USS Essex

Black Seas: USS Essex

The USS Essex was a 36-gun frigate that participated in the Quasi-War with France, the First Barbary War, and the War of 1812. She was highly successful at disrupting British whaling in the Pacific before being captured in 1814 and recommissioned as HMS Essex under the Royal Navy.

She was launched on 30th September 1799 and was armed with short-range carronades that could not match the range of 18 or 24-pounder naval guns. The US Navy still accepted her, and under Captain Edward Preble, who had the distinction of being the first US Navy vessel to cross the Equator in early 1800.

In the first First Barbary War, duties moved to the Mediterranean, with blockade and convoy escort duties off Gibraltar, as well as participation in the Battle of Deme (April 27, 1805).

After the declaration of war in 1812, the USS Essex, under the command of Captain David Porter, achieved great success in disrupting British whaling in the Pacific. From February 1813, over the course of a year, Porter managed to capture 12 British whalers and 360 prisoners whilst sailing around Cape Horn and across the Pacific.

On March 28, 1814, however, at the Battle of Valparaiso, Porter was forced to surrender to the frigate HMS Phoebe and the sloop-of-war HMS Cherub when the Essex became too crippled to resist. Of the 12 ships Porter had captured, only one returned to the United States; seven returned to British control, three were sunk, and the Chilian.

As HMS Essex, she was reclassified as a 42-gun ship and served as a troop transport in 1819. In 1823, she was used as a prison ship in Cork and from 1824-1834 in Kingstown.

As part of a US Navy fleet in Black Seas, special rules acknowledge the successful capturing of whaling ships. When boarding with the USS Essex, you gain a +2 modifier.

Box contains 1 Resin & Metal parts model.

Model supplied unassembled and unpainted.