The first Boston was a gondola built at Skenesborough (present day Whitehall), New York, in 1776, mounting one 18-pounder and 2 12-pounder guns, and with a crew of 45. She took part in the Battle of Lake Champlain that delayed the British invasion and was burned to avoid capture by the British squadron, at Buttonmold Bay, New York, 13 October 1776.
The second Boston was a 24-gun frigate, launched 1776 and active in the American Revolutionay War until captured by the British in 1780 along with USS Ranger and USS Providence.