USS Richmond (1798)

USS Richmond was a brig purchased for the US Navy in 1798 by the citizens of Richmond, Petersburg, Manchester and Norfolk, Virginia, while being built at Norfolk as Augusta for a Mr. Myers. Renamed Richmond, she was fitted out in the fall of that year and in December stood out from Hampton Roads for the Caribbean with Captain Samuel Barron in command for service in the Quasi-War with France.

Sailing south, the brig joined Thomas Truxtun's squadron in the West Indies and operated with the ships of that squadron to protect American merchant shipping from French raiders - warships and privateers. Based at St. Kitts, Richmond convoyed merchantmen among the ports of the Lesser Antilles until June 1799, assisting, in May, in the capture of the French privateer, Louis.

On 10 June 1799, Richmond departed the West Indies with a convoy bound for Norfolk, whence she continued on to New York. Between 18 July and 6 October, she cruised off the east coast, from Boston to the Virginia Capes, in search of rumored French raiders, and, in February 1800, she returned to the Caribbean. Based at San Domingo for a year, she re-captured the American schooner Chance on 22 May and assisted in returning Thomas Chalkley to the American merchant fleet on the 28th.

After the end of the Quasi-War with France, Richmond sailed north and in February 1801 she arrived back at New York. In March most of her crew was detached; and on 1 April she was ordered turned over to the Navy agent at New York to be sold at auction.

References

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.