USS Chippewa

Four United States Navy ships have borne the USS Chippewa, after the Chippewa Indians, and a battle in the War of 1812.

The first Chippewa was a schooner (70 tons, length 59 ft, beam 16 ft, depth 7 ft, complement 15) mounting one 18-pounder gun and two swivel guns. She was captured from the British 10 September 1813 and fitted out for service in the Navy, Acting Midshipman Robert S. Tatem in command. She cruised on Lake Erie as a part of Commodore Oliver Perry's Squadron. After sailing from Put-in-Bay in October with several Army officers and baggage on board, she was driven ashore by a violent squall at Black Rock, New York. She was burned by a British landing party 29 December 1813.

Construction of a 74-gun ship of the line named Chippewa began at the Navy Yard, Sacketts Harbor, New York, after the signing of a contract 15 December 1814, but the ship was never launched. Uncompleted, the ship was sold 1 November 1833.

The second Chippewa was a brig (410 tons, complement 90) mounting 14 32-pounder carronades and 2 12-pounder guns. She was built in 1815 at Warren, Rhode Island, under the direction of Commodore Oliver Perry, and sent to New York City to be outfitted and manned. Chippewa sailed from Boston, Massachusetts, 3 July 1815, Lieutenant George C. Read in command, as a part of a squadron under the command of Commodore William Bainbridge. Before their arrival in the Mediterranean another squadron under the command of Commodore Stephen Decatur had succeeded in making peace with the Bey of Algiers. Bainbridge, after showing the flag in several ports in the Mediterranean, departed for home 6 October 1815. Upon her arrival at Boston, Chippewa was placed in ordinary.

Sailing from Boston 27 November 1816 for the Gulf of Mexico to join the frigate Congress, Chippewa ran aground on an uncharted reef in the Bahamas and sank 12 December 1816 without loss of life.

The third Chippewa was a wooden screw steamer gunboat launched in 1861 and active in the American Civil War, then sold in 1865.
The fourth Chippewa (AT-69) was an ocean tug commissioned 1943 and decommissioned 1947, and sunk in 1990 in Florida to serve as an artificial reef.

This article includes information collected from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.

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