List of ships of the line of the United States Navy

This is a list of ships of the line of the United States Navy. Because of the operating expense, a number of these were never launched. These ships were maintained on the stocks, sometimes for decades, in case of an urgent need.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Quick facts Ships of the United States Navy, Ships in current service ...

Ships of the United States Navy

Ships in current service
Current ships
Ships grouped alphabetically
A–B C D–F G–H I–K L M N–O P Q–R S T–V W–Z
Ships grouped by type
Aircraft carriers Airships Amphibious warfare ships Auxiliaries Battlecruisers Battleships Cruisers Destroyers Destroyer escorts Destroyer leaders Escort carriers Frigates Hospital ships Littoral combat ships Mine warfare vessels Monitors Oilers Patrol vessels Registered civilian vessels Sailing frigates Steam frigates Steam gunboats Ships of the line Sloops of war Submarines Torpedo boats Torpedo retrievers Unclassified miscellaneous Yard and district craft
v t e

Continental Navy

USS America (given to France upon launching, 1782)^[1]^[4]
Unnamed class
- Unnamed, Boston (canceled, 1778)^[4]
- Unnamed, Philadelphia (abandoned with the capture of Philadelphia, 1777)^[1]^[4]
- Unnamed, Poughkeepsie, New York (canceled, unknown date)^[4]

United States Navy

Columbus class
- Columbus (canceled, 1800)^[4]
- Unnamed, Boston Navy Yard (canceled, 1800)^[4]
- Unnamed, New York Navy Yard (canceled, 1800)^[4]
- Franklin (canceled, 1800)^[4]
- Unnamed, Washington Navy Yard (canceled, 1800)^[4]
- Unnamed, Norfolk Navy Yard (canceled, 1800)^[4]
Independence-class^[1]
- USS Independence (1814–1912, razeed 1836)^[1]
- USS Washington (1814–1843)^[1]
- USS Franklin (1815–1852)^[1]
- USS Columbus (1819–1861)^[1]^[5]
Chippewa-class
- USS Chippewa (laid down 1815, never completed)^[1]
- USS New Orleans (laid down 1815, never completed)^[1]
- USS Pennsylvania (1837–1861)^[1]^[2]^[5]
Delaware-class
- USS Delaware (1820–1861)^[1]^[2]^[5]
- USS Vermont (1848–1901)^[1]^[2]
- USS New Hampshire (launched as depot ship, 1864; training ship, 1892–1921)^[1]^[2]
- USS Virginia (laid down 1822, never launched)^[1]^[2]
- USS New York (laid down 1820; never launched; burnt on ways, 1861)^[1]^[2]^[5]
- USS Ohio (1820–1883)^[1]^[2]
- USS North Carolina (1820–1866)^[1]^[2]

References

[1]
"Ships of the Line Appendix". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
[2]
Gordon, John Steele (February 1993). "USS Boondoggle: The Business of America". American Heritage. 44 (1). Retrieved 1 August 2022. Consider the Navy's ship-of-the-line program that followed the War of 1812… Congress, on April 29, 1816, 'authorized to cause to be built, nine ships to rate not less than 74 guns each'. All nine were eventually laid down, in shipyards from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to Norfolk, Virginia, and four of them were completed in a timely manner by the end of 1820. None of these ships ever saw action, of course, for the world had entered an extended era of peace.
[3]
Sharswood, George, ed. (1839) [1816]. "Chap. 138. An act for the gradual increase of the navy of the United States.". The Public and General Statutes Passed by the Congress of the United States of America: From 1789 to 1836 Inclusive (2nd ed.). Princeton University, via Google Books: T. and J.W. Johnson. p. 1598. Retrieved 1 August 2022. Sect. 2. That the president of the United States be, and he is hereby, authorized to cause to be built nine ships, to rate not less than seventy-four guns each, and twelve ships, to rate not less than forty-four guns each… the president shall be, and he is hereby authorized, as soon as the timbers and other necessary materials are procured, and the timber properly seasoned, to cause the said ships to be built and equipped; or if, in his judgment, it will be more conduce to the public interest, he may cause the said ships to be framed and remain on the stocks, and kept in the best state of preservation, to be prepared for service in the shortest time practicable, when the public exigency may require them.
[4]
Bauer, Karl Jack; Roberts, Stephen S. (1991). Register of ships of the U.S. Navy, 1775–1990. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-26202-9.
[5]
"BURNING OF GOSPORT NAVY-YARD; Eleven Vessels Scuttled and Burned, The Steam Tug Yankee Tows the Cumberland to Sea, Norfolk Not on Fire". The New York Times. New York City. 24 April 1861. Retrieved 2 August 2022. The Government vessels had been scuttled in the afternoon before the Pawnee arrived, to prevent their being seized by the Secessionists … The following are the names of the vessels which were destroyed: Pennsylvania, 74 gun-ship; steam-frigate Merrimac, 44 guns; sloop-of-war Germantown, 22 guns; sloop Plymouth, 22 guns; frigate Raritan, 45 guns; frigate Columbia, 44 guns; Delaware, 74 gun-ship; Columbus, 74 gun-ship; United States, in ordinary; brig Dolphin, 8 guns; and the powder-boat … [plus] line-of-battle ship New-York, on the stocks … Large quantities of provisions, cordage and machinery were also destroyed — besides buildings of great value — but it is not positively known that the [dry] dock was blown up.

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