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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

Continental Navy Schooner Wasp (I)

Schooner:

Built, date unknown, as the merchant schooner Scorpion, at Baltimore, MD.

Purchased by the Continental Navy in late in 1775

Outfitted at Baltimore during the winter of 1775–1776

Commissioned into the Continental Navy in December 1775 or January 1776, Capt. William Hallock in command

Wasp sailed from Baltimore, 14 January 1776 in company with Hornet joining Commodore Esek Hopkin's squadron at the Delaware Capes

Wasp and Hornet appear to be the first ships of the Continental Navy to get to sea, joining Hopkins' squadron on 13 February

The schooner participated in the the capture of New Providence in the Bahamas in March 1776.

Wasp and the remainder of the squadron remained at Nassau for two weeks before setting a course for New England on 17 March

Wasp returned to Philadelphia, 4 April

After repairs at Philadelphia, the schooner returned to duty in the Delaware River and Bay

On 5 May, two British men-of-war, the 44-gun HMS Roebuck and the 28-gun HMS Liverpool, entered the bay with several prizes

In the face of these two formidable enemies, Wasp retreated into Christiana Creek

On 8 May she joined a force of galleys in attacking Roebuck after she had run aground

During the ensuing engagement, the Continental schooner captured the British brig HMS Betsey and took her into Philadelphia where the British officers were jailed

On 28 June, she engaged in the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet to salvage the cargo of Nancy

Near the end of the year, she took three more prizes; Leghorn Galley late in October, Two Brothers in December, and an unnamed sloop that same month

She also recaptured Success, an American ship previously taken by HMS Roebuck

Into the fall of 1777, Wasp continued her operations in the vicinity of the Delaware Capes until November when she and four other ships unsuccessfully engaged the British force under Admiral Sir Richard (Black Dick) Howe

Following the engagement Wasp was run aground, set afire, and destroyed when her gunpowder exploded

Specifications:
Displacement 189 t. (burthen)
Length 74'10" (gun-deck)
Beam 24'8"
Draft unknown
Depth of Hold unknown
Speed unknown
Complement unknown

Armament

five 2-pdrs

six swivel guns

Propulsion sail

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Contributed By
1217115901	64k	*Namesake* Wasp - Any of numerous winged hymenopterus insects possessing smooth, slender bodies, and an abdomen attached by a narrow stalk. They have well developed wings, biting mouthparts, and often administer painful stings		Tommy Trampp
	28k	Wasp (I) under sail. Note the Grand Union Flag.		Robert Hurst

Wasp (I)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

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Last Updated 4 December 2020