USS America ( 1782 ) America was the first ship of the line built for the Continental Navy , but she never saw service there , being given to France after launching . On 9 November 1776 , the Continental Congress authorized the construction of three 74 - gun ships of the line . One of these was " America " , laid down in May 1777 in the shipyard of John Langdon on Rising Castle Island ( now Badger ' s Island ) in Kittery , Maine , across the Piscataqua River from Portsmouth , New Hampshire . However , progress on her construction was delayed by a chronic scarcity of funds and a consequent shortage of skilled craftsmen and well seasoned timber . The project dragged on for over two years under the immediate supervision of Col . James Hackett as master shipbuilder and the overall direction of John Langdon . Then , on 6 November 1779 , the Marine Committee named Captain John Barry as her prospective commanding officer and ordered him to " . . . hasten , as much as will be in your power , the completing of that ship . . . " Nevertheless , the difficulties which previously had slowed the building of the warship continued to prevail during the ensuing months , and little had been accomplished by mid - March 1780 when Barry applied for a leave of absence to begin on the 23rd . However he did perform one notable service for the ship . In November 1777 , after inspecting the unfinished vessel which was slated to become his new command , he strongly recommended against a proposal , then under consideration , to reduce her to a 54 - gun frigate . His arguments carried the day , and the Marine Committee decided to continue the work of construction according to the ship ' s original plans . All possibility of Barry ' s commanding " America " ended on 5 September 1780 when he was ordered to Boston to take command of the 36 - gun frigate " Alliance " which had recently arrived from Europe . Over nine months later , on 23 June 1781 , Congress ordered the Continental Agent of Marine , Robert Morris , to get " America " ready for sea and , on the 26th , picked Captain John Paul Jones as her commanding officer . Jones reached Portsmouth on 31 August and threw himself into the task of completing the man - of - war . However , before the work was finished , Congress decided on 3 September 1782 to present the ship to King Louis XVI of France to replace the ship of the line " Magnifique " , which had run aground and been destroyed on 11 August 1782 while attempting to enter Boston Harbor . The ship was also to symbolize the new nation ' s appreciation for France ' s service to and sacrifices in behalf of the cause of the American patriots . Despite his disappointment over losing his chance to command the largest warship yet built in America , Jones remained in Portsmouth striving to finish the new ship . The home in which he boarded is now known as the John Paul Jones House and is a National Historic Landmark . His labors bore fruit on 5 November 1782 when " America " – held partially back by a series of ropes calculated to break in sequence to check the vessel ' s acceleration , lest she come to grief on the opposite bank of the river – slipped gracefully into the waters of the Piscataqua . After she had been rigged and fitted out , the ship – commanded by M . le Chevalier de Macarty Martinge ( who had commanded " Magnifique " when she was wrecked ) departed Portsmouth on 24 June 1783 and reached Brest , France , on 16 July . Armed with a main battery of 18 pounder at a time when French 74 ' s carried 24 - pdr and 36 - pdr guns , " America " would have a relatively weak broadside compared to other French ships - of - the - line . Little is known of her subsequent service under the French flag other than the fact it was brief . A bit over three years later , she was carefully examined by a survey committee which found her damaged by dry rot beyond economical repair , probably caused by her wartime construction from green timber . She was accordingly scrapped and a much larger " America " with nearly twice her weight of shot was built to take her place .