USS Independence (1776 sloop)
{{short description|Sloops-of-war of the United States Navy}}
{{other ships|USS Independence}}
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{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= Continental sloop Independence.jpg |Ship caption= 1974 painting of Independence by William Nowland Van Powell }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=United States |Ship flag= {{USN flag|1776}} |Ship name= USS Independence |Ship namesake= Freedom from control by others; self-government |Ship owner= |Ship operator= |Ship registry= |Ship route= |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship builder= built in Baltimore, Maryland |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down= date unknown |Ship launched= |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= |Ship completed= |Ship acquired= by the Marine Committee |Ship commissioned= |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned= |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service= circa September 1776 |Ship out of service= 24 April 1778 (wrecked) |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport= |Ship identification= |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours= |Ship honors= received salutes to the new American Republic from a foreign nation |Ship captured= |Ship fate= Wrecked on the bar 24 April 1778 while attempting to enter Okracoke Inlet, North Carolina |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= |Ship type= sloop |Ship tonnage= |Ship displacement= not known |Ship tons burthen= |Ship length= not known |Ship beam= not known |Ship height= |Ship draught= |Ship draft= not known |Ship depth= |Ship hold depth= |Ship decks= |Ship deck clearance= |Ship ramps= |Ship ice class= |Ship power= |Ship propulsion= sloop sail |Ship sail plan= |Ship speed= not known |Ship range= |Ship endurance= |Ship test depth= |Ship boats= |Ship capacity= |Ship troops= |Ship complement= not known |Ship crew= |Ship time to activate= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament= 10 guns |Ship armour= |Ship armor= |Ship aircraft= |Ship aircraft facilities= |Ship notes= }} |
USS Independence was a 10-gun sloop of the Continental Navy. Acting as a dispatch boat, she was sent to France on a diplomatic mission – carrying important dispatches. While there, John Paul Jones embarked on her, and she received additional salutes to the American Republic from the French.
Continental Navy service
Independence was a Continental sloop built in Baltimore, Maryland, and purchased and fitted out by the Marine Committee.
In September 1776 she cruised under Captain John Young along the Atlantic Ocean coast to the Caribbean Sea to guard American merchant trade in the West Indies.
In mid-1777 she sailed for France, arriving at Lorient in late September with important diplomatic dispatches. She captured two prizes en route and disposed of these in France before the Royal Navy could interfere.
She was in Quiberon Bay 14 February 1778 when John Paul Jones in Ranger received the first national salute to the flag—the first official recognition of the American Republic by a foreign power. The following morning, Jones embarked in Independence and again exchanged salutes.
Wrecked on the bar
Independence soon sailed for the United States. She was wrecked on the bar 24 April 1778 while attempting to enter Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina. The wreck was heavily salvaged, including her guns, cargo and ship's bell.{{cite web|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/publications/naval-documents-of-the-american-revolution/NavalDocumentsOfTheAmericanRevVol12_8JUN2015.pdf |title=NAVAL DOCUMENTS OF The American Revolution |publisher=history.navy.mil |access-date=17 October 2021}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
- {{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/i1/independence-i.htm}}
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Category:Ships built in Baltimore
Category:Sloops of the Continental Navy