View source for USS Independence (1814)

{{Short description|1814 three-masted ship of the United States Navy}}
{{other ships|USS Independence}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
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{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = File:Independence, 1815. 74-gun ship of the line. Starboard side, under sail - NARA - 512951 (cropped).tif
| Ship caption = 
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{{Infobox ship career
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| Ship country = United States
| Ship flag = {{USN flag|1872}}
| Ship name = USS ''Independence''
| Ship namesake = Declaration of Independence
| Ship ordered = 
| Ship builder = [[Boston Navy Yard]]
| Ship laid down = 
| Ship launched = 22 June 1814
| Ship acquired = 
| Ship commissioned = 
| Ship decommissioned = 1822
| Ship refit = [[Razee]]d, 1836
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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| Ship recommissioned = 26 March 1837
| Ship decommissioned = 3 November 1912
| Ship in service = 
| Ship out of service = 
| Ship struck = 3 September 1913
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| Ship motto = 
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| Ship honors = 
| Ship fate = Scrapped 1915
| Ship notes = 
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{{Infobox ship characteristics
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| Header caption = 
| Ship type = [[Ship of the line]]
| Ship tonnage = 2243
| Ship length = {{convert|190|ft|9|in|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|54|ft|7|in|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship draft = {{convert|21|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship propulsion = Sail
| Ship sail plan = 
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| Ship complement = 790 officers and enlisted
| Ship armament = 90 × 32-pounder (15 kg) guns
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'''USS ''Independence''''' was a wooden-hulled, three-masted ship, originally a [[ship of the line]] and the first to be commissioned by the [[United States Navy]]. Originally a 90-gun ship, in 1836 she was cut down by one deck and re-rated as a 54-gun [[frigate]].

==Service history==

===Mediterranean Fleet, 1814–1822===
[[File:Independence. Sail plan - NARA - 513024.jpg|thumb|Master sailmaker's plan of USS ''Independence'']]
Launched on 22 June 1814 in the [[Boston Navy Yard]], she immediately took on guns and was stationed with [[frigate]] {{USS|Constitution}} in Boston. She could not cruise until the end of the [[War of 1812]] as she was blockaded in port by a British squadron consisting of a number of 74-gun ships and the 98-gun [[HMS Boyne (1810)|HMS ''Boyne'']]. Flying the broad pennant of Commodore [[William Bainbridge]], and under command of Captain [[William M. Crane]], she led her squadron from [[Boston]] on 3 July 1815 to deal with piratical acts of the [[Barbary States]] against American merchant commerce.

Peace had been enforced by a squadron under [[Stephen Decatur]] by the time ''Independence'' arrived in the [[Mediterranean]]. But she led an impressive show of American naval might before Barbary ports that encouraged them to keep the peace treaties concluded. Having served adequate notice of rising U.S. seapower and added to the prestige of the Navy and the Nation, ''Independence'' returned to [[Newport, Rhode Island]] on 15 November 1815. She continued to wear the pennant of Commodore Bainbridge at Boston until 29 November 1819, then was [[flagship]] of Commodore [[John Shaw (navy)|John Shaw]] until placed [[in ordinary]] in 1822.

===Refit 1836===
''Independence'' remained in ordinary at Boston until 1836 when she was [[razee]]d (cut down to one covered fighting deck with [[poop deck|poop]] and [[forecastle]]). She was rated down to 54 guns as her configuration gave way to that of a very large frigate. She proved to be one of the fastest and most powerful "frigates" of the Navy.

===Russia, South America, Home Squadron, 1837–1845===
[[File:Us ship independance 1842-squall kellogg.jpg|thumb|Lithograph of U.S. Ship ''{{sic|Indepen|dance}}'' struck by a squall off the coast of America, 8 Sept. 1842. Razee, bearing the broad pennant of Com. Charles Stewart.]]

''Independence'' recommissioned on 26 March 1837 and sailed from Boston on 20 May 1837 as flagship of Commodore [[John B. Nicholson]]. On board for her record passage across the Atlantic Ocean to England was the Honorable [[George M. Dallas|George Dallas]], Minister to Russia. She arrived at [[Portsmouth]], England, 13 June, called at [[Copenhagen]]; then proceeded into [[Kronstadt]] 29 July 1837 to receive a visit from the Emperor [[Nicholas I of Russia]]. Two days later a steam boat arrived to transport Mr. Dallas and his family to [[St. Petersburg, Russia|St. Petersburg]].

Having received marked social courtesies from the Russian government, ''Independence'' departed Kronstadt on 13 August 1837 for [[Rio de Janeiro]], where she became flagship of the [[Brazil Squadron]] to guard American commerce along the eastern seaboard of South America. This duty continued into the spring of 1839 when Commodore Nicholson attempted mediation to end the war between France and [[Argentina]]. He reported 22 April 1839 that:

{{cquote|"I volunteered, as I conceived it a duty I owed to my Country, as well as to all Neutrals, to endeavor to get peace restored that commerce should be allowed to take its usual course. In accordance of the feelings of humanity at least, I hope my endeavors will be approved by the Department . . . I see no probable termination of this War and Blockade which is so injurious to the Commerce of all Neutrals ... "}}

''Independence'' returned north to [[New York City|New York]] on 30 March 1840. She was laid up in ordinary until 14 May 1842 when she became flagship of Commodore [[Charles Stewart (1778–1869)|Charles Stewart]] in the [[Home Squadron]]. Based at Boston and New York, she continued as his flagship until laid up in ordinary on 3 December 1845.

===Mexican War, 1846–1849===
She recommissioned on 4 August 1846, and the nation was already at [[Mexican–American War|war with Mexico]] as she departed Boston 29 August 1846 for the coast of California. She entered [[Monterey Bay]] on 22 January 1847 and became the flagship of Commodore [[William Shubrick]], commanding the [[Pacific Squadron]].

''Independence'' assisted in the blockade of the Mexican coast, capturing Mexican ship ''Correo'' and a launch on 16 May 1847. She was present to support the capture of [[Guaymas]] on 19 October and landed [[sailor]]s and [[United States Marine Corps|Marines]] to occupy [[Mazatlán]] on 11 November 1847. She later cruised as far as Hawaii, arriving [[Hilo]] on 12 August 1848, arriving [[Lahaina]] on 30 August 1848 and [[Honolulu]] 4 September 1848.<ref>Ships Log US Archives</ref> ''Independence'' returned to the East Coast at [[Norfolk, Virginia]] on 23 May 1849 and decommissioned there on 30 May.

===Mediterranean, Pacific, 1849–1912===
Recommissioned on 7 July 1849, ''Independence'' departed Norfolk on 26 July under Captain [[Thomas Conover]] to serve as flagship of the [[Mediterranean Squadron (United States)|Mediterranean Squadron]] under Commodore [[Charles W. Morgan (naval officer)|Charles Morgan]]. She was the first U.S. man-of-war to show the flag at [[Spezia]], [[Italy]], arriving on 23 May 1850 to an enthusiastic welcome. She returned to Norfolk on 25 June 1852 and was placed in ordinary at New York on 3 July 1852.

''Independence'' was recommissioned in September 1854 and departed New York on 10 October to serve as flagship of the Pacific Squadron under Commodore [[William Mervine]]. She arrived [[Valparaíso]], Chile, on 2 February 1855. Her cruising grounds ranged northward to [[San Francisco]] and west to Hawaii. Proceeding from [[Panama Bay]], she entered the [[Mare Island Navy Yard]] on 2 October 1857. She served as [[receiving ship]] there until decommissioned on 3 November 1912. Her name was struck from the [[Navy List]] on 3 September 1913.

[[File:USS Independence hulk Mare Island 1890s.jpg|thumb|''Independence'' at Mare Island Navy Yard in the 1890s.]]

===Decommissioning and fate===
''Independence'' did not leave the Mare Island Navy Yard until 28 November 1914. Sold to [[John H. Rinder]], she was towed to the [[Union Iron Works]], San Francisco. On 5 March 1915 she shifted to [[Hunters Point Drydocks|Hunters Point]], and remained for a week. Some repairs were made and a plan formulated to use her as a restaurant for the [[Panama–Pacific International Exposition]]. But this plan was not executed though a permit was granted by Exposition authorities. Pig iron and ballast were removed from her hold and valuable hard wood salvaged from her [[orlop deck]] [[Knee (construction)|knees]]. On the night of 20 September 1915, ''Independence'' was burned on the Hunter's Point mud flats to recover her metal fittings.

==References==
{{reflist}}
* [[Howard Chapelle]], ''The History of the American Sailing Navy: the Ships and their Development'' (New York: Norton, 1949), plan 27 (''Independence'' as a razee)
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/i/independence-ii.html}}

==External links==
* [https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/special/ead/findingaids/1128 USS ''Independence'' Collection (#1128), East Carolina Manuscript Collection, J. Y. Joyner Library, East Carolina University]
* [http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist6/independence.html Copy of 1912 newspaper article about ''Independence'']

{{USN Ships of the line}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Independence (1814)}}
[[Category:Ships of the line of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Barbary Wars American ships]]
[[Category:Mexican–American War ships of the United States]]
[[Category:Ships built in Boston]]
[[Category:1814 ships]]