Sloop o' War

Hoist up the Sloop...

Apologies to the Beach Boys, but unfortunately, too many folks know the term "Sloop" from the great song "Sloop John B," which was actually first recorded by the Kingston Trio. However, "Sloop B." was originally a West Indies folk song, "The John B. Sails." Since the last Yankee Doodle Spies post had a naval theme, I thought I'd continue that theme, as April is the month when the great American naval legend John Paul Jones launched his renowned raids against Great Britain. And he set out in a sloop. I will save a detailed analysis of naval vessels for another time and will focus on the sloop. During the time of the Yankee Doodle Spies, "sloop" was more of a general term for a sailing ship of a certain size, rather than a specific type of vessel.

All kinds of Ships

The battleships of the Age of Sail were "rated ships" with square masts carrying more than 20 guns, and the most heavily armed carried over 100. There were six rates of these ships. The first and second rates were the largest battleships of the period, boasting ninety or more guns. 

However, most rated ships, or men-of-war, during the American Revolution were third rates, equipped with 64 to 84 guns. All of these ships were designed to fight in a line of battle, exchanging broadsides with the enemy line until one side surrendered. Lower rates of ships also existed, with the best known being frigates—the battlecruisers of their day—with around 28 to 40 guns. 

In the type of war fought by the upstart Americans, many non-rated ships proved to be the most practical to employ, especially at the beginning of the American War for Independence. While I won't detail all the types of cannon used, suffice it to say that the weapons were generally rated based on the weight of the iron ball shot fired. 

The larger weights ranged around 48 pounds, while middle weights included 32, 24, and 18-pounders. Smaller guns were 12 and 6-pounders. There were even smaller weights—around a pound—mainly swivel guns carried by most ships, which were not included in the ship's armament rankings. Yes, the larger-rated ships typically carried more of the larger caliber guns.

Ships of the Line were the
battleships of the age

Sloop O' War

The modern definition of a sloop is a one-masted sailboat with a fore-and-aft mainsail and a jib. However, during the time of the Yankee Doodle Spies, a sloop of war was described as a small, square-rigged sailing warship with two or three masts. Sloops were the next class below the rated ships. This loosely defined group of ships carried between 8 and 20 guns. They could be ship-rigged or brig-rigged, meaning they could have anywhere from one to three masts. 

There was no standard classification for sloops, making exact categorization difficult. A nautical dictionary from that period, Blanckey's Naval Expositor, shows how flexible the definition of a sloop of war could be: "Sloops are sailed and masted as men's fancies freed them, sometimes with one mast, with two and three, with Bermudoes, Shoulder of Mutton, Lugg, and Smack sails; they are in figure either square or round and stern'd."

British Sloop O' War 1776

How They Fought

The war for American Independence at sea saw few large-scale battles between Continental and British ships. While the major battles in the later part of the eight-year conflict between the French and British were decisive for our victory, America's navy was small and limited. When Congress authorized a navy, the largest class built consisted of frigates, which were at the lower end of the rated ships. Therefore, most engagements involved sloops from the nascent fleet and American privateers. 

Most fights took the form of raids, one-on-one encounters, and, of course, the seizure of merchant vessels. Sloops were especially suited for all these tasks because they were fast, maneuverable, and carried just enough armament to get the job done. Besides, these small engagements held symbolic value in terms of propaganda, often influencing sentiments in America, Britain, and France. Now, let's take a look at the life of a sloop of war through the eyes of two of the war's most famous.

USS Enterprise

Neither from the Star Fleet nor the Pacific Fleet, the first Enterprise originally belonged to the British and cruised on Lake Champlain to supply their posts in Canada. After the capture of Fort Ticonderoga by the Americans on May 10, 1775, it became the object of desire in the mind of Benedict Arnold, who realized he would not have control of Lake Champlain until its capture. 

He learned it was stationed at a small British garrison at St. John’s on the Richelieu in Canada and set out from Skenesborough (Whitehall, New York) in the commandeered sloop Liberty for that place on May 14, 1775. He surprised and captured the British garrison on May 18, took possession of the 70-ton sloop, and sailed it south to Crown Point. Arnold named it Enterprise and outfitted it with twelve long 4-pound carriage guns and ten swivels. Around August 1, 1775, Captain James Smith was sent by the New York Provincial Congress to General Philip Schuyler and ordered to take command of “the sloop Enterprise."

USS Enterprise

USS Ranger 

Ranger, originally called Hampshire, was launched on May 10, 1777, by James Hackett, a master shipbuilder, at the shipyard of John Langdon on what is now Badger's Island in Kittery, Maine. Captain John Paul Jones was in command. Readers might recall that Kittery was mentioned in my last post. It set sail for France on November 1, 1777, carrying dispatches about General Burgoyne's surrender to the commissioners in Paris. During the voyage, Ranger captured two British prizes. Ranger arrived at Nantes, France, on December 2. 

On February 14, 1778, Ranger received an official salute to the new American flag, the "Stars and Stripes," from the French fleet at Quiberon Bay. On April 10, 1778, Ranger sailed from Brest toward the Irish Sea, and four days later, she captured a prize between the Scilly Isles and Cape Clear. On April 17, she took another prize and sent it back to France. Captain Jones led a daring raid on the British port of Whitehaven on April 23, spiking the guns of the fortress and burning the ships in the harbor. Sailing across the bay to St. Mary's Isle, Scotland, Jones planned to seize the Earl of Selkirk and hold him hostage to secure better treatment for American prisoners of war. 

However, the scheme failed. Several Royal Navy cruisers were hunting for Ranger, and Captain Jones sailed across the North Channel to Carrickfergus, Ireland, to lure out HMS Drake, a 14-gun ship, for a fight. Drake slowly emerged against the wind and tide, and after an hour of battle, the battered Drake surrendered, resulting in three Americans and five British killed in the fight. After making temporary repairs and putting a prize crew on Drake, Ranger continued along the west coast of Ireland, capturing a storeship, and arrived at Brest with her prizes on May 8.

USS Ranger

John Paul Jones relinquished command of Ranger to take control of the refurbished prize, Bonhomme Richard. He left his first officer, Lieutenant Simpson, in command. Ranger departed Brest on August 21 and arrived in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on October 15, with three prizes captured in the Atlantic. The sloop set sail from Portsmouth on February 24, 1779, and joined the Continental Navy ships Queen of France and Warren in harassing British shipping in the North Atlantic. Seven prizes were seized in early April and safely brought into port for sale. 

On June 18, Ranger set out again with Providence and Queen of France, capturing two Jamaican ships in July and nine more vessels off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Of the 11 prizes, three were recaptured, but the remaining eight, along with their cargoes, were worth over a million dollars when sold in Boston. These attacks on British merchantmen by Ranger and other sloops of war greatly contributed to funding U.S. efforts and undermining British mercantile interests, ultimately pressuring Parliament to respond. However, Ranger's fate would be disgraceful.

Siege of Charleston

On November 23rd, Ranger was ordered to Commodore Whipple's squadron, arriving in Charleston on December 23rd to support the garrison under British siege. On January 24, 1780, Ranger and Providence captured three transports loaded with supplies during a brief cruise along the coast near Tybee, Georgia. The British assault force was also found in the area. Ranger and Providence returned to Charleston with this news. 

Soon after, the British launched their final push. Although the channel and harbor layout made naval operations and support difficult, Ranger positioned herself in the Cooper River and was captured when the city fell on May 12, 1780. USS Ranger was then taken into the British Royal Navy and became HMS Halifax. But she was decommissioned the following year. This was a bit of an anticlimax for the famed and brave sloop of war.

Sloop o War USS Providence