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Anav
12-19-2011, 18:23
As the "quasi-war" with France drew to a close, President Adams could report on the Navy to Congress with pride: "The present Navy of the United States, called suddenly into existence by a great national emergency, has raised us in our own esteem; and by the protection afforded to our commerce has effected to the extent of our expectations the objects for which it was created."

Peace with France freed the Navy or operations against Barbary corsairs who had been preying on American shipping in the Mediterranean. A small squadron under Commodore Dale sent out in 1801 for operations against Tripoli, was followed in 1802 by a much stronger force under Commodore Richard V. Morris. John Adams commanded by Captain John Rodgers, sailed from Hampton Roads 22 October to join Commodore Morris. After escort duty from Gibraltar to Malaga and Minorca, she finally caught up with Commodo re Morris at Malta 5 January 1803. She operated with the squadron until 3 May when she received orders to cruise independently off Tripoli. Upon arriving off Tripoli, John Adams boldly attacked the forts and the gunboats anchored under their protection. Several days later she captured 20-gun Tripolitan cruiser Meshouda. Reinforced by NEW YORK, and Enterprise, she engaged a flotilla of enemy gunboats off Tripoli 22 May sending them scurrying back into the harbor to safety. Five days la ter- with the added support of Adams, a sister frigate also named for President John Adams-the squadron again bested a group of pirate gunboats.

One of the most important victories of the war came 21 June when John Adams and Enterprise captured a 22-gun vessel belonging to Tripoli thus weakening that state sufficiently to allow the squadron to turn its attention to Tunis, Algi ers, and Morocco, which were threatening U.S. commerce in the Western Mediterranean. Throughout the summer and early fall John Adams operated in that quarter before returning home with New York.

Meanwhile, Commodore Edward Preble, who had led a powerful fleet to the Mediterranean, vigorously pressed the fight. In August and September 1804 he made a series of major attacks on Tripoli. As the second of these blows was being delivered 7 August, J ohn Adams, now under Captain Isaac Chauncey, arrived on the scene deeply laden with stores. Her boats participated in a reconnaissance patrol on the night of 18 August, and 6 days later she slipped in close to the city for an intensive 4-hour bombardm ent. Two nights later during a similar attack, an enemy shot sank one of John Adams' boats, killing three men and wounding a fourth, as the American Squadron severely punished Tripoli with over 700 well- directed rounds which took effect within the city. After a fifth attack had been successfully completed 3 September, bad weather interrupted operations and John Adams sailed to Syracuse with other ships of the squadron.

Three months later she sailed for New York with Commodore Preble, arriving 26 February 1805. After a third Mediterranean cruise from May to November, she was laid up in ordinary.

The outbreak of the War of 1812 found her undergoing repairs at Boston whence she was hurried to New York to have the work completed. There the British blockade and a critical shortage of seamen kept her in a laid-up status until early 1814. She finally s ailed under a flag of truce carrying peace commissioners Henry Clay and Jonathan Russell to Europe and arrived Wargo Island, Norway, 14 April. She returned to the United States 5 September bringing dispatches from the American commissioners at Ghent.

Meanwhile, the Barbary pirates, taking advantage of the American Navy's preoccupation with the British fleet during the War of 1812, had resumed operations against American merchantmen in the Mediterranean. Fortunately the treaty of peace signed on Christ mas Eve 1814 freed United States men-of-war for renewed attention to this chronic trouble spot. In the autumn of 1815 John Adams arrived in the Mediterranean to assist frigates United States and Constellation and sloops Eric and Ontario in maintaining peace and order in the area after strong squadrons under Commodores Decatur and Bainbridge had induced the Barbary princes to honor their treaty commitments. Early in 1816 she returned home with dispatches.

Pirates were also active in the West Indies at this time. Taking advantage of the chaos attendant upon the dissolution of Spain's American empire, lawless vessels from many nations preyed on neutral as well as Spanish commerce in the Caribbean, the Gulf o f Mexico, and along the storied Spanish Main. For the next few years John Adams was busy fighting buccaneers. On 22 December 1817 she demanded and received the surrender of Amella Island, off the east coast of Florida, the base from which corsairs of Commodore Aury pounced upon merchantmen of all nations.

Diplomacy also had an important role in this struggle to make the sea safe for American shipping. In the spring of 1819 Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson selected Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry for the delicate mission of establishing friendly relations with the government of newly independent Venezuela and negotiating to obtain restitution for United States vessels which had been illegally captured during the revolution under the guise of patriotism. Perry boarded his flagship John Adams at Anna polis and sailed in company with schooner Nonesuch 7 June. A month later he reached the mouth of the Orinoco, which he ascended to Angostura in Nonesuch while John Adams sailed on to Trinidad to await his return at Port-of-Spain. Afte r protracted negotiation, the government of Venezuela granted all the demands of the United States 11 August; but, during the passage down the river, Perry was stricken with yellow fever and died before he returned to his flagship. Commodore Charles Morri s succeeded Perry in command of the squadron,, and John Adams accompanied his flagship Constellation on a voyage to the Plata River to continue the negotiations inaugurated by Perry to establish friendly relations with the new Latin American republics and to protect American commerce from South American privateers. After visiting Montevideo and Buenos Aires, both ships returned to the United States, arriving Hampton Roads 24 April 1820.

In spite of these successes, piracy remained rampant in the West Indies, and John Adams was part of a strong West India Squadron created in 1822 to cope with the problem. Biddle's ships labored with indefatigable zeal; but the task, entailing caref ul searches by small-boat expeditions of innumerable bays, lagoons, and inlets, seemed endless. Yellow fever took a much heavier toll than the enemy necessitating reinforcements which arrived 3 March 1823 when Commodore Porter's "Mosquito Fleet" anchored off Saint Thomas. Porter, the squadron's new commander, selected John Adams as his flagship. When Porter was recalled, his successor, Commodore Lewis Warrington retained John Adams as his flagship until 1826. From time to time, thereafter. t he proud frigate returned to the West Indies for operations against pirates until 1829 when she was laid up and almost entirely rebuilt at the Navy Yard, Gosport, Va.

Completely rejuvenated, she joined the Mediterranean Squadron in 1831. One of her first duties was to take her former commander, ex-Commodore Porter, to Constantinople where he became the U.S.'s first charge d'Affaires. The ship was granted the rare privi lege of passing through the Dardanelles with guns mounted. Thereafter. John Adams convoyed ships in the Mediterranean and in 1833 visited Liberia, being colonized with American Negroes.

After extensive repairs in the United States she sailed from Hampton Roads 6 May 1838 on a cruise around the world accompanied by COLUMBIA. Particular stress was placed upon showing the flag in the East Indies where the United States enjoyed a prosperous and growing trade. Both ships arrived Rio de Janeiro 10 July but departed separately, John Adams sailing 25 July. She stopped at Zanzibar en route to Bombay, where she rejoined Columbia before pushing on to Goa and Colombo, Ceylon.

The Cowman
12-21-2011, 20:09
Did I miss it in this description... what type of ship was the John Adams?

Anav
12-22-2011, 13:10
The first John Adams was originally built as a frigate in 1799, converted to a corvette in 1809 and later converted back to a frigate in 1830 for use in the United States Navy. Named for President John Adams, she fought in the Quasi-War, the Barbary Wars, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.