“S” is for South Carolina

“S” is for South Carolina. Warship. During the Revolutionary War, patriot leaders of South Carolina worried about threats from the sea. Local officials dealt with this problem by creating a state navy--the most famous component of which was the frigate South Carolina, the largest warship under American command during the war. The state sent Commodore Alexander Gillon to Europe where in Amsterdam he purchased a nearly completed French frigate. He secured a three-year lease on the ship in 1780. The ship was 168 feet long and 47 feet wide, sported 40 guns, and carried 550 men. With cooperation from Spanish officials in Havana, Gillon captured New Providence in the Bahamas in May 1782. On her second cruise in the fall of 1782, the South Carolina fell captive to three British cruisers at the mouth of the Delaware River, ending its roving ways.