The first USS Morris was a sailing ship in the Continental Navy in commission from 1778 to 1779. She was named for Founding Father, Continental Congressman, and a major financier of the American Revolution, Robert Morris.
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Morris |
| Namesake | Robert Morris (1734-1806), American politician and signer of the Declaration of Independence |
| Acquired | 1778 |
| Fate | Wrecked 18 August 1779 |
| Notes | Formerly Rebecca |
| General characteristics | |
| Propulsion | Sails |
| Complement | 150 |
| Armament | 24 guns |
During the American Revolutionary War a party twenty-nine men of the 13th Virginia Regiment led by James Willing departed Fort Pitt and traveled down the Mississippi river where they captured the British ship Rebecca moored at Fort Bute. Oliver Pollock, the American commercial agent at New Orleans who had charge of naval affairs on the Mississippi during the American Revolution, purchased Rebecca for the Continental Congress.[1] The ship was renamed Morris and was manned and converted to a Man-of-war under the command of Captain William Pickles.[2]
A severe hurricane destroyed Morris on 18 August 1779, causing the loss of 11 of her crew.[3]
References
edit- ^ Marshall Sprague. So Vast, So Beautiful a Land: Louisiana and the Purchase. Swallow/Ohio University Press; 1 April 1991. ISBN 978-0-8040-0943-0. p. 206.
- ^ Frederick Stephen Ellis. St. Tammany Parish. Pelican Publishing; ISBN 978-1-4556-1239-0. p. 51–52.
- ^ Paul H. Silverstone. The Sailing Navy, 1775-1854. Taylor & Francis; 2006. ISBN 978-0-415-97872-9. p. 15.
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.