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NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

USS Argus (I)

Brig:

Laid down as Merrimack, 12 May 1803, at Boston, MA., by Edmund Hartt

Renamed Argus, 4 June 1803

Launched, 21 August 1803

Commissioned, date unknown, LT. Stephen Decatur in command

Argus sailed from Boston setting a course for the Mediterranean, stopping at Newport, reaching Gibraltar, 1 November

She arrived at Tripoli 19 June but left the blockade late in the month to join a neutral ship at Syracuse and escort her back to Tripoli with supplies for the captive officers and crew of the frigate Philadelphia which had been taken by the Tripolitans after she had run aground on an uncharted reef off that port the previous October

Argus resumed her blockade duties on 7 July

On 3, 7 and 28 August Argus participated in the bombardment of Tripoli

On the night of 4 September Argus was among the ships that escorted the ill-fated fire ship Intrepid to the entrance of Tripoli harbor where Intrepid blew-up

Through the winter of 1804 and 1805, Argus alternated between blockade duty off Tripoli and periods in port at Malta and Syracuse

27 April 1805 Argus participated in the capture of the Tripolian town of Derna

Argus continued to cruise the Mediterranean until the summer of 1806

The brig arrived at Washington Navy Yard, 13 July and was laid up there in ordinary until 1807

From 1807 to 1813 Argus cruised along the Atlantic coast

During one cruise between 8 October 1812 and 3 January 1813, she captured six valuable prizes and eluded an entire British squadron during a three-day stern chase

In June 1813 Argus carried William H. Crawford, United States minister to France

She disembarked the minister on 11 July put to sea again on the 14th

She spent the next month conducting a highly successful anti-commerce cruise in the English Channel

Early in the morning of 14 August, Argus ran afoul of HMS Pelican after a fierce battle Argus struck her colors after she had been demasted, her capitan mortally wounded, and losing 10 men killed including her captain and 13 wounded

Specifications:
Displacement 299 t.
Length 94'6"
Beam 28'2"
Depth of Hold 12'8"
Draft unknown
Speed speed
Complement 142

Armament

two 12-pdrs

sixteen 24-pdrs

Propulsion steam

Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description	Contributed By
	120k	USS Argus bombarding Tripoli, 3 August 1804. Detail from the painting (see below) of this action by Michaele F. Corne, 1805. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 57041	US Naval History and Heritage Command
	129k	Bombardment of Tripoli, 3 August 1804 Oil by Michael Felice Corne, depicting Commodore Edward Preble's squadron engaging the Tripolitan gunboats and fortifications during the afternoon of 3 August 1804. U.S. Navy vessels shown in the foreground are, from left to right: schooner USS Enterprise, schooner USS Nautilus, brig USS Argus, brig USS Syren, schooner USS Vixen, mortar boat *Dent, gunboat Somers, frigate USS Constitution* (Preble's flagship), mortar boat *Robinson, and gunboat Blake. Attacking the enemy flotilla in the center background are LT.Stephen Decatur's three gunboats and a gunboat commanded by LT. James Decatur, who was killed in this action. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 65536-KN*. Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Academy Museum, Annapolis, Maryland.	US Naval History and Heritage Command
	209k	Pen and ink sketch of USS Argus bearing the inscription ... James Lawrence Esqr. Commander 1st April 1811. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 78671. Donation of Charles H. Taylor, circa 1935.	US Naval History and Heritage Command
	401k	USS Argus burning British vessels during the War of 1812. Photo from "American naval battles", by Horace Kimball, pub. C. Gaylord, Boston, 1837, Contributing Library: The Library of Congress, Digitizing Sponsor: Sloan Foundation.	Robert Hurst
098652211	143k	Photo of an oil painting by William John Huggins (1781 – 19 May 1845), depicting the escape of HMS Belvidera, 23 June 1812. On the left of the picture *Belvidera* runs on a very broad reach. She has shot holes in her sails and can be seen firing her stern guns. Astern of her USS President can be seen repeatedly firing her starboard broadside. To the right of her, and in pursuit, are USS Congress, USS United States, USS Hornet and USS Argus. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. BHC0598.	Robert Hurst
	129k	Photograph depicting the capture of USS Argus by HMS Pelican, 14 August 1813 from an engraving by T. Sutherton, after an artwork by Whitcombe. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 2284	US Naval History and Heritage Command
	168k	Capture of U.S. Brig Argus, Commander William H. Allen, by H.M. Brig Pelican, Commander John F. Maples, 14 August 1813/ Photograph of a watercolor by an unknown British artist, circa 1864, depicting the two brigs exchanging broadsides near the beginning of the action. A description of the action is given below the picture. US Naval History and Heritage Command Photo # NH 56759 Courtesy of the U.S. Naval Academy Museum, Annapolis, Maryland. Beverly R. Robinson Collection.	US Naval History and Heritage Command
	549k	The crew of HMS Pelican prepare to board USS Argus. Image from page 501 of "British Battles on Land and Sea", volume 2, by James Grant, 1 January 1873. This file has been provided by the British Library from its digital collections.	Robert Hurst

USS Argus (I)
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)

Additional Resources and Web Sites of Interest
Battle of Derna, 27 April 1805 - Selected Naval Documents

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This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo

Last Updated 19 November 2021