USS Warren (1827) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids History
United States
Name	USS Warren
Namesake	Joseph Warren
Builder	Boston Navy Yard
Laid down	1825
Launched	1827
Commissioned	14 January 1827
Decommissioned	24 May 1859
Fate	Sold, 1 January 1863
General characteristics
Type	Sloop of war
Tonnage	697
Length	127 ft (39 m)
Beam	33 ft 9 in (10.29 m)
Depth	15 ft 6 in (4.72 m)
Propulsion	Sail
Complement	190 officers and enlisted
Armament	20 × 32-pounder guns

The fourth USS Warren was a special type of warship called a sloop-of-war in the United States Navy. It was a sailing ship designed to be fast and powerful. The Warren was named after Joseph Warren, a hero from the American Revolutionary War. This ship played an important role in protecting American trade and interests around the world.

Adventures at Sea

Fighting Pirates in the Mediterranean

The Warren began its first big journey on February 22, 1827. It sailed to the Mediterranean Sea to stop pirates. These pirates, often flying the Greek flag, were attacking American merchant ships. The Greek War of Independence had made the area unstable, leading to more pirate attacks. To keep ships safe, the American Navy started a system where warships would escort groups of merchant ships.

On September 25, 1827, the Warren was escorting a group of American ships. A few days later, it caught its first pirate boat and its crew. On the same day, the Warren captured a larger pirate ship, a brig, that had 16 guns. For the next three weeks, the Warren patrolled the seas, looking for more pirates and helping American merchant ships.

Chasing Pirates Near Kimolos

On October 25, while near the island of Milos, the Warrens captain, Lawrence Kearny, heard that pirates had attacked two American ships, the Cherub and the Rob Roy. That very day, the Warren chased a 10-gun pirate brig. The pirates ran their ship aground on the island of Kimolos and escaped into the hills. The Warrens crew then removed the masts and sails from the pirate ship, making it useless.

Three days later, the Warren found the Cherub and took control of it. Another American ship, the brig Lexington, arrived to guard the Cherub. The Warren then went back to hunting pirates. The next day, the Warren found an Austrian ship, the Silence, that had been completely robbed. The American warship towed the Silence to Syros island, where the Lexington took care of it.

Recovering Stolen Goods

The Warren continued its search around the island of Mykonos. It captured a large pirate boat that could be rowed by 40 oars. On November 1, the Warren arrived in Mykonos harbor. The next day, Captain Kearny and his crew found sails and other items stolen from the Cherub. They also found the sails and rigging from the Austrian ship Silence. Local people helped by turning over four men they believed were pirates. The Warren's crew captured a fifth man from the mountains. They also found a pirate boat and burned it.

On November 7, the Warren returned to Syros. Captain Kearny gave the stolen goods back to the Cherub and the sails and rigging back to the Austrian ship. The Cherub, with the Lexington as its escort, then sailed away. That evening, the Warren set sail for Andros island, which was known as a pirate hideout.

Raid on Andros Island

A small group of sailors from the Warren, led by Lieutenant William L. Hudson, went out in boats to explore Andros Island. In the darkness, a brig with many other boats opened fire on them. Even though shots went through the sails and some clothing, no one was hurt. Lieutenant Hudson and his team kept going. Near the town of Andros, they captured one pirate boat and burned another in a small bay. At the end of that bay, the American sailors blew up a house believed to belong to a pirate. They also found and took a boat that pirates had sunk to hide it. The captain of the Rob Roy later said this was the boat used to attack his ship.

The Warren stayed near Andros and Gioura until November 14. The people of Andros helped again, showing the crew a pirate boat that had a 12-pound cannon and some tools from the Cherub.

A few days later, the Warren arrived at Milos. On November 27, two American merchant ships, the Sarah and Esther, arrived with six other vessels. Three days later, this group sailed to Smyrna under the Warren's protection. They arrived safely on December 6. For the next two years, the Warren stayed in the western Mediterranean, protecting American trade.

Service in Other Regions

The Warren returned to the United States in the summer of 1830, arriving in Norfolk, Virginia, on August 30. It was taken out of service for repairs on September 10. The ship was put back into service on September 2, 1831, with Benjamin Cooper as its captain. This time, it was sent to the Brazil Station in the South Atlantic. After two years there, the Warren sailed north and reached Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 31, 1833.

Protecting Trade in the Caribbean

Next, the Warren made three trips to the Caribbean, also known as the West Indies. Its job was to protect American trade in that area. These trips started in 1836, then again in 1839, and 1841. On October 19, 1843, the Warren sailed for the Pacific Squadron. It would remain on the western coast of North America for the rest of its time in the Navy.

The Pacific and Final Years

During the Mexican–American War, the Warren served as a guard ship in Monterey, California. Later, it moved to San Francisco to be a supply ship and a place where new sailors would report.

The Missing Launch

On November 13, 1846, a smaller boat from the Warren, called a launch, left the ship. It was carrying $900 to pay for Navy supplies and was headed up the Sacramento River to Sutter's Fort. By the end of the month, no one had heard from the launch or its crew. The Warren's captain became very worried and sent out another boat to search for them. On December 18, the search party returned. They had looked all along the river but found no sign of the launch or its crew.

Eventually, the sad truth about the Warren's launch was discovered. The officers on board had been killed. The men who were with them divided the money. Some went back across the country to the east, while others stayed in California to look for gold. It is not clear if the people responsible were ever caught. However, new rules were made that all Navy personnel traveling overland had to show official papers to prove they were not deserters.

Helping Other Ships

On July 9, 1849, the logbook of a whaling ship called the Niantic recorded that the USS Warren quickly helped them in San Francisco harbor. Two of the Niantic's crew members had attacked their captain with a knife.

After this, the Warren was used only as a supply ship. It was sold in Panama on January 1, 1863. What happened to it after that is not fully known. However, records suggest that the old sloop-of-war was used to store coal by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company as late as 1874.