USS Adams
Three ships of the
United States Navy have been named
USS Adams, the first two after the
second President, and the third after Lieutenant
Samuel Adams, a hero of the
Battle of Midway.
- The second Adams was a wooden screw steamer commissioned in 1876, notable for service in Alaska, and not decommissioned until 1919.
- The third Adams (DM-27) was a destroyer minelayer serving at the end of World War II.
Also, a newly constructed 200-ton brig named
Adams was purchased during the summer of
1812 by General William Hull, the Army commander at
Detroit, Michigan to add to the defenses of that forward outpost. However, before the ship could be armed Hull surrendered her along with Detroit on
16 August 1812. The British armed the prize and commissioned her as HMS
Detroit. She and HMS
Caledonia gave the British undisputed control of
Lake Erie. All changed early on the morning of
9 October 1812 when a boat expedition commanded by Lt. Jesse D. Elliott captured the two vessels right under the muzzles of the guns at Fort Erie.
Caledonia made it safely to the temporary American base at Black Rock, but
Detroit, owing to light wind, was swept away by the
Niagara River's strong current and was forced to anchor within range of British guns. An artillery duel ensued. Elliott brought all his guns to his engaged side and continued the cannonade until his supply of ammunition was exhausted. Thereupon, he cut the cable; and the brig drifted down the river. She grounded on Squaw Island within range of both British and American batteries. Elliott and his men abandoned her, and almost immediately, some two score British soldiers took brief possession of the brig. American guns soon drove them out with great loss, and both sides began pounding her with gunfire. The Americans finally set fire to and destroyed the battered hulk.