Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

Providence (I)

Sloop-of-War:
  • Built, date unknown as the sloop Katy, location unknown
  • Launched, date unknown
  • Acquired by the Rhode Island General Assembly, 15 June 1775 by charter from John Brown of Providence, and placed under the command of Abraham Whipple
  • Purchased by the state of Rhode Island 31 October, 1775
  • Katy was taken into Continental service, 3 December 1775, renamed Providence, CAPT. John Hazard in command
  • Providence was commissioned, 9 January 1776
  • Providence joined a squadron command by Chief of the Fleet of the United Colonies Esek Hopkins to clear English and Tory Ships from colonial ports, storm British forts at Bermuda and the Bahamas, battle British ships, taking prizes, escorting merchantmen and sailing independently as a raider
  • Destroyed by her crew, with other American vessels in the Penobscot River, 14 August 1779, to prevent her falling into the hands of the British
  • Providence was the first ship authorized for the Continental Navy, the first command of John Paul Jones and the first ship to land US Marines
    Specifications:
    Displacement unknown
    Length unknown
    Beam unknown
    Draft unknown
    Speed unknown
    Complement 90
    Armament
    twelve 4 pdrs.
    Propulsion sail
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    Royal Savage
    098655804    		 101k A Sketch of the New England Armed Vessels, in Valcure Bay on Lake Champlain as seen in the morning of 11 October 1776. Contemporary artwork by C. Randle, depicting the Continental squadron, under Brigadier General Benedict Arnold, just before the Battle of Valcour Island. The vessels shown include schooner Royal Savage (center) and (from left to right around Royal Savage):
    schooner Revenge (I),
    galley Washington (II),
    gondola Philadelphia (I),
    galley Congress (I),
    gondola Jersey,
    galley Lee (II),
    gondola Boston (I) (in the middle, largely hidden behind Royal Savage's sails),
    galley Spitfire,
    gondola New Haven (I),
    gondola Providence (I),
    gondola Connecticut (I),
    gondola New York (I) ,
    sloop Enterprise (I) and
    galley Trumbull (I).
    U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. Photo # NH 92864     		Robert Hurst
    Providence 255k Post card from a painting by John Mecray of USS Providence Tommy Trampp
    Providence 346k Post card from a painting by Francis Holman of USS Providence Tommy Trampp
    Providence 126k Post card from a painting by Francis Holman (1777) of the sloop USS Providence attacking an English Vessel Tommy Trampp
    Providence 94k Oil painting by Alice B. Borsik of Continental Sloop USS Providence
    US Navy History and Heritage Command photo # NH 65935-KN, courtesy of the US Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C. Donation of Mrs. Alice B. Borsik, 1968    		 US Navy History and Heritage Command
    Providence 135k Oil painting by W. Nowland Van Powell of Continental Sloop USS Providence
    US Navy History and Heritage Command photo # NH 85201-KN , courtesy of the US Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C. Donation of the Memphis Council, U.S. Navy League, 1976    		 US Navy History and Heritage Command
    Providence 112k "New Providence Raid, March 1776" - An oil painting on canvas by V. Zveg, 1973, depicting Continental Sailors and Marines landing on New Providence Island, Bahamas, on 3 March 1776. Their initial objective, Fort Montagu, is in the left distance. Close off shore are the small vessels used to transport the landing force to the vicinity of the beach. They are (from left to right): two captured sloops, and the Continental sloops USS Wasp and USS Providence. The other ships of the American squadron are visible in the distance. The operation was commanded by Commodore Esek Hopkins.
    US Navy History and Heritage Command photo # NH 79419-KN , courtesy of the US Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C.    		 US Navy History and Heritage Command
    Providence 24k Replica of the sloop USS Providence underway in 1976 off Newport, R.I. The replica was built in the Bicentennial year of 1976 to honor a vessel that played a key role in the fight for American Independence. The replica of Providence was launched in October 1976 by Seaport '76 Newport, RI as a living reminder of our early colonial navy. Tommy Trampp
    USS Providence (I)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Old Navy" Steam and Sail Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 6 May 2022