Complex sentence: The first USS "Ticonderoga" (1814)--a merchant steamer built in 1814 at Vergennes, Vermont--was purchased by the Navy at Lake Champlain and converted to schooner rigging; and relaunched on 12 May 1814.
Split into simpler sentences: The first USS "Ticonderoga" (1814) was a merchant steamer, later a schooner, in the United States Navy. She was purchased by the Navy at Lake Champlain and converted to schooner rigging; and relaunched on 12 May 1814.