Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

USS Alligator (I)

Schooner-Gunboat:
  • Built as Gunboat No. 166 at Wilmington, N.C. in 1809 by Ames Perry as Gunboat No. 166
  • Launched, date unknown
  • Commissioned sometime in mid-1809, Master Commandant Joseph Tarbell in command
  • Gunboat No. 166 served on the coast of the Carolinas protecting coastal commerce
  • Named USS Alligator in 1812
  • At the mouth of the Stone River, S.C., 29 January 1814, Alligator was attacked by boats from two British ships
  • Alligator cut her cable, made sail and opened fire on the British boats, she lost two men killed and two wounded in the encounter
  • Alligator sank in July in Port Royal Sound during a heavy storm
  • Refloated, she resumed service until sold, 12 June 1815
  • Final Disposition, fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 80 t.
    Length 60' (on the gun deck)
    Beam 16'
    Depth of Hold 5'11"
    Draft unknown
    Speed 11 kts
    Complement 40
    Armament four guns
    Propulsion sail
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		Size Image Description Source
    Alligator 40k Sail plan of the United States Navy schooner USS Alligator.
    Unattributed, apparently from US National Archives - Scanned from Chappelle, Howard I., "The History of the American Sailing Navy: The Ships and Their Development" New York: W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1949, ISBN 1-56852-222-3, Plate XII, facing p. 201.    		 Robert Hurst
    USS Alligator (I)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Old Navy" Steam and Sail Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 21 April 2017