USS Randolph ( 1776 ) The first USS " Randolph " was a 32 - gun frigate in the Continental Navy named for Peyton Randolph . Construction of the first " Randolph " was authorized by the Continental Congress on 13 December 1775 . The frigate , designed by Joshua Humphreys , was launched on 10 July 1776 , by Wharton and Humphreys at Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . Captain Nicholas Biddle was appointed commander of the " Randolph " on 11 July , and he took charge of the frigate in mid - October . Seamen were scarce and recruiting was slow , delaying the ship ' s maiden voyage ; but " Randolph " , manned largely by captured British seamen taken from jail in Philadelphia , finally dropped down the Delaware River on 3 February 1777 and three days later rounded Cape Henlopen escorting a large group of American merchantmen to sea . On the 15th , the convoy separated , with some of " Randolph ' s " charges heading for France and the rest setting course for the West Indies . The frigate herself turned northward hoping to encounter " Milford " , a British frigate which had been preying upon New England shipping . Before long , she boarded a ship which proved to be French and was set free . Then , as she continued the search , " Randolph " sprung her foremast . While the crew labored to rig a spar as a jury mast , the ship ' s mainmast broke and toppled into the sea . Continuing the hunt was out of the question . Now seeking to avoid the Royal Navy ' s warships , Biddle ordered the ship south toward the Carolina coast . Fever broke out as the " Randolph " painfully made her way , and many members of the crew were buried at sea . Even a mutiny of the English sailors had to be put down before the ship reached Charleston , South Carolina on the afternoon of 11 March . Twice , after her repairs had been completed and as she was about to get underway , the frigate was kept in port by lightning - splintered mainmasts . Meanwhile , the ship , undermanned when she left Philadelphia , was losing more of her men from sickness , death , and desertion . Recruiting was stimulated by bounty , and " Randolph " was finally readied for sea - this time with her masts protected by lightning rods . She departed Charleston on 16 August and entered Rebellion Road to await favorable winds to put to sea . Two days later , a party from the frigate boarded merchantman , " Fair American " , and impressed two seamen who earlier had been lured away from Biddle ' s ship . Inshore winds kept " Randolph " in the roadstead until the breeze shifted on 1 September , wafting the frigate across Charleston Bar . At dusk , on the 3rd , a lookout spotted five vessels : two ships , two brigs , and a sloop . After a nightlong chase , she caught up with her quarry the next morning and took four prizes : a 20 - gun privateer , " True Briton " , laden with rum , for the British troops at New York ; " Severn " , the second prize , had been recaptured by " True Briton " from a North Carolina privateer while sailing from Jamaica to London with a cargo of sugar , rum , ginger , and logwood ; the two brigs , " Charming Peggy " , a French privateer , and " L ’ Assomption " , laden with salt , had also been captured by " True Briton " while plying their way from Martinique to Charleston . " Randolph " and her rich prizes reached Charleston on the morning of 6 September . While the frigate was in port having her hull scraped , the president of South Carolina ' s General Assembly , John Rutledge , suggested to Biddle that " Randolph " , aided by a number of State Navy ships , might be able to break the blockade which was then bottling up a goodly number of American merchantmen in Charleston Harbor . Biddle accepted command of the task force , which , besides " Randolph " , included " General Moultrie " , " Notre Dame " , " Fair American " , and " Polly " . The American ships sailed on 14 February 1778 . When they crossed the bar , Biddle ' s ships found no British cruisers . After seeing a number of merchantmen to a good offing , the ships proceeded to the West Indies hoping to intercept British merchantmen . After two days , they took and burned a dismasted New England ship which had been captured by a British privateer while headed for St . Augustine , Florida . Thereafter , game was scarce . They encountered only neutral ships until " Polly " took a small schooner on 4 March bound from New York to Grenada . Biddle manned the prize as a tender . On the afternoon of 7 March , " Randolph ' s " lookouts spotted sail on the horizon which proved to be the British , 64 - gun ship of the line , " Yarmouth " . That evening , as " Randolph " engaged the British warship , the American frigate shot away 2 of Yarmouth ' s masts when some unknown cause , perhaps a chance spark in the chaos of battle or more likely a cannonball flying clean through the magazine , ignited her magazine and Biddle ' s ship disintegrated in one blinding flash . Damage caused to " Yarmouth " ' s sails and rigging prevented her from pursuing the South Carolina ships which slipped away in the darkness . The loss of the " Randolph " resulted in the deaths of 311 of her crew , with 4 survivors .