USS Enterprise (1799)

Enterprise capturing Tripolitan Corsair. 1801
History
United States
NameUSS Enterprise
BuilderHenry Spencer
Cost$16,240
Launched1799
FateLost July 9, 1823
General characteristics 1799
Tons burthen135 (bm)
Length84 ft 7 in (25.78 m) 60 feet at keel
Beam22 ft 6 in (6.86 m)
Draft9 feet 6 inches
Depth of hold10 ft (3.0 m)
Sail planSchooner
Complement70 officers and enlisted
Armament12 × 6 pounder guns (2.7 kg)
General characteristics 1800
Tons burthen165 (bm)
Length83 ft 6 in (25.5 m)
Beam22 ft 6 in (6.9 m)
Depth of hold11 ft 6 in (3.5 m)
Armament14 guns

USS Enterprise was a schooner, built by Henry Spencer at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1799 for the United States Navy. Her first commander thought that she was too lightly built and that her quarters, in particular, should be bulletproofed. Enterprise was overhauled and rebuilt several times, effectively changing from a twelve-gun schooner to a fourteen-gun topsail schooner and eventually to a brig. Enterprise saw action in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean again, capturing numerous prizes. She wrecked in July 1823.