USS Essex ( 1799 ) The first USS " Essex of the United States Navy was a 36 - gun or 32 - gun sailing frigate that participated in the Quasi - War with France , the First Barbary War , and in the War of 1812 , during which the British captured her in 1814 . She then served as HMS " Essex until sold at public auction on 6 June 1837 . Service history . The frigate was built by Enos Briggs , Salem , Massachusetts , at a cost of $ 139 , 362 subscribed by the people of Salem and Essex County , to a design by William Hackett . She was launched on 30 September 1799 . On 17 December 1799 she was presented to the United States Navy and accepted by Captain Edward Preble . With the United States involved in naval action against France on 6 January 1800 , " Essex " , under the command of Captain Preble , departed Newport , Rhode Island , in company with to rendezvous with a convoy of merchant ships returning from Batavia , Dutch East Indies . Shortly after commencement of her journey , " Essex " became the first US Naval Ship to cross the Equator . " Congress " was dismasted only a few days out , and " Essex " was obliged to continue her voyage alone , making her mark as the first US man - of - war to double the Cape of Good Hope , both in March and in August 1800 prior to successfully completing her convoy mission in November . First Barbary War . Captain William Bainbridge commanded " Essex " on her second cruise , whereon she sailed to the Mediterranean with the squadron of Commodore Richard Dale . Dispatched to protect American trade and seamen against depredations by the Barbary pirate s , the squadron arrived at Gibraltar on 1 July 1801 and spent the ensuing year convoying American merchantmen and blockading Tripolitan ships in their ports . Following repairs at the Washington Navy Yard in 1802 , " Essex " resumed her duties in the Mediterranean under Captain James Barron in August 1804 . She participated in the Battle of Derne on 27 April 1805 , and remained in those waters until the conclusion of peace terms in 1806 . Returning to the Washington Navy Yard in July , she was placed in ordinary until February 1809 when she was recommissioned for sporadic use in patrolling American waters and a single cruise to Europe . War of 1812 . When war was declared against Britain on 18 June 1812 , " Essex " , commanded by Captain David Porter , made a successful cruise to the southward . On 11 July near Bermuda she fell in with seven British ( the " Silverside " being one ) transports and by moonlight engaged and took one of them as a prize . On 13 August she encountered and captured the sloop after an engagement . By September , when she returned to New York , " Essex " had taken ten prizes . The youngest member of the " Essex " crew was 10 - year - old midshipman David Glasgow Farragut , who would become the first admiral of the US Navy . Farragut , who was Captain Porter ' s foster son , remained with the ship for the next two years . " Essex " sailed in South Atlantic waters and along the coast of Brazil until January 1813 , decimating the British whaling fleet in the Pacific . Although her crew suffered greatly from a shortage of provisions and heavy gales while rounding Cape Horn , she anchored safely at Valparaíso , Chile , on 14 March , having seized whaling schooners " Elizabeth " and " Nereyda " along the way . In the next five months , " Essex " captured thirteen British whalers , including , ( ex - " Atlantic " ) which cruised in company with her captor to the Island of Nuku Hiva for repairs . Porter put his executive officer John Downes in command of that ship . In January 1814 , " Essex " sailed into neutral waters at Valparaíso , only to be trapped there for six weeks by the British frigate , ( 36 guns ) , under Captain James Hillyar , and the sloop - of - war ( 18 guns ) . On 28 March 1814 , Porter determined to gain the open sea , fearing the arrival of British reinforcements . Upon rounding the point , " Essex " lost her main top - mast to foul weather and was brought to action just north of Valparaíso . For hours , " Essex " , armed almost entirely with powerful , but short range carronades , which Porter had complained to the Navy about on several occasions , resisted the superior British fighting power and longer gun range . Fires twice erupted aboard " Essex " , at which point about fifty men abandoned the ship and swam for shore , only half of them landing ; the British saved sixteen . Eventually , the hopeless situation forced Porter to surrender . " Essex " had suffered 58 dead and 31 missing of her crew of 154 . The British lost four men dead and seven wounded on " Phoebe " , and one dead and three wounded on " Cherub " . British service and fate . Because " Essex " was stored and provisioned for six months , and capable of sailing to Europe without " the slightest cause for alarm " , Captain Hillyar placed Lieutenant C . Pearson in command of her for the voyage to England , where she arrived in November . There , the Admiralty had her repaired and taken into the Royal Navy as HMS " Essex " . The Royal Navy never fitted her for sea , but re - classed her as a 42 - gun ship . She served as a troopship on 7 July 1819 . She was hulked at Cork to serve as a prison ship in October 1823 . Between 1824 and 1834 she served as a prison ship at Kingston , Ireland . On 6 June 1837 she was sold at public auction for £1 , 230 . During some recent resurfacing work on the east pier of Dún Laoghaire harbour , " Essex " s permanent mooring anchor was discovered embedded in the pier . In literature and popular culture . Herman Melville wrote about " Essex " in " Sketch Fifth " in " The Encantadas " , focusing on an incident off the Galápagos Islands with an elusive British ship . The story was first published in 1854 in " Putnam ' s Magazine " . Patrick O ' Brian adapted the story of " Essex " s attack on British whalers for his novel " The Far Side of the World " . The film adaptation of the novel , " " , changed the American ship to a French one . However it must be noted that HMS " Surprise " in the film was more along the lines of what " Essex " looked like . Evidence for a light frigate such as " Surprise " taking on a heavy 44 - gun frigate such as " Acheron " and prevail is hard to find in the historical record .