USS Chippewa (1815)
| Career | 100x35px |
|---|---|
| Launched: | 1815 |
| Fate: |
Ran aground and sank, 12 December 1816 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 410 tons |
| Length: | 108 feet (33 m) |
| Beam: | 29 feet 9 inches (9.07 m) |
| Draft: | 16 feet 6 inches (5.03 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 13 feet 9 inches (4.19 m) |
| Complement: | 90 |
| Armament: |
14 × 32 pounder (15 kg) carronades and 2 × 12 pounder (5 kg) guns |
The second USS Chippewa was a brig built in 1815 at Warren, Rhode Island, under the direction of Commodore Oliver Perry, and sent to New York City to be outfitted and manned. Chippewa sailed from Boston, Massachusetts, 3 July 1815, with Lieutenant George C. Read in command, as a part of a squadron under the command of Commodore William Bainbridge. Before their arrival in the Mediterranean another squadron under the command of Commodore Stephen Decatur had succeeded in making peace with the Dey of Algiers. Bainbridge, after showing the flag in several ports in the Mediterranean, departed for home 6 October 1815. Upon her arrival at Boston, Chippewa was placed in ordinary.
Sailing from Boston 27 November 1816 for the Gulf of Mexico to join the frigate Congress, Chippewa ran aground on an uncharted reef in the Bahamas and sank 12 December 1816 without loss of life.
In 2008, the wreck of the Chippewa was found by a NOAA supported expedition searching for the Trouvadore, a slave ship, that wrecked in the same area. The Chippewa wreck was identified by the unique 32 pounder carronade armament.[1]
References
This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
