USS Argus (1803)
Argus during the War of 1812 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Name | USS Merrimack |
| Namesake | The Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire |
| Ordered | 29 April 1803 |
| Builder | Edmund Hartt |
| Cost | $37,428 |
| Laid down | 12 May 1803 |
| Launched | 21 August 1803 |
| Commissioned | 6 September 1803 |
| Renamed | USS Argus 4 June 1803 |
| Namesake | Argus Panoptes, in Greek mythology a monster with a hundred eyes slain by the messenger of the gods Hermes |
| Launched | 21 August 1803 |
| Commissioned | August or September 1803 |
| Out of service | 1806 (in ordinary) |
| In service | 1807 (returned to full commission) |
| Fate | Captured 14 August 1813 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Brig |
| Tons burthen | 299 (bm) |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 28 ft 2 in (8.59 m) |
| Depth of hold | 12 ft 8 in (3.86 m) |
| Propulsion | Sail |
| Complement | 142 officers and enlisted |
| Armament |
|
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The first USS Argus, originally named USS Merrimack, was a brig in the United States Navy commissioned in 1803. She enforced the Embargo Act of 1807 and fought in the First Barbary War – taking part in the blockade of Tripoli and the capture of Derna – and the War of 1812. During the latter conflict, she had been raiding British merchant shipping in British home waters for a month, when the heavier British Cruizer-class brig-sloop HMS Pelican intercepted her. After a sharp fight during which Argus's captain, Master Commandant William Henry Allen, was mortally wounded, Argus surrendered when the crew of Pelican were about to board.