The USS Wasp was an 8-gun schooner serving in the Continental Navy, originally built as the merchant vessel Scorpion in Baltimore. Purchased between December 2 and 18, 1775, under authorization from the Second Continental Congress, she became the first American naval ship to bear the name Wasp. Her construction and outfitting occurred in Baltimore from December 1775 through early 1776, and she was commissioned in late 1775 or early 1776 under Captain William Hallock. Designed as a relatively small and agile vessel, Wasp played a notable role in early American naval operations. She set sail from Baltimore on January 14, 1776, accompanied by the schooner Hornet and a convoy, making her one of the first ships of the Continental Navy to put to sea. She joined Commodore Esek Hopkins’ squadron at the Delaware Capes on February 13, 1776, marking the beginning of the first American squadron to sail together. Under Hopkins’ leadership, Wasp participated in a daring expedition to the Bahamas, where the fleet successfully captured Nassau and Fort Nassau in early March 1776, seizing a significant cache of artillery—close to 90 cannon and 15 brass mortars—though much of the gunpowder had been spirited away. Following this raid, Wasp returned independently to Philadelphia by April 1776 after repairs, and continued patrolling along the Delaware River and coast. She engaged British ships, notably retreating into Christiana Creek when faced with the 44-gun HMS Roebuck and 28-gun Liverpool, but later participated in an attack on the grounded Roebuck, capturing the British brig HMS Betsey. Throughout her service, Wasp was active in capturing multiple prizes, including the Leghorn Galley, Two Brothers, and the Success, as well as participating in the salvage operation at Turtle Gut Inlet. Her operational history culminated in November 1777, when she and other American ships engaged British forces under Admiral Sir Richard Howe. During this engagement, Wasp was run aground, set afire, and destroyed when her gunpowder exploded, ending her service. Wasp’s career highlights her as a pioneering vessel in the Continental Navy, notable for her early engagement in American maritime efforts and her role in the first American squadron to operate at sea.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.