The first USS Norfolk was a 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...

 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...

 during 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

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...

.

Norfolk was built by the city of Norfolk

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....

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 for the public service at the beginning of 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

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...

 in 1798. Captain Thomas Williams

Thomas Williams

Thomas Williams may refer to:* Thomas Williams * Williams, Gresham Professor of Astronomy from 11 November 1613* Thomas Williams , signatory of the Mayflower Compact...

 was appointed to the command and she was reported ready for sea, except for her other officers, on 9 September 1798.

Service history

Captain Alexander Murray, commanding
, was advised that Norfolk was to be included in the little squadron under his command. Ordered to sail for the West Indies for the purpose of destroying French armed vessels and protecting American commerce, Montezuma, Norfolk, and Lt. 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:...

 in command, sailed from Norfolk 25 October.

On the cruise south Retaliation was captured by two French ships. Montezuma and Norfolk, after recapturing a small American vessel which had been captured by the French, put in at Antigua

Antigua

Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...

. Thereafter Norfolk cruised near St. Kitts

Saint Kitts

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts Saint Kitts (also known more formally as Saint Christopher Island (Saint-Christophe in French) is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean...

.

Norfolk joined Commodore Truxtun's squadron and 20 January 1799 the Commodore ordered Captain Williams to join him at Basseterre

Basseterre

Basseterre , estimated population 15,500 in 2000, is the capital of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the West Indies. Geographically, the Basseterre port is located at , on the south western coast of Saint Kitts Island, and it is one of the chief commercial depots of the Leeward Islands...

, St. Kitts. Norfolk sailed northward with a convoy of merchant ships 6 March, and proceeded to Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

.

Master Commandant

Master Commandant

Master commandant was a rank within the early United States Navy. The rank of master commandant was slightly higher than lieutenant, and a master commandant would often command warships too small to justify the command of a full captain. In the United States Navy, the rank was shortened to...

 William Bainbridge was ordered to relieve Captain Williams 29 March and to refit the ship for sea as soon as possible. Norfolk then sailed to St. Kitts to join Truxtun's squadron; she arrived Basse-terre Roads 17 May and was subsequently ordered to Commodore Thomas Tingey

Thomas Tingey

Thomas Tingey was a Commodore of the United States Navy.-History:Tingey was born in London on 11 September 1750. As a youth, he served in the British Navy commanding a blockhouse at Chateaux Bay on the Labrador coast. He later commanded merchant vessels in the West Indies before coming to the...

's Squadron. In company with 16 June Norfolk captured the French privateer Vainqueur off Guadaloupe.

Norfolk arrived New York 14 August with French prisoners. After extensive repairs, she was ordered to the West Indies again 16 September, cruising on the San Domingo Station and later in the vicinity of Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

, actively protecting American commerce and opening island ports to American trade. She sailed from Havana 3 April 1800 with a number of merchant ships under convoy, arriving Philadelphia 12 April.

Lt. Thomas Calvert took command of Norfolk 29 April, and on 20 May she was ordered to convoy vessels to Cartagena

Cartagena, Colombia

Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...

 and then to take up station with the squadron at San Domingo. Norfolk sailed in June and en route encountered two French privateers, but both escaped, one after a half hour's fight in which Lt. Calvert was seriously wounded. Later, in company with , Norfolk captured a small cutter sloop. Lt. Calvert was ordered by Commodore Murray 2 August to take under convoy vessels from Cartagena and Cape St. Nicole Mole and proceed with them to the coast of North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, after which, due to Norfolks poor condition, he sailed to Baltimore.

Benjamin Stoddert

Benjamin Stoddert

Benjamin Stoddert was the first United States Secretary of the Navy from May 1, 1798 to March 31, 1801.-Early life:...

, the Secretary of the Navy, ordered Lt. Calvert to pay off the crew of Norfolk 21 October, to remove her stores and furnishings, and to prepare her for sale. Norfolk was subsequently sold, probably in November 1800.