USS Constellation vs L ' Insurgente The USS " Constellation " vs " L ' Insurgente " , or the Action of 9 February 1799 , was the first United States naval victory against a foreign naval vessel . A single - ship action fought between frigate s of the French Navy and the United States Navy during the Quasi - War , the battle resulted in the capture of " L ' Insurgente " . The previous year , an undeclared war had begun between the United States and France due to French privateer ing attacks against American vessels . An American squadron under Commodore Thomas Truxtun had been sent to patrol between Puerto Rico and Saint Kitts with orders to engage any French forces they found in the area . While Truxtun was sailing independently of his squadron in the " Constellation " , his flagship , he met and engaged " L ' Insurgente " . After chasing the French ship through a storm , " Constellation " was able to force " L ' Insurgente " into an engagement that lasted an hour and fourteen minutes before the French frigate surrendered . The French sustained heavy casualties in the action , while the numbers of American dead and wounded were low . After the action " L ' Insurgente " was taken to Saint Kitts and commissioned into the United States Navy as . With this and later victories , American morale soared , and Truxtun returned home to honor and praise from the American government and the public at large . Background . In 1798 an undeclared war between the United States and France began due to French privateer ing attacks against American vessels . In response to the attacks , the United States government decided to go on the offensive by sending four naval squadron s to the Caribbean with orders to seize armed French vessels and prevent privateers from attacking American ships . One of the squadrons , under the command of Commodore Thomas Truxtun , was dispatched to cruise between Puerto Rico and Saint Kitts . Truxtun ' s squadron consisted of his flagship , the frigate , the 20 - gun , the brig s and , and the revenue cutter " Virginia " . Opposing Truxtun were several French vessels based out of Guadeloupe , among them a number of privateers as well as two French naval frigates and a smaller , 20 - gun corvette . One of the French frigates , the " L ' Insurgente " , sortie d out from Guadaloupe on 8 February , commanded by Michel - Pierre Barreaut . Though the 1 , 265 - ton " Constellation " was officially classified by the United States Navy as a 36 - gun frigate , during the Quasi - War she carried a heavier armament of 38 guns . Consisting of twenty - eight 24 - pounders on her main deck and ten 12 - pounders on her spar deck , " Constellation " main armament had a combined throwing weight of . In contrast , " L ' Insurgente " , rated a 32 - gun , was armed with 40 cannons . The armament of Barreaut ' s 950 - ton ship consisted of twenty - four 12 - pounders , two 18 - pounders , eight 6 - pounders , four 32 - pounder carronade s , and two 24 - pounder carronades , totaling a combined throwing weight of only . Thus although Barreaut ' s vessel had the advantage of more guns , Truxtun ' s frigate had a more powerful armament due to shot weight . In a boarding action , the French frigate ' s crew of 409 men would have had an advantage over the American ship ' s 309 , but in a gunnery duel the Americans were superior . Battle . At noon on 9 February , while cruising independently , Truxtun ' s men sighted a frigate off the coast of Nevis . Upon approach it was evident that the vessel was flying American colors , and " Constellation " attempted to move closer to investigate . Unknown to Truxtun , the frigate was the French " L ' Insurgente " under Michel - Pierre Barreaut . Nearing the still - unidentified " L ' Insurgente " , Truxtun attempted to signal her to discern her nationality by sending first British signals and then American signals . Unable to send the correct reply , " L ' Insurgente " replaced the American colors with French and fired a gun . Upon sighting " Constellation " at 12 : 30 p . m . , Barreaut mistook the ship for a British corvette and began to flee toward the Dutch islands of Saba and Sint Eustatius to evade his assailant . Truxtun gave chase , but was hampered at 1 : 30 p . m . when the two vessels ran into a gale . As a result of the storm , " L ' Insurgente " lost her main topmast and was severely damaged , while " Constellation " managed to avoid significant damage and was able to close in on Barreaut . Though Truxton ' s ship initially held an advantageous position in the wind known as the weather gauge , she was over - armed , and as a result her leeward side heeled so much that the gunports on that side of the vessel could not be opened . Truxton decided to cede the weather gauge to the French by sailing around the " L ' Insurgente " s leeward side and bringing the " Constellation " near the French frigate ' s port side . In such a position the " Constellation " was disadvantaged by the wind , but was able to avoid some of the heeling effect on her guns . With the " Constellation " approaching his frigate fast , Barreaut tried to communicate with the Americans in order to avoid a fight . The American frigate ignored the French attempt at hailing her and closed to within fifty yards of " L ' Insurgente " before opening up on her with a broadside . Loading her cannons with double shot , the opening American salvo severely damaged the French frigate ' s quarterdeck . Barreaut ' s vessel replied with her own broadsides that damaged " Constellation ' s " fore topmast . Midshipman David Porter , stationed in the rigging of the " Constellations " damaged mast , managed to relieve pressure from it and prevented its collapse . The " L ' Insurgente " attempted to close on the American frigate to board her . With less damage to her rigging , " Constellation " was easily able to avoid Barreaut ' s attempts at boarding . " Constellation " crossed " L ' Insurgente " s bow and raked her with a broadside . Truxtun then maneuvered " Constellation " to the " L ' Insurgente " s starboard side and fired further broadsides into the French frigate , but received damage to her rigging in return . " Constellation " slipped ahead of " L ' Insurgente " , again crossing her bow and raking her . Once more " Constellation " slipped next to " L ' Insurgente " s leeward side and fired into her , disabling the French vessel ' s 18 - pounder guns . " Constellation " crossed the frigate ' s bow a third time , but the French ship had by then sustained massive damage . Attempts by Barreaut ' s crew to repair " L ' Insurgente " s rigging were fruitless and the French captain subsequently was forced to strike his colors and surrender the vessel . The entire engagement had lasted one hour and fourteen minutes . Aftermath . The end of the action signaled the first victory over an enemy warship for the newly formed United States Navy . After Barreaut had struck his colors , Truxtun sent a boat over to board , identify , and take possession of the French vessel . It was only upon boarding " L ' Insurgente " that the Americans learned the identity of their opponents . The storm and the battle had caused immense damage to the French frigate . In comparison , " Constellation " had suffered moderate damage to her rigging , but was otherwise still intact . French casualties included 29 killed and 41 wounded , while the Americans suffered two dead and two wounded . One American died shortly after the action ended , of wounds received from French fire ; another was executed for cowardice by " Constellation " s Lieutenant Andrew Sterett after the man deserted his gun at the start of the action . " Constellation " began taking on prisoners of war from " L ' Insurgente " , but by nightfall the two ships had become separated in a storm . Left aboard " L ' Insurgente " were the " Constellation " s First Lieutenant John Rodgers , Midshipman David Porter , and 11 enlisted men , along with 170 French prisoners . The Americans were forced to sail the vessel short - handed while guarding the French prisoners . As the prisoners outnumbered their captors and no gear to secure them could be found aboard , the Frenchmen were driven into " L ' Insurgente " s lower holds . Finally , after three nights , " L ' Insurgente " was brought in to Saint Kitts where " Constellation " was waiting for her . While at the American naval depot at Saint Kitts , the " Constellation " s troublesome 24 - pounder guns were removed and replaced with 18 - pounder cannons . At the American prize court in Norfolk , Virginia , " L ' Insurgente " was condemned to be sold as a war prize , with the proceeds distributed to the crew of the " Constellation " . Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert managed to negotiate the prize award down from $ 120 , 000 to $ 84 , 000 before purchasing " L ' Insurgente " and commissioning her in the United States Navy as the USS " Insurgent " . For his victory over " L ' Insurgente " , Truxtun received honors both at home and abroad . When accounts of the action reached London , Truxtun was fête d by the merchants there who sent him a piece of silver plate to commemorate his victory . In the United States , morale soared upon hearing of the first American victory over the French . Truxtun was cited by Benjamin Stoddert , the Secretary of the Navy , for his excellent conduct during the action , and songs and poems such as " Brave Yankee Boys " were later written about the event . In contrast , when Barreaut returned to France he was accused of failing to put up sufficient resistance in the engagement and was given a court - martial . Despite the accusations , he had been praised by Truxton after the action for his bravery and was acquitted during the court - martial . The French were infuriated upon hearing the results of the action because the two countries were not officially at war ; Governor Edme Étienne Borne Desfourneaux of Guadeloupe demanded that " Insurgent " be returned to French control . Upon learning of the American refusal to repatriate " Insurgent " , Desfourneaux was outraged and ordered all American vessels and property to be seized , while also declaring that a state of war existed between the United States and Guadeloupe . After continuing their cruise for a few weeks , both " Insurgent " and " Constellation " were forced to return to Norfolk , Virginia , by the end of March due to the expiration of the terms of enlistment of their crews . On her next cruise " Constellation " dueled " La Vengeance " , though that French frigate escaped " L ' Insurgente " s fate .