USS Ranger (1777)

USS ''Ranger'' was a 18-gun sloop of the Continental Navy, serving from 1777 to 1780 and the first to bear her name. Built at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Badger's Island in Kittery, Maine, she is famed for the solo raiding campaign carried out by her first captain, John Paul Jones, during naval operations of the American Revolutionary War.The Importance of Ranger, J. Dennis Robinson
/ref> In six months spent primarily in British waters, she captured five prizes (mostly merchantmen), staged a single failed attack on the English mainland at Whitehaven, and caused Royal Navy ships to be dispatched against her in the Irish Sea.

Jones was detached in Brest, France to take charge of the , turning over responsibility for ''Ranger'' to his first officer, Lieutenant Thomas Simpson. Under Simpson, the ''Ranger'' went on to capture an additional twenty-four prizes across the Atlantic and along the U.S. coast throughout 1778 and 1779.

Receiving new orders in late 1779 to aid the American garrison at Charleston, South Carolina, during the British siege, she continued her raiding career until ultimately forced to anchor on the Cooper River, resulting in her capture on 11 May 1780, with the fall of the city. Renamed ''Halifax'', she finished her active service as a Royal Navy ship and was decommissioned in 1781. Later that year, she was sold in Portsmouth, England to private buyers for use as a merchantman.

History

''Ranger'' (initially called ''Hampshire'') was launched on May 10, 1777 by James Hackett, master shipbuilder, at the shipyard of John Langdon on what is now called Badger's Island in Kittery, Maine. Captain John Paul Jones was named her first commander.

Continental Navy

After fitting out, she sailed for France on November 1, 1777, carrying dispatches telling of General Burgoyne's surrender to the commissioners in Paris. On the voyage over, two British prizes were captured. ''Ranger'' arrived at Nantes, France, on December 2, where Jones sold the prizes and delivered the news of the victory at Saratoga to ambassador Benjamin Franklin. On February 14, 1778, ''Ranger'' received a nine-gun salute to the new American flag, the "Stars and Stripes" from the ship of the line ''Robuste'', under Lamotte-Picquet, at Quiberon Bay. This was the first salute from a warship and, the second to an American fighting vessel by a foreign power (the first salute was received by when on November 16, 1776 she arrived at St. Eustatius and the Dutch island returned her 11-gun salute).

''Ranger'' sailed from Brest April 10, 1778, for the Irish Sea and four days later captured the brigantine "Dolphin" between the Scilly Isles and Cape Clear and scuttled it. On 16 April, she took ship "Lord Chatham" 5 leagues from Cape Clear and sent her to Brest, France. On the 19th sunk a Scottish coastal schooner in the Mull of Galloway. On the 20th sunk a sloop. Captain Jones led a raid on the English port of Whitehaven, April 23, spiking the guns of the fortress, but failing in his attempt to burn the ships in the harbor. Sailing across the bay to St. Mary's Isle, Scotland, the American captain planned to seize the Earl of Selkirk and hold him as a hostage and use him to make several political demands. However, since the Earl was absent, the plan failed. Several Royal Navy vessels were searching for ''Ranger'', and Captain Jones sailed across the North Channel to Carrickfergus, Ireland, to induce of 14 guns, to come out and fight. ''Drake'' came out slowly against the wind and tide, and, after an hour's battle, the battered ''Drake'' struck her colors, with eight sailors being killed in action during the engagement on the 24th. Later on the same day she captured the brigantine "Patience". Having made temporary repairs, and with a prize crew on ''Drake'', ''Ranger'' continued around the west coast of Ireland, capturing a lone storeship, and arrived at Brest with her prizes on May 8.

Captain Jones was detached to command , leaving Lieutenant Simpson, his first officer, in command. ''Ranger'' departed Brest on August 21, reaching Portsmouth, New Hampshire on October 15, in company with and , plus three prizes taken in the Atlantic.

The sloop departed Portsmouth on February 24, 1779 joining with the Continental Navy ships and in preying on British shipping in the North Atlantic. Seven prizes were captured early in April, and brought safely into port for sale. On 18 June, ''Ranger'' was underway again with ''Providence'' and ''Queen of France'', capturing two West Indiamen in July and nine more vessels off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Of the 11 prizes, three were recaptured, but the remaining eight, with their cargoes, were worth over a million dollars when sold in Boston.

Underway on November 23, ''Ranger'' was ordered to Commodore Whipple's squadron, arriving at Charleston on December 23, to support the garrison there under siege by the British. On January 24, 1780, ''Ranger'' and ''Providence'', in a short cruise down the coast, captured three transports, loaded with supplies, near Tybee, Georgia. The British army tasked with capturing Charleston was also discovered in the area. ''Ranger'' and ''Providence'' sailed back to Charleston with the news. Shortly afterwards the British commenced the final push. Although the channel and harbor configuration made naval operations and support difficult, ''Ranger'' took a station in the Cooper River, and was captured when Charleston fell on 11 May 1780.

Royal Navy

''Ranger'' was taken into the British Royal Navy and commissioned under the name HMS ''Halifax''. She was decommissioned in Portsmouth, England, in 1781, then sold as a merchant vessel for about 3 percent of her original cost.

Specifications

''Ranger''s specifications were:

*Begun: January 11, 1777
*Launched: May 10, 1777, into the Piscataqua River
*Location: Rising Castle, now Badger's Island, Kittery, Maine
*Departed: November 1, 1777
*Builder: John Langdon
*Designer: James Hackett
*Yard Boss: Tobias Lear IV (father of Tobias Lear V, Secretary to President George Washington)
*Officers:
**John Paul Jones, Captain
**Thomas Simpson, Portsmouth, 1st Lt
**Elijah Hall, Portsmouth, 2nd Lt
**Samuel Wallingford, Lt of Marines
**Dr Ezrah Green, Dover, Surgeon
**Mr Joseph Frazer, Sr Officer of Marines
**Capt Matthew Parke
*Crew: 145 men including nearly half from Piscataqua area
*Cost: $65,000 Continental dollars
*Rating: Sloop
*Rigging: Square rigged on all three masts with royals, topgallant, and a full set of studding sails
*Arms: 18 nine-pounder guns
*Painting: Topside black with broad yellow stripe and masthead
*Dimensions: (Recorded by Royal Navy after capture)
**97' 2" at gundeck (est. 110' overall)
**77' 9" keel
**27' 8" beam
**12' depth of hold

References

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External links

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''John Paul Jones and the Ranger''
by J. Dennis Robinson

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranger (1777), USS
1777 ships
Ships built in Kittery, Maine
Sloops of the Continental Navy
Sloops of the Royal Navy