USS Virginia ( 1776 ) The first USS " Virginia " was a 28 - gun sailing frigate of the Continental Navy , a ship with a short and unfortunate career . She was one of 13 frigates authorized by the Continental Congress on 13 December 1775 , laid down in 1776 at Fells Point , Maryland , by George Wells , launched that August , and commissioned in the spring of 1777 , Captain James Nicholson in command . The newly commissioned frigate ' s first orders directed her to attempt a run through the strong British naval blockade at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay and then if successful , to head south to the West Indies and cruise in search of English merchantmen . However , her first sortie failed , as did four subsequent attempts to get to sea which she made in May , October , November , and December 1777 . These successive failures frustrated " Virginia ' s " restive crew , and many deserted to join the numerous privateer s scattered about the wharves of nearby Baltimore . By early January 1778 , the desertions had become so numerous that " Virginia " was unable to leave the docks . This situation prompted a series of ugly exchanges between Capt . Nicholson , his executive officer Lt . Joshua Barney , and the governor of Maryland Thomas Johnson . New recruits were finally procured through the auspices of the Maritime Committee of the Continental Congress , enabling " Virginia " to attempt another run past the blockade in mid - January . This latest dash went smoothly until sighted " Virginia " near the Chesapeake capes . The British frigate pursued the Americans back towards Baltimore . " Virginia " tied up behind a water battery and chain stretched across the northwest branch of the Patapsco River , Md . , between Whetstone Point and later Lazaretto Point , where she took on board 20 more seamen . Later that month , when Capt . Nicholson again tried to run the blockade , he sent Lt . Barney ahead in the schooner " Dolphin " to reconnoiter the positions of the British warships . " Dolphin " sighted a large patrol vessel in Tangier Sound but outran her . Before meeting with " Virginia " , the schooner recaptured a Baltimore sloop taken earlier . On the basis of Lt . Barney ' s report , Capt . Nicholson decided to abandon this latest attempt to get to sea and returned to Baltimore . " Virginia " lay at anchor at Baltimore for two months repairing and reprovisioning . During this time , Barney was dispatched to York , Pennsylvania , to explain " Virginia ' s " predicament to the Maritime Committee ; and he returned in March with orders to make another attempt to get by the British as soon as possible . Awaiting Barney upon his arrival back in Baltimore were a letter of thanks from the Royal Navy for his kind treatment of " Dolphin ' s " prisoners and a large English cheese . " Virginia " left Baltimore late in March in obedience to the Maritime Committee ' s orders . Nicholson ' s plans called for " Virginia " to sail first to Annapolis , to pick up a bay pilot promised by Governor Johnson . Completing this , the frigate and pilot vessel weighed anchor off Annapolis on 30 March and proceeded down the bay , plotting a night passage into the Atlantic . However , early on the morning of 31 March , " Virginia " grounded with a tremendous crash on the so - called Middle Ground between the capes , opposite the city of Hampton , Virginia . With a strong wind blowing astern , the surf pounded the frigate and forced her over . Her rudder snapped before she could be cleared and was soon lost . Once in the channel , " Virginia " was anchored and repairs begun . At dawn , lookouts spotted " Emerald " and her fellow frigate approaching from seaward though " Virginia ' s " guns remained undamaged , Capt . Nicholson ordered his barge broken out and went ashore with the ship ' s papers . Later that morning , the American frigate surrendered to Capt . Caldwell of " Emerald " . A Congressional court of inquiry into the fiasco cleared Capt . Nicholson of blame , and all the officers of the unlucky frigate saw action later during the Revolution . " Virginia " herself was soon repaired and eventually purchased by the Royal Navy for use as the 32 - gun frigate HMS " Virginia " . She was placed in service along the American coast and participated in the Penobscot Expedition of 1779 and the capture of Charleston , South Carolina , in 1780 . At the end of the war she was condemned and sold .