USS Philadelphia (1776)

Philadelphia on display at the National Museum of American History
History
United States
Name	Philadelphia
Namesake	City of Philadelphia
Builder	Hermanus Schuyler
Laid down	July 1776
Launched	August 1776
Completed	August 1776
Fate	Sunk, 11 October 1776 Raised, 2 August 1935
Status	On public display
General characteristics
Type	Gundalow
Displacement	29 long tons (29 t)
Length	53 ft (16 m)
Beam	15 ft (4.6 m)
Draft	2 ft (0.61 m)
Depth	4 ft (1.2 m)
Complement	45
Armament	1 × 12-pounder long gun 2 × 9-pounder guns
Philadelphia (Gundalow)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Model of Philadelphia as built
Location	14th St. and Constitution Ave., NW Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°53′28.4″N 77°1′46.1″W / 38.891222°N 77.029472°W / 38.891222; -77.029472
Built	1776
Architect	Hermanus Schuyler
NRHP reference No.	66000852[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	15 October 1966[1]
Designated NHL	20 January 1961[2]

USS Philadelphia is a gunboat (referred to in contemporary documents as a gundalow or gondola) of the Continental Navy. She was constructed from July–August 1776 for service during the American Revolutionary War. Manned by Continental Army soldiers, she was part of a fleet under the command of General Benedict Arnold that fought against the British Royal Navy in the Battle of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain. Philadelphia was sunk during the battle on 11 October 1776.

In 1935, amateur military marine archaeologist Lorenzo Hagglund located her remains standing upright at the bottom of Lake Champlain. The wreck was raised to the surface and salvaged. In 1961 she was bequeathed to the Smithsonian Institution. Philadelphia and associated artifacts are now part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of American History, in Washington, D.C., where curator Philip K. Lundeberg was responsible for arranging her initial display. The vessel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark.