USS Argus (1803)

Argus during the War of 1812
History
United States
NameUSS Merrimack
NamesakeThe Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire
Ordered29 April 1803
BuilderEdmund Hartt
Cost$37,428
Laid down12 May 1803
Launched31 August 1803
Commissioned6 September 1803
RenamedUSS Argus 4 June 1803
NamesakeArgus Panoptes, in Greek mythology a monster with a hundred eyes slain by the messenger of the gods Hermes
Launched21 August 1803
CommissionedAugust or September 1803
Out of service1806 (in ordinary)
In service1807 (returned to full commission)
FateCaptured 14 August 1813
General characteristics
TypeBrig
Tons burthen299 (bm)
Length
  • Gun-deck: 94 ft 6 in (28.80 m)
  • Keel: 77 ft (23 m)
Beam28 ft 2 in (8.59 m)
Depth of hold12 ft 8 in (3.86 m)
PropulsionSail
Complement142 officers and enlisted
Armament
  • 2 × 12-pounder guns
  • 18 × 24-pounder carronades

The first USS Argus, originally named USS Merrimack, was a brig in the United States Navy commissioned in 1803. She enforced the Embargo Act of 1807 and fought in the First Barbary War – taking part in the blockade of Tripoli and the capture of Derna – and the War of 1812. During the latter conflict, she had been audaciously raiding British merchant shipping in British home waters for a month, when the heavier British Cruizer-class brig-sloop HMS Pelican intercepted her. After a sharp fight during which Argus's captain, Master Commandant William Henry Allen, was mortally wounded, Argus surrendered when the crew of Pelican were about to board.