76 



agent. Col. Hackett, from Portsmouth, prepared the model 

 and superintended the construction. The practical work of 

 building was given to Mr. Enos Briggs, an experienced naval 

 architect, famed in our annals as the builder of fifty vessels in 

 this place between 1790 and 1817. 



The keel of the Frigate was not laid until the 13th of April 

 of the following spring. During the winter our streets had 

 been enlivened by the numerous sleds of the farmers employed 

 in bringing in the timber required for the enterprize. The 

 towns of Danvers, Topsfield, Andover, Boxford, and others, 

 each furnished a share of the material. The federalists consid- 

 ered it as a patriotic duty to cut down the finest sticks of their 

 wood lots to help build " the noble structure ' which was " to 

 chastise French Insolence and Piracy." The progress of the 

 building of the ship was watched with great interest during the 

 summer. She was finally completed and ready for launching 

 on the 30th September. 



Previous to the launch, the greatest interest was exhibited 

 by the public in the approaching event. Hundreds of persons, 

 men, women, and children, visited the Neck during the preced- 

 ing week, to see the preparations, and inspect the vessel. 

 When the day arrived, people flocked in crowds to Winter Is- 

 land, to witness the launch, from the hills in the vicinity, and 

 from the jutting rocks on the shore. The guns of the frigate were 

 planted on an eminence, to speak aloud the joy of the occasion. 



The launch was described by all who beheld it, as one of un- 

 usual beauty and success. " She went into the water with the 

 most easy and graceful motion, amidst the acclamations of 

 thousands of spectators." The battery on the hill thundered 

 forth the federal salute, which was returned hj an armed ves- 

 sel in the harbor.* 



As the frigate sat upon the water, like a bird, she gave visi- 

 ble evidence of those qualities, which made her so famous after- 

 ward. She proved to be the fastest sailer in the navy, for 

 some years, and was the pride of all concerned in her construction. 



Her dimensions were as follows : Gun deck, 141 feet ; 

 length of keel, 118 feet ; breadth of beam, 37 feet ; depth of 

 hold, 12 ft. 3 in. ; height between gun and lower deck, 5 ft. 

 9 in. ; waist, 6 ft. ; height under quarter deck, 6 ft., 3 in. 

 Her measurement was 850 21-95 of a ton, and she was built 

 by contract at $30 per ton. 



* A painting of the launch was made by Mr. Corne, an Italian artist 

 of some merit, formerly in this town, and was preserved for some years 

 in the hall of the Historical Society. 



