Original Six Frigates of The United States Navy - Construction

Construction

Secretary Knox suggested to President Washington that six different construction sites be used, one for each ship, rather than building at one particular shipyard. Separate locations enabled the alloted funds to stimulate each local economy, and Washington approved the sites on 15 April 1794. At each site, a civilian naval constructor was hired to direct the work. Navy captains were appointed as superintendents, one for each of the six frigates as follows:

Humphreys wished to use the most durable materials available for construction, primarily white pine, longleaf pine, white oak, and, most importantly, southern live oak. Live oak was used for framing as it was a strong, dense, and long-lasting wood weighing up to 75 lb (34 kg) per cubic foot (1,201 kg/m3) when freshly cut. The live oak tree grows primarily in coastal areas of the United States from Virginia to Texas, with the most suitable timber found in the coastal areas of Georgia near St. Simons. This desire for live oak was the primary cause of delays in the frigates' construction. Appropriated funds from the Naval Act were not available until June 1794. Shipbuilder John T. Morgan was hired by the War Department to procure the live oak and supervise the cutting and crews. Morgan wrote to Humphreys in August reporting that it had hardly ceased raining since his arrival and "the whole country is almost under water". Captain John Barry was sent to check up on progress in early October; he found Morgan and several persons sick with malaria. Timber cutting finally began when the crews arrived on the 22nd. The earliest delivery of timber occurred in Philadelphia on 18 December, but another load of live oak destined for New York was lost when its cargo ship sank. Delays continued to plague the timber cutting and delivery operations throughout 1795. By December of that year all six keels had been laid down, though the frigates were still unframed and far from finished.

Construction of the frigates slowly continued until the 1796 announcement of the Treaty of Tripoli, which was witnessed by Algiers. In accordance with the clause in the Naval Act, construction of the frigates was to be discontinued. However, President Washington instead requested instructions from Congress on how to proceed. Several proposals circulated before a final decision was reached allowing Washington to complete two of the 44-gun and one of the 36-gun frigates. The three frigates nearest to completion, United States, Constellation and Constitution, were chosen. Construction of Chesapeake, Congress, and President was halted, and some of their construction materials were sold or placed in storage. The captains and naval constructors were laid off.

The earlier predictions of Henry Knox regarding costs of the frigates came to a head in early 1797. Of the original appropriation of $688,888.82, only about $24,000 remained. Secretary of War James McHenry requested of Congress an additional $200,000, but only $172,000 was appropriated. The additional funds were enough to finish the three frigates' construction, but did not allow them to be manned and put to sea. United States launched on 10 May, Constellation on 7 September, and Constitution on 21 October. Meanwhile, interference with American shipping by France because of their disagreement over the Jay Treaty prompted Congress to debate authorizing completion and manning of the three frigates. Secretary McHenry reported that an additional $200,000 would be required for this stage of construction, touching off grumbling in Congress over the escalating costs. Nevertheless, on 1 July Congress approved the completion and appropriated the requested funds.

When the next session of Congress convened in November, Secretary McHenry again requested funds to complete the three frigates. Though upset over the escalating costs, Congress approved an additional $115,833, but simultaneously launched an investigation into possible waste or fraud in the frigate program. On 22 March 1798, McHenry turned over a report outlining several main reasons for cost escalations: problems procuring the live oak; the logistics of supplying six separate shipyards; and fires, yellow fever, and bad weather. Additional inquiries prior to McHenry's report revealed that the War Department used substandard bookkeeping practices, and that the authorized funds had to be released by the Treasury Department, resulting in delays, causing waste. These problems led to the formation of the Department of the Navy on 30 April.

Simultaneously, relations with France soured even further when President John Adams informed Congress of the XYZ Affair. In response, on 28 May, Congress authorized vessels of the United States to capture any armed French vessels lying off the coast of the United States. As Constellation, Constitution, and United States were still fitting out, the first U.S. Navy vessel to put to sea for this undeclared Quasi-War was the sloop Ganges with Richard Dale in command. Finally, on 16 July Congress appropriated $600,000 for completion of the remaining three frigates; Congress launched on 15 August 1799, Chesapeake on 2 December, and President on 10 April 1800.