The Four Crowninshield Ships Named America

The First ship America
On 3 Apr 1783 Derby’s ship, the privateer Grand Turk brought in a privateer named Pompey to Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA after being captured during in the American Revolutionary War. She was sold at auction and purchased by Elias Hasket Derby which he then registered under the name America. She was afterwards sold in Manhattan, New York. This ship America was the first of four ships named America.

The Second ship America
At the Isle of France he bought a ship for Elias Hasket “King Derby and afterwards bought it from him with his brother Benjamin Williams Crowninshield for $9,000.00 and named her America; this ship was the second ship of that name. In Apr 1797 the ship arrived in Manhattan, New York from Calcutta, India bringing over the first Elephant, who’s name was “Old Bet.”

The Third ship America
America was bought in Bordeaux, France by Capt. Benjamin Williams Crowninshield for the family shipping firm, George Crowninshield & and Sons. She was a frigate of 654 tons and arrived in May 1798 first in Manhattan, New York, USA and then arrived in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA on October 30, 1798. In 1800 Capt. Benjamin Williams Crowninshield sailed her to Calcutta, India  and returned in nine months. Also in 1800 Capt. Stephen Webb sailed her to Havana, Cuba; in 1801 John Crowninshield sailed her to Sumatra, and in December 1802, he sailed her to Europe; in 1802 Capt. Jere Briggs sailed her to Sumatra. At the end of 1802 John Crowninshield sold her in France for a privateer. The America was commissioned as a privateer under Capt. Stephen Webb and was armed with twenty gun and fifty men; James Short, 1st Lieutenant and Jere Brigg, 2nd Lieutenant. The date of her commision was July 30, 1800 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA signed by President John Adams and Timothy Pickering, 3rd Secretary of State.

The Fourth ship America
In 1803/4 the fourth ship was built for the shipping firm George Crowninshield & Sons. She was the biggest, most famous and was a privateer in the War of 1812; she was built by the famous Salem ship builder Mr. Retire Becket and assisted by Mr. Glytton, a Scotsman, who was a man apparently of great mechanical genius who lived in Beverly, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA. On her launch day she was weighed in at 473 tons and 114 feet long with 30 feet 8 inch bems, 15 feet 4 inches in depth, and 14 feet and 3 inches draft. She was very close to the same size as the yacht “Constellation,” and was captained by George Crowninshield, Jr. (1766-1817). The description on her original certification of registry stated that she was square rigged on three masts have two decks and an igam-head. The image-head was always on the front of the ship and was a likeness of an American Indian Chief being chased by a white dog carved constructed by Edward Dorr. The Crowninshield family had this ship built for the East India trade and on July 2, 1804 she sailed on her first voyage to Sumatra, India commanded by George Crowninshield, Jr., Elias Davison of Gloucester, Chief Officer and Nathaniel Leverett Rogers who was the clerk. The America had 10 nine pound guns with a crew of 35 men.

On August 4, 1804 she crossed the line in longitude 29 degrees 59 west; “Father Neptune and his lady came on board. The usual ceremonies, ducking, etc.; September 21, she saw the Isle of France; September 22, she anchored off St. Denis, Bourbon, France. The crew went ashore to look for coffee which they found but was too much to take on board. They wanted to proceed immediately on their original voyage, but the American government would not let them, because there was an English squadron off the shore of the Isle of France. On October 4th the ship Margaret arrived from Mocha and and the crew gives the crew of the America says that they can get a good hefty load of coffee from Mocha.

On November 5, they set sail for Mocha on in the company of the ships Commerce and the brig Grafton of Salem, Massachusetts. Once they got to Mocha the crew sighted a large ship and thought it was to be the Belisarius. While at Mocha, the ships Fame of Salem, Caledonia of New York, and Hector  of Beverly, Massachusetts arrived.

On November 25 the ship America saw the isle of Socotra. On November 30 they passed through the Straights of Babelmandel and anchored off of Mocha, near the Grand Mosque bearing East by South. On December 8, the ship Cora Billings of Baltimore, Maryland arrived at Mocha, which had left Mauritius eight days before the crew of the America left Saint Denis. On December 19, the brig Panther, captained by Capt. Court, arrived from at Bombay, India and was still bound to go up further the Red Sea. That same day Lord Valentia, the English noted traveller came on board the America but was to go back to England.

On January 4, 1805 the ship Panther sails. While the Panther was at Mocha, the crew of the ship let the crew of the ship America copy some of their charts of the Red Sea; back in those days in was dangerous of exchanging information. The first ship to of the United States to reach Mocha was Elias Hasket “King Derby’s ship Recover. Capt. Nathaniel Leveret Rogers, captain of the ship Recovery was was clerk of the ship America and eventually became the President of the East India marine Society of Salem, Massachusetts and was responsible for and was the first person to open the almost all of the new trade routes  from Salem.

On January 21, the trip to Mocha was completed and had 2,291 bags of coffee, a quantity of gum-arabic, hides, goat skins and sienna. At 8 a.m. the Abyssinian was on shore and a Mr. Pringle, the English consul who was a passenger to Aden.

On January 31, they anchored the ship America next to other ships in the Back Bay at Aden.

On February 2, some of the crew to the pinnace to go to shore, but had to row nine miles and walked to two miles to get to the city. “Here sent to the ship in a Dhow 162 bales of gum-arabic, etx.” From the log book