The USS Crescent

Today most of us would react in horror to the idea of arming our adversaries with an American-built warship to bribe them from attacking our merchant vessels.  But before the United States became a maritime power,  many considered it cheaper to pay tribute to North African pirates than to build a navy from scratch.  Thus, in  1796, while the original six frigates were under construction,  word arrived of a diplomatic settlement with Algiers.  Terms included payment of a lump sum of half a million dollars as ransom for American prisoners,  an annual tribute of over $20,000, and construction of  four ships, one of which would become the  frigate “Crescent. ”

Congressional authorization for the  original six frigates  had called for a halt in construction the event of peace with Algiers.   President Washington nevertheless  pressed  Congress to reconsider.   As a compromise, Congress approved the completion of three, (the “United States”, “Constellation”, and “Constitution”),  with the remaining three (including the “Congress” in Portsmouth), to temporarily remain unfinished on the shipyard docks.

Designed by ship builder Josiah Fox and built by naval constructor James Hackett, the “Crescent” was a 36 gun frigate  built at the Portsmouth New Hampshire Naval Shipyard.   In this letter,  Hackett reports to Secretary of War James McHenry that the “Crescent,” built for the Dey of Algiers, was launched  on 29 June 1797 at 4pm.   A year later,  the American captives came home,  although many had died due to disease and dreadful living conditions.