USS Viper (1806)
| Career (USA) | 100x35px |
|---|---|
| Name: | USS Viper |
| Namesake: | Any one of the limbless reptiles of the family Viperidae |
| Laid down: | date unknown |
| Christened: | originally as the cutter Ferret |
| Completed: | between 1806 and 1809 at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Norfolk, Virginia |
| Commissioned: | 18 April 1809 as the USS Ferret |
| Decommissioned: | 17 January 1813 (captured) |
| Renamed: | USS Viper after being re-rigged as a brig (1809-1810) |
| Fate: | captured by the 32-gun frigate HMS Narcissus off the coast of Belize, British Honduras, on 17 January 1813 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Brig |
| Displacement: | 143 tons |
| Length: | 73' |
| Beam: | 23' 8" |
| Draft: | 7' 6" |
| Propulsion: | brig sail |
| Complement: | 64 |
| Armament: | 12 guns |
USS Viper (1806) – commissioned as USS Ferret (1806) – was a brig serving the United States Navy during the early days of the republic. Viper was assigned to enforce the Embargo Act of 1807 along the U.S. East Coast. During the War of 1812, while cruising in the Caribbean, she was captured by the more heavily armed British warships.
Contents
Built in Virginia
The first ship to be so named by the Navy, Viper -- originally the cutter Ferret designed by naval architect Josiah Fox and built at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Norfolk, Virginia, between 1806 and 1809—was commissioned under her old name on 18 April 1809, Lt. Christopher Gadsden, Jr., in command.
Enforcing the Embargo Act of 1807
Shortly after her commissioning, Ferret cruised along the coast of the Carolinas and Georgia to aid in the enforcement of the Embargo Act of 1807. She was renamed Viper during re-rigging as a brig at the Washington Navy Yard in 1809 and 1810, and from Washington sailed to New Orleans, Louisiana, arriving there on 18 March 1811. Viper remained off the U.S. Gulf Coast enforcing the Embargo Act until the outbreak of the War of 1812.
Captured during the War of 1812
During the war, Viper proved woefully inadequate in deep water operations against the larger, more heavily gunned British warships and was captured by the 32-gun frigate HMS Narcissus off the coast of Belize, British Honduras, on 17 January 1813 and taken to New Providence in the Bahama Islands.
Subsequent career
Nothing is known of her subsequent career.
See also
References
- This article includes text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
