The third USS Warren was a sloop-of-war

Sloop-of-war

In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...

 that served 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...

 from 1799 to 1801.

Construction and commissioning

Warren was a copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

-sheathed sloop-of-war contracted for at Newburyport

Newburyport, Massachusetts

Newburyport is a small coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, 35 miles northeast of Boston. The population was 21,189 at the 2000 census. A historic seaport with a vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island...

, 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...

, but actually built by an association of shipbuilders at Salisbury

Salisbury, Massachusetts

Salisbury is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,827 at the 2000 census. The community is a popular summer resort beach town situated on the Atlantic Ocean north of Boston on the New Hampshire border....

, Massachusetts. On 6 July 1799, while she was still under construction, Secretary of the Navy 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:...

 ordered Master Commandant

Commandant

Commandant is a senior title often given to the officer in charge of a large training establishment or academy. This usage is common in anglophone nations...

 Timothy Newman to take command of Warren. The ship was fitted out there, into the winter of 1799, and probably was commissioned

Ship commissioning

Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...

 in either November or December of 1799.

Voyage to the Caribbean

Assigned the duty of protecting American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 commerce in Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

n waters against the possible incursions of 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...

 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...

s or privateer

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...

s during the "Quasi War" with France, Warren set sail for 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...

, Cuba, on 31 December 1799, escorting 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....

 Trio. Trio was laden with stores for the American men-of-war on the Havana station. As the ships stood out of Nantasket Roads, near Boston, Massachusetts, Sailing Master

Master (naval)

The master, or sailing master, was a historic term for a naval officer trained in and responsible for the navigation of a sailing vessel...

 Joseph Whitmore, in Warren, penned fervently in his journal, "God send us safe to our orders End in our Lawfull (sic) Ways in supporting our Independence."

Trio was separated from Warren about 4 January 1800 or 5 January 1800, and Warren proceeded on independently. The passage proved uneventful until the 17 January 1800, when six men came to Master Commandant Newman's cabin door at 18:30 hours, swearing that "they would not do Duty and . . . would go aboard the first 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...

 Man-of-War they could see." According to Whitmore's journal

Diary

A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...

, one of the men wielded the cook

Cooking

Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...

's hatchet

Hatchet

A hatchet is a single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade used to cut and split wood...

 and all apparently "used other Mutenous (sic) language." As a reward for their behavior, the six were promptly clapped in irons, to stand trial later.

At 13:00 hours on 19 January 1800, Warren spoke with the sloop

Sloop

A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....

 Mary, 18 days out of 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,...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, and bound for Cuba. Mary needed assistance, and Warren provided her with rigging

Rigging

Rigging is the apparatus through which the force of the wind is used to propel sailboats and sailing ships forward. This includes masts, yards, sails, and cordage.-Terms and classifications:...

 and the ship's foretopmast stay sail. Three hours later, Warren met the schooner Lucy, 25 days out of Providence

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

, Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

, and took her into the 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...

. Warren later passed a hawser

Hawser

Hawser is a nautical term for a thick cable or rope used in mooring or towing a ship. A hawser passes through a hawsehole, also known as a cat hole, located on the hawse....

 to Mary and took her in tow. The three ships remained in company for five days before Warren lost sight of the two merchantnmen.

Caribbean operations

Warren reached Havana early in the afternoon of 29 January 1800. Over ensuing days, she supplied 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...

 USS Norfolk

USS Norfolk (1798)

The first USS Norfolk was a brig in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France.Norfolk was built by the city of Norfolk, Virginia for the public service at the beginning of the Quasi-War with France in 1798...

 and assisted the brig Fanny, of Salem

Salem, Massachusetts

Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...

, Massachusetts, on 11 February 1800. On the morning of 16 February 1800, Warren got underway in company with Norfolk to escort a convoy of 19 merchantmen out of the coastal waters off Havana. Warren remained at sea until 8 March 1800, when she dropped anchor at Matanzas

Matanzas

Matanzas is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. It is famed for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore.It is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas , east of the capital Havana and west of the resort town of Varadero.Matanzas is called the...

, Cuba, for upkeep and to take on fresh water. She returned to patrol duties off the coast of Cuba at sunrise on 13 March 1800.

After a week at sea, Warren returned to Havana on 20 February 1800 and waited for a fleet of merchantmen to emerge from the harbor and form a convoy. That evening, a dozen ships sailed, and Warren joined them as they emerged from the harbor and gave them routing instructions as they headed for the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Warren remained at sea, on patrol, for another week thereafter, and returned to Havana on 28 February 1800. She stood out to sea again on the morning of 2 April 1800 and proceeded to Matanza where she arrived on 5 April 1800.

Warren joined man-of-war USS Ganges

USS Ganges (1794)

USS Ganges was a man-of-war in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France.She was originally a fast sailing merchantman, built in Philadelphia in 1794 for the East Indies trade and named for the Ganges, India's principal river, which flows into the Bay of Bengal. Ganges regularly...

 and a convoy of 22 merchantmen on 21 April 1800 and sailed with them for a time before returning to Havana early in May 1800. Sailing again on 5 May 1800, Warren patrolled off the Cuban coast until she arrived at Havana on 23 May 1800.

Epidemic

Warren operated locally between Havana and Matanzas until mid-June 1800 and anchored in Havana harbor on the 15 June 1800. On 24 June 1800, the ship's doctor sent Quarter Gunner William Dogget ashore to the hospital at Havana, the man suffering from a fever

Fever

Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...

 -- later determined to be 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....

. Ominously, Dogget's case signified only the beginning of what would become a terrible ordeal for the sloop-of-war Warren.

During Warrens stay at Havana, her crew — hitherto "in general, healthy, and robust" — began to have "evident symptoms of an increasing universal debility." Warren, departing Havana in company with the 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"...

 USS General Greene

USS General Greene (1799)

The second USS General Greene was a frigate in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France.Named after American Revolution General Nathaneal Greene, she was built under government contract by Benjamin Talman and James De Wolf at Warren, Rhode Island. Launched on 21 January 1799, the...

 and 12 merchantmen, sailed for Veracruz

Veracruz

Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, on 26 June 1800.

Gunner Dogget, convalescent in the hospital at Havana, was spared seeing the agony of many of his shipmates. For the remainder of June 1800, an average of 15 men per day were incapacitated for performing ship's work. The first fatality occurred shortly before dawn on 30 June 1800, when young Midshipman

Midshipman

A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...

 Jonathan Greenleaf died. Nineteen men, recorded Whitmore, who survived the yellow fever epidemic

Epidemic

In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...

, were then down with "the fever."

Thirteen more, including the doctor's mate, died before Warren reached Veracruz on 13 July 1800. Warren sent 20 men ashore there, but four died in the ensuing days. Warren ultimately departed Veracruz on 23 July 1800, having had an average of 20 to 24 sick men ashore in the hospital and 25 on board unfit for duty. Whitmore noted on 25 July 1800 that two dozen men were sick but noted optimistically that there were "many mending."

Warren headed back to Havana. Two men died on 27 July 1800, three on the 28 July 1800, and one on 1 August 1800. On 2 August 1800 at 10:00 hours, the captain's only son, John Newman, along on the voyage as a midshipman, died. Warren subsequently anchored at Havana on 15 August 1800, dropping her hook at 11:00 hours. Four hours later, Master Commandant Newman succumbed to the illness that had decimated his crew and killed his only son, when he, too, died. His remains were accordingly sent ashore and interred at Havana. Lieutenant

Lieutenant

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...

 Joseph Strout then took command and, soon thereafter, took the ship northward, bound for the United States.

Meanwhile, as Warren sailed homeward, Secretary of the Navy Stoddert ordered Captain James Barron to take command of the ship as soon as possible after she arrived, with expressed instructions to "relieve the sick; recruit men to fill the deficiency; cleanse, reprovision, rewater, and prepare her for another cruise with the most dispatch." Stoddert later instructed Barron to provide "all the protection in your power to the vessels which sail under your convoy, and see that as many as may be practicable to their destined ports."

Later operations

Warren apparently arrived at Boston in the autumn of 1800. She subsequently fitted out for another cruise and sailed for the West Indies, where she operated, on patrol and escort duties primarily off Saint Martin

Saint Martin

Saint Martin is an island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km2 island is divided roughly 60/40 between France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands ; however, the Dutch side has the larger population. It is one of the smallest sea islands divided between...

 and Saint Barthélemy

Saint Barthélemy

Saint Barthélemy , officially the Territorial collectivity of Saint Barthélemy , is an overseas collectivity of France. Often abbreviated to Saint-Barth in French, or St. Barts in English, the indigenous people called the island Ouanalao...

, near 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...

 and Haiti

Haiti

Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

, until the "Quasi-War" with France ended early in 1801.

Decommissioning and disposal

Warren returned to the United States in the spring

Spring (season)

Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...

 of 1801 and had been at Boston by 1 June 1801.

See also

• Glossary of nautical terms
  Glossary of nautical terms
  This is a glossary of nautical terms; some remain current, many date from the 17th-19th century. See also Wiktionary's nautical terms, :Category:Nautical terms, and Nautical metaphors in English.- A :...
  
  
• List of sailing frigates of the United States Navy
• Naval tactics in the Age of Sail
  Naval tactics in the Age of Sail
  Naval tactics in the Age of Sail were used from the early 17th century onward when sailing ships replaced oared galleys. These were used until the 1860s when steam-powered ironclad warships rendered sailing line of battle ships obsolete.-Early history:...