USS Delaware vs La Croyable

The USS Delaware vs La Croyable, or the Action of July 7 1798, was a single ship action fought between the French schooner La Croyable and the sloop-of-war USS Delaware (1798). The engagement resulted in the first capture of any ship by the United States Navy, which had been formed just months before the battle.

Originally a merchant ship called the Hamburgh Packet, the USS Delaware was purchased by the United States Navy on May 5, 1798. With a complement of 180 men and twenty mounted guns–sixteen 9-pounder (4.1 kilogram) long guns and four 6-pounder (2.7 kilogram) long guns, she was given to Captain Stephen Decatur, Sr. to command. The Delaware set sail from Delaware Bay on July 6 with instructions to join the USS United States (1797) and the USS Ganges (1794) and patrol the section of the Atlantic Coast between Long Island and Cape Henry.

On July 7 the day after her first sail, the USS Delaware happened upon the American merchant vessel Alexander Hamilton, which had been carrying wine and brandy from New York to Baltimore when she was stopped by a French privateer who ransacked her. She was reduced to limping across the Great Egg Harbor Bay. When Captain Decatur heard these reports from the Hamilton crew, he began scouting the bay for a potentially culpable French vessel.

An attack by a French privateer on an American merchantman was not unheard of at the time. Tensions between the United States and France had been rising in the months before the battle. The United States Congress had instructed all American warships in the newly-formed United States Navy to "capture any French vessel found near the coast preying upon American commerce." Congress had also commissioned one thousand privateers to combat against the French hostilities of the day. Captain Decatur, who had distinguished himself as a privateer during the American Revolutionary War, was now looking to to make the most of the opportunity to command the Delaware.

In the midst of her search for the French privateers, the Delaware spotted four sails on the horizon. Under Decatur's orders, the Delaware crew had her pretend to be a merchant vessel. The act was convincing enough to draw the attention and pursuit of the French privateer schooner La Croyable. It wasn't long before the captain of the La Croyable discovered that the Delaware was a warship and tried to reverse course. After a lengthy chase, the La Croyable found herself pinned against the shore of Great Egg Harbor Bay. She surrendered after only a few cannon shots.

On July 8 the Delaware made her way back up the Delaware River with her prize and docked at Fort Mifflin. After executing the first American victory of the Quasi-War, Decatur became a hero. He boasted of his catch to several people, including Captain John Barry of the USS United States. The La Croyable was deemed a lawful capture by the U.S. government and renamed the USS Retaliation. She was given to the command of Lieutenant William Bainbridge. Bainbridge would join a fleet of American ships in the Caribbean on October 15. Later in November however, the French frigates Volontaire and L'Insurgente attacked the USS Retaliation, capturing her. This was the only American vessel to be captured during the entire Quasi War.