-hulled, three-masted Frigate
of the United States Navy
bearing 44 guns which had the initial task of conveying the Marquis de Lafayette back to France. She was later recommissioned a number of times for service in various theatres, such as in the Mediterranean, in China
and in the South Atlantic Ocean
,
During several instances she served as a role player in American gunboat diplomacy
, a role she was well suited for with her large long-range 32-pounder guns and her devastating short-range carronade
s which produced severe fragmentation and fire damage to the ship fired upon, as well as widespread splinter and shrapnel injury to its crew.
. Shortly before she was to be launched in the spring of 1825, President
John Quincy Adams
decided to have an American warship
carry the Marquis de Lafayette back to Europe
, in the wake of his triumphal visit to the land he had fought to free almost 50 years before.
The general had expressed his intention of sailing for home sometime in the late summer or early autumn of 1825. Adams selected Susquehanna for this honor, and accordingly — as a gesture of the nation’s affection for Lafayette — the frigate was renamed Brandywine to commemorate the battle in which the gallant Frenchman had shed his blood for American freedom. Launched on 16 June 1825 and christened by Sailing Master Marmaduke Dove, Brandywine was commissioned on 25 August 1825, Captain
Charles Morris in command.
After fitting out at the navy yard, the frigate stood down the Potomac River
to await her distinguished passenger at St. Mary’s, Maryland
, not far from the river’s mouth. Lafayette enjoyed a last state dinner
to celebrate his 68th birthday on the evening of 6 September and then embarked in the steamboat Mount Vernon on the 7th for the trip downriver to join Brandywine. On the 8th, the frigate stood out of the Potomac River and sailed down Chesapeake Bay
toward the open ocean.
After a stormy three weeks at sea, the warship arrived off Le Havre, France, early in October; and, following some initial trepidation about the government’s attitude toward Lafayette’s return to a France now ruled by the ultra reactionary King Charles X
, Brandywines honored passenger and her captain disembarked, the former to return home and the latter to tour the country for six months to study shipyards, ship design and other naval matters.
on the Isle of Wight
in England to re-caulk seams that had opened rather badly during the Atlantic crossing.
Then, after being rendered more seaworthy, she resumed her voyage to Gibraltar
on 22 October, reaching the famed British bastion guarding the Mediterranean Sea’s Atlantic entrance on 2 November. At the end of a fortnight
in port, Brandywine sailed for the Balearic Islands
in company with the ship of the line
and sloop of war . Following an 11-day passage, the trio reached Port Mahon
, Minorca
; and Brandywine spent the next three months refitting.
In February 1826, the schooner
arrived in Port Mahon with orders recalling Brandywine to the U.S., and the frigate set sail for home late in the month. She stopped at Gibraltar early in March and finally entered New York City
in mid-April.
, Brandywine departed New York City on 3 September 1826 as the flagship
of Commodore Jacob Jones
who was sailing around Cape Horn
for the Pacific coast of South America
to take over command of the American squadron in the region from Commodore Isaac Hull
. She also carried a relief crew for the schooner that had been slated to remain on the Pacific Station
.
Fortunately, by the time the frigate joined the squadron, Spain had abandoned her efforts to re-conquer her empire in the Western Hemisphere, so Brandywines tour of duty in the Pacific proved far less troubled than that of her predecessor. She directed her efforts to protecting American citizens, especially merchant seamen who were being impressed into service by the Peruvian Navy
.
Her own relief — the frigate — arrived in the summer of 1829 bringing Commodore Charles C. B. Thompson, the squadron's new commander, along with another crew for Dolphin; and Brandywine set sail for home. She reached New York City on 8 October and was decommissioned soon thereafter.
two months later to gather information concerning conditions in that area. She returned to the east coast at Norfolk, Virginia
on 7 July and began preparations for another Europe
an deployment.
Brandywine departed Hampton Roads, Virginia on 22 October 1830 and headed for Gibraltar
. At first, this deployment was devoted almost exclusively to sailing from one peaceful port to the next, showing the flag to maintain and enhance American prestige. However, President Andrew Jackson
— determined to collect indemnities owed to the U.S. for merchant ships that had been confiscated by several European nations while under Napoleon Bonaparte's puppet governments during the Napoleonic Wars
— decided to begin with the Kingdom of Naples
.
While Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte
, sat on the throne there, Naples had seized several American merchantmen; and the most recent successor to the throne, King Ferdinand II
, had repudiated the debts. Jackson sent former Maryland
congressman John Nelson
to Naples as U.S. minister to negotiate the payment of these debts.
He also dispatched Commodore Daniel Patterson
to the Mediterranean with reinforcements for the squadron already there and with orders to take overall command of American forces in that ancient sea from Commodore James Biddle
. The frigate gave a physical dimension to Nelson's legal arguments.
The commodore divided his squadron into two groups. The first contingent — headed by Brandywine and including — reached Naples on 23 July 1832 and anchored near Ferdinand’s palace. This group remained in port until late in August when it returned to Port Mahon. Beginning with , that arrived on 17 September, however, the ships of the second contingent began standing into the harbor at Naples singly. Soon, the frigate arrived, followed in rapid succession by and .
Not a shot was fired and no explicit reference to the squadron was made during the negotiations; nevertheless, the unspoken message of power helped the king to see the justice of the American claims and prompted him to sign a treaty promising to pay 2,100,000 ducats to the U.S. over the next nine years. Her remaining months in the Mediterranean proved less dramatic; and Brandywine sailed for the United States late in the spring of 1833, returning to New York on 9 July and going out of commission two days later.
on 4 April, Capt. David Deacon in command, and set sail on 2 June to replace as flagship of the Pacific Squadron
. She reached Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 22 July and stayed until 14 August, when she resumed her journey down the coast and around Cape Horn
.
Brandywine arrived at Valparaiso
on 3 October after a stormy passage of the cape, and Commodore Alexander S. Wadsworth
broke his flag in her on 1 November. For the next three years, the warship plied the waters along South America’s west coast protecting U.S. citizens and commerce.
Finally, expiring enlistments signaled the time for Brandywine to sail for home, and she departed Callao
in January 1837, bringing Commodore Wadsworth back home at the conclusion of his own tour of duty. After a relatively quiet 94-day passage, she reached Norfolk, Virginia
, on 22 April 1837 and was placed in ordinary on 9 May 1837.
This cruise was enlivened by tension with Great Britain
over the Caroline incident
. In 1837, when many people in the United States had sympathized with Canadian rebels, some Canadian loyalists had captured the steamboat Caroline from the American side of the Niagara River
. In November 1840, a Canadian had been arrested and charged with murder in Lewistown, New York, after drunkenly boasting that he had taken part in the cutting out of Caroline and had killed an American.
Feelings on both sides of the Atlantic deepened during the spring of 1841, and the American minister to the Court of St. James's
wrote to Commodore Hull urging him to leave the Mediterranean lest war break out and his squadron be trapped there.
. Not knowing what faced them when they reached the strait, Brandywine and her consorts were prepared for the worst. Fortunately, steady pilots manned the helms on both sides, and peace persisted unbroken when the warship passed the strait and entered the Atlantic Ocean
.
The frigate continued on westward and entered New York harbor
on 12 May 1841. Later that summer, the crisis with Great Britain
abated somewhat, and Brandywine headed back to the Mediterranean on 29 June. She completed her originally scheduled tour there under the command of Capt. David Greisinger and then returned to New York on 12 July 1842 to be decommissioned on 30 July 1842.
Charles W. Chauncey in command, and set sail for the East Indies
on 24 May. After rounding the Cape of Good Hope
, she reached Bombay, India on 24 October to pick up the special envoy to China
, Caleb Cushing
, and took him to Macau
where he went ashore and began negotiations for a treaty.
While Cushing was working to develop contacts with the Chinese government, Brandywine visited Manila
, Hong Kong and Whampoa
. On 16 June 1844, the high commissioner appointed by the Chinese emperor to deal with Cushing, Ch'i-ying, arrived at Macau; and negotiations opened on the 21st.
Following 12 days of discussions, the Treaty of Wang Hsia
was signed on 3 July providing for the establishment of five American treaty ports
in China. It also granted protection to American sailors shipwrecked on Chinese shores and guaranteed that both civil and criminal law cases involving Americans would be adjudicated in consular courts. In effect, the treaty extended to the U.S. the privileges that Great Britain had extracted from China in the Treaty of Nanking
that ended the Opium War, though with one important exception. The American treaty expressly forbade the opium
traffic, but the British treaty did not.
(N.B.: Treaty of Whampoa
)
Cushing set sail in the brig
on 29 August to return to the U.S. with the new treaty. Brandywine, on the other hand, remained in the Orient until departing Macau for Honolulu, Hawaii
on 2 December, carrying word of the Chinese privy council's approval of the treaty.
From Hawaii
, she sailed to the west coast of South America where she made calls at several ports before setting out to double Cape Horn
on her way home. At the end of a long and successful cruise, Brandywine stood into Norfolk, Virginia on 17 September 1845, and was decommissioned there eight days later.
. She was recommissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 27 October 1861, Commander
Benjamin J. Totten in command, and set sail immediately for Hampton Roads, Virginia, where she arrived on the 29th.
Housed over and converted to a storeship, the former warship supported the operations of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron for almost three years. She spent much of that time anchored near Fort Monroe
, her most conspicuous absence coming in the wake of CSS Virginia
's attempt to break the Union blockade
early in the spring of 1862.
Towed to Baltimore, Maryland by , Brandywine remained there until early June 1862, by which time the danger posed by the Confederate ironclad had waned considerably. Later moved to Norfolk, she also assumed the role of receiving ship for the squadron.
which reduced the chronic vulnerability of the traditional square stern ship to enemy fire and allowed her to carry stern-mounted guns.
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"...
of 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...
bearing 44 guns which had the initial task of conveying the Marquis de Lafayette back to France. She was later recommissioned a number of times for service in various theatres, such as in the Mediterranean, in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and in the South Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
,
During several instances she served as a role player in American gunboat diplomacy
Gunboat diplomacy
In international politics, gunboat diplomacy refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives with the aid of conspicuous displays of military power — implying or constituting a direct threat of warfare, should terms not be agreeable to the superior force....
, a role she was well suited for with her large long-range 32-pounder guns and her devastating short-range carronade
Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
s which produced severe fragmentation and fire damage to the ship fired upon, as well as widespread splinter and shrapnel injury to its crew.
1825: Conveying Marquis de Lafayette to France
Susquehanna — a 44-gun frigate — was laid down on 20 September 1821 at the Washington Navy YardWashington Navy Yard
The Washington Navy Yard is the former shipyard and ordnance plant of the United States Navy in Southeast Washington, D.C. It is the oldest shore establishment of the U.S. Navy...
. Shortly before she was to be launched in the spring of 1825, President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
decided to have an American warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
carry the Marquis de Lafayette back 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...
, in the wake of his triumphal visit to the land he had fought to free almost 50 years before.
The general had expressed his intention of sailing for home sometime in the late summer or early autumn of 1825. Adams selected Susquehanna for this honor, and accordingly — as a gesture of the nation’s affection for Lafayette — the frigate was renamed Brandywine to commemorate the battle in which the gallant Frenchman had shed his blood for American freedom. Launched on 16 June 1825 and christened by Sailing Master Marmaduke Dove, Brandywine was commissioned on 25 August 1825, Captain
Captain (naval)
Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....
Charles Morris in command.
After fitting out at the navy yard, the frigate stood down the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
to await her distinguished passenger at St. Mary’s, Maryland
St. Mary's City, Maryland
St. Mary's City, in St. Mary's County, Maryland, is a small unincorporated community near the southernmost end of the state on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is located on the eastern shore of the St. Mary's River, a tributary of the Potomac. St. Mary's City is the fourth oldest...
, not far from the river’s mouth. Lafayette enjoyed a last state dinner
State dinner
A state dinner is a dinner or banquet paid by a government and hosted by a head of state in his or her official residence in order to renew and celebrate diplomatic ties between the host country and the country of a foreign head of state or head of government who was issued an invitation. In many...
to celebrate his 68th birthday on the evening of 6 September and then embarked in the steamboat Mount Vernon on the 7th for the trip downriver to join Brandywine. On the 8th, the frigate stood out of the Potomac River and sailed down Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
toward the open ocean.
After a stormy three weeks at sea, the warship arrived off Le Havre, France, early in October; and, following some initial trepidation about the government’s attitude toward Lafayette’s return to a France now ruled by the ultra reactionary King Charles X
Charles X of France
Charles X was known for most of his life as the Comte d'Artois before he reigned as King of France and of Navarre from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. A younger brother to Kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported the latter in exile and eventually succeeded him...
, Brandywines honored passenger and her captain disembarked, the former to return home and the latter to tour the country for six months to study shipyards, ship design and other naval matters.
1825: European operations
Brandywine left Le Havre that same day to join the United States Mediterranean Squadron. En route, she stopped at CowesCowes
Cowes is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east Bank...
on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
in England to re-caulk seams that had opened rather badly during the Atlantic crossing.
Then, after being rendered more seaworthy, she resumed her voyage to 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...
on 22 October, reaching the famed British bastion guarding the Mediterranean Sea’s Atlantic entrance on 2 November. At the end of a fortnight
Fortnight
The fortnight is a unit of time equal to fourteen days, or two weeks. The word derives from the Old English fēowertyne niht, meaning "fourteen nights"....
in port, Brandywine sailed for the Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
in company with the ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
and sloop of war . Following an 11-day passage, the trio reached Port Mahon
Mahon
Mahón is a municipality and the capital city of the Balearic Island of Minorca , located in the eastern part of the island. Mahon has the second deepest natural harbor in the world: 5 km long and up to 900m. wide...
, 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....
; and Brandywine spent the next three months refitting.
In February 1826, the schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
arrived in Port Mahon with orders recalling Brandywine to the U.S., and the frigate set sail for home late in the month. She stopped at Gibraltar early in March and finally entered New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in mid-April.
1826: Pacific Ocean operations
After passing the rest of spring and much of the summer in repairs and outfitting for duty in the Pacific OceanPacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, Brandywine departed New York City on 3 September 1826 as the 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 Commodore Jacob Jones
Jacob Jones
Commodore Jacob Nicholas Jones was an officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France, the Barbary Wars, and the War of 1812.-Biography:...
who was sailing around 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...
for the Pacific coast of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
to take over command of the American squadron in the region from Commodore Isaac Hull
Isaac Hull
-External links:* *...
. She also carried a relief crew for the schooner that had been slated to remain on the Pacific Station
Pacific Squadron
The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval supplies and purchased food and obtained water from local...
.
Fortunately, by the time the frigate joined the squadron, Spain had abandoned her efforts to re-conquer her empire in the Western Hemisphere, so Brandywines tour of duty in the Pacific proved far less troubled than that of her predecessor. She directed her efforts to protecting American citizens, especially merchant seamen who were being impressed into service by the Peruvian Navy
Peruvian Navy
The Peruvian Navy is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to 200 nautical miles from the Peruvian littoral...
.
Her own relief — the frigate — arrived in the summer of 1829 bringing Commodore Charles C. B. Thompson, the squadron's new commander, along with another crew for Dolphin; and Brandywine set sail for home. She reached New York City on 8 October and was decommissioned soon thereafter.
1830: Gunboat diplomacy in Europe
Placed back in commission on 10 January 1830, Capt. Henry E. Ballard in command, the warship set out for the Gulf of MexicoGulf 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...
two months later to gather information concerning conditions in that area. She returned to the east coast at Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
on 7 July and began preparations for another 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...
an deployment.
Brandywine departed Hampton Roads, Virginia on 22 October 1830 and headed for 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...
. At first, this deployment was devoted almost exclusively to sailing from one peaceful port to the next, showing the flag to maintain and enhance American prestige. However, President Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
— determined to collect indemnities owed to the U.S. for merchant ships that had been confiscated by several European nations while under Napoleon Bonaparte's puppet governments during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
— decided to begin with the Kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
.
While Napoleon's brother, Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph Bonaparte
Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte was the elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, who made him King of Naples and Sicily , and later King of Spain...
, sat on the throne there, Naples had seized several American merchantmen; and the most recent successor to the throne, King Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II of Naples
Ferdinand II or Ferrante II of Naples , sometimes known as Ferrandino, was King of Naples from 1495 to 1496...
, had repudiated the debts. Jackson sent former Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
congressman John Nelson
John Nelson (lawyer)
John Nelson was Attorney General of the United States from 1843 to 1845 under John Tyler.Nelson was born in Frederick, Maryland, the son of politician Roger Nelson. He graduated from the College of William and Mary in 1811 and was admitted to the bar in 1813, starting practice in Frederick...
to Naples as U.S. minister to negotiate the payment of these debts.
He also dispatched Commodore Daniel Patterson
Daniel Patterson
Daniel Todd Patterson was an officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France, the First Barbary War and the War of 1812.-Biography:...
to the Mediterranean with reinforcements for the squadron already there and with orders to take overall command of American forces in that ancient sea from Commodore James Biddle
James Biddle
James Biddle , of the Biddle family, brother of financier Nicholas Biddle and nephew of Captain Nicholas Biddle, was an American commodore. His flagship was USS Columbus.-Education and early career:...
. The frigate gave a physical dimension to Nelson's legal arguments.
1832: Demonstrating American firepower
When Nelson first raised the issue of the debts, King Ferdinand refused even to consider the question. This prompted the American minister to write to Commodore Patterson asking for naval support.The commodore divided his squadron into two groups. The first contingent — headed by Brandywine and including — reached Naples on 23 July 1832 and anchored near Ferdinand’s palace. This group remained in port until late in August when it returned to Port Mahon. Beginning with , that arrived on 17 September, however, the ships of the second contingent began standing into the harbor at Naples singly. Soon, the frigate arrived, followed in rapid succession by and .
Not a shot was fired and no explicit reference to the squadron was made during the negotiations; nevertheless, the unspoken message of power helped the king to see the justice of the American claims and prompted him to sign a treaty promising to pay 2,100,000 ducats to the U.S. over the next nine years. Her remaining months in the Mediterranean proved less dramatic; and Brandywine sailed for the United States late in the spring of 1833, returning to New York on 9 July and going out of commission two days later.
1834: Pacific Ocean operations
Reactivated in the spring of 1834, the frigate hoisted her commissioning pennantPennant (commissioning)
The commissioning pennant is a pennant flown from the masthead of a warship. The history of flying a commissioning pennant dates back to the days of chivalry with their trail pendants being flown from the mastheads of ships they commanded...
on 4 April, Capt. David Deacon in command, and set sail on 2 June to replace as flagship of the Pacific Squadron
Pacific Squadron
The Pacific Squadron was part of the United States Navy squadron stationed in the Pacific Ocean in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Initially with no United States ports in the Pacific, they operated out of storeships which provided naval supplies and purchased food and obtained water from local...
. She reached Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 22 July and stayed until 14 August, when she resumed her journey down the coast and around 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...
.
Brandywine arrived at Valparaiso
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...
on 3 October after a stormy passage of the cape, and Commodore Alexander S. Wadsworth
Alexander S. Wadsworth
Commodore Alexander Scammel Wadsworth was an officer of the United States Navy. His more than 40 years of active duty included service in the War of 1812.-Biography:...
broke his flag in her on 1 November. For the next three years, the warship plied the waters along South America’s west coast protecting U.S. citizens and commerce.
Finally, expiring enlistments signaled the time for Brandywine to sail for home, and she departed Callao
Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
in January 1837, bringing Commodore Wadsworth back home at the conclusion of his own tour of duty. After a relatively quiet 94-day passage, she reached Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
, on 22 April 1837 and was placed in ordinary on 9 May 1837.
1839: The Caroline incident
After being laid up for more than two years, the frigate was recommissioned on 2 August 1839, Capt. William C. Bolton in command; and, once outfitted, sailed for the Mediterranean on 22 October.This cruise was enlivened by tension with Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
over the Caroline incident
Caroline affair
The Caroline affair was a series of events beginning in 1837 that strained relations between the United States and Britain....
. In 1837, when many people in the United States had sympathized with Canadian rebels, some Canadian loyalists had captured the steamboat Caroline from the American side of the Niagara River
Niagara River
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
. In November 1840, a Canadian had been arrested and charged with murder in Lewistown, New York, after drunkenly boasting that he had taken part in the cutting out of Caroline and had killed an American.
Feelings on both sides of the Atlantic deepened during the spring of 1841, and the American minister to the Court of St. James's
Court of St. James's
The Court of St James's is the royal court of the United Kingdom. It previously had the same function in the Kingdom of England and in the Kingdom of Great Britain .-Overview:...
wrote to Commodore Hull urging him to leave the Mediterranean lest war break out and his squadron be trapped there.
1841: Avoiding war with Britain
Upon receiving this warning, Hull ordered his ships to get underway and head for GibraltarGibraltar
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...
. Not knowing what faced them when they reached the strait, Brandywine and her consorts were prepared for the worst. Fortunately, steady pilots manned the helms on both sides, and peace persisted unbroken when the warship passed the strait and entered the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
.
The frigate continued on westward and entered New York harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
on 12 May 1841. Later that summer, the crisis with Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
abated somewhat, and Brandywine headed back to the Mediterranean on 29 June. She completed her originally scheduled tour there under the command of Capt. David Greisinger and then returned to New York on 12 July 1842 to be decommissioned on 30 July 1842.
1843: China operations
Brandywine went back into commission on 16 February 1843, LieutenantLieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Charles W. Chauncey in command, and set sail for 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...
on 24 May. After rounding the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
, she reached Bombay, India on 24 October to pick up the special envoy to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Caleb Cushing
Caleb Cushing
Caleb Cushing was an American diplomat who served as a U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts and Attorney General under President Franklin Pierce.-Early life:...
, and took him to 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...
where he went ashore and began negotiations for a treaty.
While Cushing was working to develop contacts with the Chinese government, Brandywine visited Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, Hong Kong and Whampoa
Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock
Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock was a Hong Kong dockyard once among the largest dockyards in Asia. Founded in 1863 by Douglas Lapraik and Thomas Sutherland, the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company...
. On 16 June 1844, the high commissioner appointed by the Chinese emperor to deal with Cushing, Ch'i-ying, arrived at Macau; and negotiations opened on the 21st.
Following 12 days of discussions, the Treaty of Wang Hsia
Treaty of Wanghia
The Treaty of Wanghia , is a diplomatic agreement between the Qing Dynasty of China and the United States, signed on 3 July 1844 in the Kun Iam Temple...
was signed on 3 July providing for the establishment of five American treaty ports
Treaty ports
The treaty ports was the name given to the port cities in China, Japan, and Korea that were opened to foreign trade by the Unequal Treaties.-Chinese treaty ports:...
in China. It also granted protection to American sailors shipwrecked on Chinese shores and guaranteed that both civil and criminal law cases involving Americans would be adjudicated in consular courts. In effect, the treaty extended to the U.S. the privileges that Great Britain had extracted from China in the Treaty of Nanking
Treaty of Nanking
The Treaty of Nanking was signed on 29 August 1842 to mark the end of the First Opium War between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Qing Dynasty of China...
that ended the Opium War, though with one important exception. The American treaty expressly forbade the opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
traffic, but the British treaty did not.
(N.B.: Treaty of Whampoa
Treaty of Whampoa
The Treaty of Whampoa was a commercial treaty between France and China, which was signed by Théodore de Lagrené and Qiying on October 24, 1844.-Terms:...
)
Cushing set sail in the 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...
on 29 August to return to the U.S. with the new treaty. Brandywine, on the other hand, remained in the Orient until departing Macau for Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
on 2 December, carrying word of the Chinese privy council's approval of the treaty.
From Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, she sailed to the west coast of South America where she made calls at several ports before setting out to double 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...
on her way home. At the end of a long and successful cruise, Brandywine stood into Norfolk, Virginia on 17 September 1845, and was decommissioned there eight days later.
1847: Brazil Station operations
After nearly two years in ordinary, the frigate was recommissioned once more on 30 August 1847, Capt. Thomas Crabbe in command. On 13 September, Brandywine set sail for the Brazil Station where she cruised for more than three years protecting United States interests in the region. The warship then returned to the United States at New York City on 4 December 1850 and was decommissioned 10 days later.1861: American Civil War operations
Laid up in ordinary for more than a decade, Brandywine finally resumed active service as a result of the American Civil WarAmerican 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...
. She was recommissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 27 October 1861, Commander
Commander (United States)
In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...
Benjamin J. Totten in command, and set sail immediately for Hampton Roads, Virginia, where she arrived on the 29th.
Housed over and converted to a storeship, the former warship supported the operations of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron for almost three years. She spent much of that time anchored near Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe
Fort Monroe was a military installation in Hampton, Virginia—at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula...
, her most conspicuous absence coming in the wake of CSS Virginia
CSS Virginia
CSS Virginia was the first steam-powered ironclad warship of the Confederate States Navy, built during the first year of the American Civil War; she was constructed as a casemate ironclad using the raised and cut down original lower hull and steam engines of the scuttled . Virginia was one of the...
's attempt to break the Union blockade
Union blockade
The Union Blockade, or the Blockade of the South, took place between 1861 and 1865, during the American Civil War, when the Union Navy maintained a strenuous effort on the Atlantic and Gulf Coast of the Confederate States of America designed to prevent the passage of trade goods, supplies, and arms...
early in the spring of 1862.
Towed to Baltimore, Maryland by , Brandywine remained there until early June 1862, by which time the danger posed by the Confederate ironclad had waned considerably. Later moved to Norfolk, she also assumed the role of receiving ship for the squadron.
1864: Brandywine sinks at her moorings
She remained so employed until a fire broke out in her paint locker on 3 September 1864 and destroyed her. She sank at her moorings at Norfolk but was later raised and sold to Maltby & Co., of Norfolk on 26 March 1867.Note
Brandywine is notable as the final evolution of the 44-gun frigate design that began by and her sisters a quarter-century earlier; while ships such as were launched in the 1840s and differed in details, their basic design was identical to Brandywine. Brandywine was also the very first warship ever built with an innovative elliptical sternStern
The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...
which reduced the chronic vulnerability of the traditional square stern ship to enemy fire and allowed her to carry stern-mounted guns.