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 John Adams(I)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal

Frigate:

Built in 1799, at Paul Prichard's Shipyard, near Charleston S.C.

Launched, 5 June 1799

Commissioned, USS John Adams in 1799, CAPT. George Cross in command

John Adams sailed on or about 1 October to operate against French privateers in the Caribbean

Early in January 1800, the Frigate began to make her presence known

Taking an unidentified Caribbean off San Juan, P.R., recapturing brig Dolphin and brigs Hammibal and Atlantic in March French privateer schooner La Jason surrendered to her 3 April, and in May she retook schooners Dispatch and William In the late spring or summer she recaptured American brig Olive, and on 13 June she took French schooner Decade

John Adams was dispatched to the United States 5 December escorting a convoy

Placed in ordinary in Charleston in mid-January 1801

In late June she sailed to Washington where she was laid up

John Adams, CAPT. John Rodgers in command, sailed from Hampton Roads, 22 October 1802, to join COMO. Richard V. Morris's Mediterranean Squadron

USS John Adams operated with the squadron from 5 January 1803 until 3 May 1803

On 3 May she was ordered to cruise independently off Tripoli

At Tripoli, the Frigate attacked the forts and the gunboats anchored under their protection, capturing the 20-gun Tripolitan cruiser Meshouda

Reinforced by USS New York, and USS Enterprise, she engaged a flotilla of enemy gunboats off Tripoli 22 May sending them scurrying back into the harbor to safety

On 27 May, bolstered by the addition of the Frigate USS Adams the squadron again bested a group of pirate gunboats

On 21 June John Adams and Enterprise captured a 22-gun vessel belonging to Tripoli thus reducing the threat from that state

Throughout the summer and early fall John Adams continued operations against the Barbary pirates of Tunis, Algiers, and Morocco before returning home

John Adams, CAPT. Isaac Chauncey in command, rejoined the Mediterranean Squadron of COMO. Edward Preble in August 1804, to participate in the bombardment of Tripoli

John Adams returned to New York, 26 February 1805

After a third Mediterranean cruise from May to November, she was laid up in ordinary

During the War Of 1812 John Adams was in laid-up status at New York until 1814 due to the British blockade and a critical shortage of seamen

John Adams finally sailed under a flag of truce carrying peace commissioners Henry Clay and Jonathan Russell to Europe

She returned to the United States 5 September bringing dispatches from the American commissioners at Ghent

In the autumn of 1815 John Adams arrived in the Mediterranean to assist frigates USS United States and USS Constellation and sloops USS Erie and USS Ontario in maintaining peace and order in the area

Early in 1816 she returned home with dispatches

John Adams next deployed to the West Indies to suppress pirate activity

On 22 December 1817 she demanded and received the surrender of Amelia Island, off the east coast of Florida, the base from which corsairs pounced upon passing merchantmen.

In 1819 USS John Adams sailed with COMO. Oliver Hazard Perry to Venezuela to negotiate restitution for United States vessels illegally captured during the countries revolution

John Adams next accompanied USS Constellation on a voyage to the Plata River to continue the negotiations to establish friendly relations with the new Latin American republics

John Adams returned to Hampton Roads 24 April 1820

The Frigate joined the West India Squadron created in 1822 to cope with continuing pirate activity

USS John Adams was laid up in 1829 and almost entirely rebuilt at the Navy Yard, Gosport, VA.

She joined the Mediterranean Squadron in 1831

John Adams carried, ex-Commodore Porter, to Constantinople where he became the U.S.'s first charge d'affaires

John Adams was kept busy convoying ships in the Mediterranean and in 1833 visited Liberia, being colonized with American Negroes

She sailed from Hampton Roads 5 May 1838 on a cruise around the world accompanied by USS Columbia

John Adams arrived Boston about the middle of June where she was laid up until 1842

After duty on the Brazil station, she went into ordinary where she remained the beginning of the Mexican War, where she was assigned to blockading duty off the east coast of Mexico

The frigate returned to Boston in September 1848 and received extensive repairs before joining the Africa station for action with the English Navy against the slave trade until July 1853

John Adams next operated in the Pacific and the Far East until after the outbreak of the Civil War

John Adams was assigned as training ship at Newport, R.I., the wartime location of the Naval Academy

In the summer of 1863 she joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron and took station off Morris Island inside Charleston Bar

Late in summer of 1865 she sailed to Boston where she decommissioned in September and was sold 5 October 1867

Final Disposition, fate unknown

Specifications:
Displacement 544 t.
Length 139'
Beam 32'
Depth of Hold 16'4"
Speed unknown
Complement 220

Armament

twenty-four 12-pdrs

six 24-pdrs

Propulsion sail

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
098602819	188k	*Namesake* John Adams - (October 30, 1735[a] – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of the American Revolution that achieved independence from Great Britain. During the latter part of the war and in the early years of the nation, he served as a diplomat in Europe. He was the first person to hold the office of vice president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. (Wikipedia). Photo - Oil on canvas portrait of John Adams by Gilbert Stuart, circa 1800-1815, National Art Gallery Accession Number 1954.7.1.	Tommy Trampp
	250k	"Fajardo Incident". An oil painting by RADM. John W. Schmidt showing frigate USS John Adams and schooners USS Grampus and USS Beagle off the east coast of Puerto Rico, 14 November 1824. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 123338	US Naval History and Heritage Command
	47k	An unattributed oil on canvas painting of the Bombardment of Muckie (Sumatra), 1 January 1839, by frigates USS Columbia USS John Adams during the Second Sumatran Expedition. Image from http://www.antiquesimagearchive.com	Robert Hurst

USS John Adams (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

Last Updated 17 February 2023