![]() They guarded the Narrows and lower bay, and occasionally patrolled to the eastward through the East River and Hell Gate into Long Island Sound. 2Īt New York, US Navy Commander Jacob Lewis, a former privateer captain, was commodore of the fleet of 53 gunboats. New London merited two, Gunboats 91 and 92. Initially laid up, they were put back into service early in 1813 as British forces moved into coastal waters. 1ĭuring the War of 1812, the 126 gunboats still in service were dispersed among the ports along the Atlantic coast and at New Orleans. They generally had crews of about 40, including 24 seamen and 7 Marines. Most were armed with one to three guns: perhaps a 24- or 32-pounder on a swiveling carriage amidships and a smaller gun, or several 18-pounders. They were rigged as either two-masted schooners or single-masted sloops, but were also equipped with sweeps (long oars) for maneuvering in light winds or constricted waters. The gunboats were built to a number of designs, but generally they measured about 50 feet in length and 18 in beam, with a shallow draft. During the Jefferson and Madison administrations, the navy commissioned 174 gunboats between 18. The success of nine small gunboats, which made the voyage to North Africa and back, gave President Thomas Jefferson the impression that the navy could defend the nation’s isolationist aims more economically with gunboats than with frigates. But when the navy engaged in its first distant-water war, against Tripoli, small gunboats became necessary to operate effectively alongshore. The US Navy was launched with a few large warships to represent the nation and its interests on the high seas. ![]()
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