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Article: Ships of the Line
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
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SHIPS OF THE LINE
SHIPS OF THE LINE,
or line-of-battle ships, were the eighteenth-and early nineteenth-century counterparts of modern first-class battleships. The first U.S. ship of this type, the
America,
was launched at Portsmouth, New Hampshire on 5 November 1782, and was given to the French. In 1813 Congress authorized four more, none of which saw action. In 1816 Congress authorized nine more ships of the line, including the
Vermont, ...