USS Ganges (1794)
| History | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Name: | USS Ganges |
| Laid down: | 1794 |
| Acquired: | by purchase, 3 May 1798 |
| Fate: | Sold, 1801 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 504 long tons (512 t) |
| Length: | 116 ft 4 in (35.46 m) |
| Beam: | 31 ft 4 in (9.55 m) |
| Draft: | 15 ft 8 in (4.78 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sail (3 masts) |
| Complement: | 220 officers and enlisted |
| Armament: |
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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 sailed to Calcutta and Canton. Apparently she returned to civilian service after serving in the U.S. Navy between 1798 and 1801.
She retained her merchant name when the U.S. Navy purchased her from the firm of Willing and Francis of Philadelphia on 3 May 1798. She cost $58,000 or $80,665, depending on the source. With hostilities with France imminent, the Navy hastily fitted her out, making her the first man-of-war to fit out and get to sea under the second organization of the Navy. In Navy service she is described as being of 504 tons, and carrying 24 guns and a crew of 220 men. Her first captain was Captain Richard Dale, who had returned in her from a voyage to China.
Ganges sailed from Philadelphia on 24 May 1798 under Richard Dale, whose orders directed him to "seize, take and bring into a port of the United States" French armed ships "committing depredations" within one marine league of the coast between the Capes of Virginia and Long Island. On 13 July, further orders authorized her to take any French armed ship wherever found, but she continued patrol between Cape Henry and Long Island for the protection of the large seaport cities. On 30 July, Ganges was directed to return to Philadelphia for refitting, but put into New York City instead because of fever and plague at Philadelphia.
In mid-September 1798, Captain Thomas Tingey relieved Captain Dale and, on 7 December, his ship was ordered to the Windward Passage between Cuba and Hispaniola to join the squadron protecting the Jamaican trade. Cruising in these waters with General Pinkney and South Carolina, she guarded American merchantmen from seizure by French naval vessels, privateers, and "all armed vessels acting without commission."
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