A row galley was a term used by the early

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

for an armed watercraft that used oars rather than sails as a means of propulsion. During the

age of sail The Age of Sail is a periodization, period that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th century, 16th (or mid-15th century, 15th) to the mid-19th century, 19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in globalization, global trade and ...

row galleys had the advantage of propulsion while ships of sail might be stopped or running at slow speed because of lack of wind for their sails. While called galleys, they were based on different hull type than the Mediterranean galley, the term being used mainly due to the employment of oars. Row galleys were often fitted with sails in addition to the oars.Winfield, Rif. ''British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1714-1792''. 2007. p. 334 During the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...

, row galleys, such as and , with crews of up to 60 oarsmen, were employed successfully in battle against larger

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster a ...

s. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

Union Navy The Union Navy was the United States Navy (USN) during the American Civil War, when it fought the Confederate States Navy (CSN). The term is sometimes used carelessly to include vessels of war used on the rivers of the interior while they were und ...

and

Confederate Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American ...

ships operating in rivers and other interior waterways, would send row galleys to surprise and capture enemy ships anchored for the night.

References

Ship types {{ship-type-stub