The first USS Warren was a 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....

 that served in the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

 from 1775 to 1776.

Warren was originally the fishing

Fishing vessel

A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing....

 schooner Hawk, probably built at Marblehead

Marblehead, Massachusetts

Marblehead is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,808 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and Devereux Beach...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, and owned by John Twisdon at the time of her appraisal for naval service in the American Revolutionary War by Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 Jonathan Glover and Edward Fettyplace on 12 October 1775. Hurriedly fitted out as the fourth vessel of the fledgling seagoing force assembled by General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

 George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

 to intercept British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 supply ships bound for Boston, Massachusetts, Warren was commissioned at Beverly

Beverly, Massachusetts

Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 39,343 on , which differs by no more than several hundred from the 39,862 obtained in the 2000 census. A resort, residential and manufacturing community on the North Shore, Beverly includes Beverly Farms and Prides...

, Massachusetts, late in October 1775. Under the command of Captain

Captain (nautical)

A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...

 Winborn Adams, the armed schooner sailed from Beverly on 31 October 1775, on her maiden voyage under Continental colors.

Warren cruised north of Cape Ann

Cape Ann

Cape Ann is a rocky cape in northeastern Massachusetts on the Atlantic Ocean. The cape is located approximately 30 miles northeast of Boston and forms the northern edge of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester, and the towns of Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and...

, Massachusetts, and captured a small wood

Wood

Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...

en schooner before bagging a Boston-bound supply ship, the schooner Rainbow, around 27 November 1775.

Warren continued to cruise north of Cape Ann until she came across 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...

 Sally on 24 December 1775. Bound from Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, to 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...

 with 153 quarter cask

CASK

Peripheral plasma membrane protein CASK is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CASK gene. This gene is also known by several other names: CMG 2 , calcium/calmodulin-dependent serine protein kinase 3 and membrane-associated guanylate kinase 2.-Genomics:This gene is located on the short arm of...

s of wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

, Sally had been captured by the fifth-rate

Fifth-rate

In Britain's Royal Navy during the classic age of fighting sail, a fifth rate was the penultimate class of warships in a hierarchal system of six "ratings" based on size and firepower.-Rating:...

 HMS Niger earlier in the month, placed under a prize crew

Prize crew

Prize crew is a term used to indicate a number of crew members of a ship chosen to take over the operations of a captured ship.In the early days of sailing and up into the American Civil War, capturing enemy ships was quite common...

, and ordered taken to Boston. Warren captured Sally and took her into Marblehead as a "Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 present" for General Washington.

After returning to port and undergoing repairs into January 1776, Warren was placed under the command of William Burke. She set sail from Boston on 25 March 1776 to intercept a convoy

Convoy

A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support, though it may also be used in a non-military sense, for example when driving through remote areas.-Age of Sail:Naval...

 of transports but was frustrated by the weather

Weather

Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...

 in her attempt to pick off any strays while sailing in company with the Continental 6-gun schooner Franklin

USS Franklin (1775)

The first USS Franklin was a schooner in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. She was named for Benjamin Franklin....

. The schooners then sailed their separate ways, with Warren going to the familiar waters north of Cape Ann.

After another rent and recruiting new crewmen, Warren joined schooners Lynch

USS Lynch (1776)

USS Lynch was a schooner acquired as part of the Continental Navy in 1776. She served for over a year on the New England coast, interfering with British maritime trade when possible...

 and Lee

USS Lee (1775)

The first USS Lee was a schooner under the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. She was named for General Charles Lee.-1775:...

 in an attempt to get to sea on 27 May 1776, but that day they could not slip past the British 28-gun 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"...

 HMS Milford

HMS Milford (1759)

HMS Milford was a 28-gun Coventry-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy.-References:* Robert Gardiner, The First Frigates, Conway Maritime Press, London 1992. ISBN 0-85177-601-9....

 patrolling outside Cape Ann harbor. When Warren did manage to get to sea, she scoured the waters of the bay near Cape Ann but did not score any successes that summer. In June 1776, she tangled with the British troopship

Troopship

A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...

 Unity, bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, with Hessian troops embarked, but met with a hot reception from the troopers' carriage guns and musket

Musket

A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....

 fire. While Warren was disengaging, some powder stored on her 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...

 exploded, killing three and wounding seven.

Returning to Beverly for repairs, Warren, still under the luckless Burke, put to sea again in late August 1776 to patrol the supply lanes between Nova Scotia and Boston. Before dawn on 26 August 1776, Warren and Lynch encountered the British 28-gun frigate HMS Liverpool

HMS Liverpool (1758)

HMS Liverpool was a 28-gun sixth-rate frigate launched in 1758. She served during the American Revolution and was wrecked in 1778 off Long Island.-Construction:...

 patrolling. The two schooners separated to flee, and Liverpool chose to follow Warren.

The ensuing engagement was one-sided, and Liverpool had little difficulty forcing Warren to strike her colors before noon

Noon

Noon is usually defined as 12 o'clock in the daytime. The word noon is also used informally to mean midday regarding the location of the sun not the middle of a persons day. Although this is a time around the middle of the day when people in many countries take a lunch break...

. Burke and his crew were transferred to Liverpool, which kept Warren as a tender until 4 September 1776. On that day, Liverpool rendezvoused with Milford off Cape Ann, transferred Warrens guns to Milford, and sent Warren to Halifax.

Condemned by a British prize court

Prize court

A prize court is a court authorized to consider whether or not a ship has been lawfully captured or seized in time of war or under the terms of the seizing ship's letters of marque and reprisal...

, Warren subsequently served as a tender to Milford until Warren ran aground in a storm near Portsmouth

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States. It is the largest city but only the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 21,233 at the 2010 census...

, New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

, and was destroyed in late December 1776.