Brig - Historic Examples

Historic Examples

• The brig USS Argus used during the First Barbary War and the War of 1812.
• The brig USS Oneida used during the War of 1812. James Fenimore Cooper was a midshipman aboard the Oneida while under construction.
• The cargo hauling brig Farmer owned by George Washington.
• The cargo hauling brig Fleetwing.
• The brig Leonora of Captain Bully Hayes.
• The brig USS Niagara captained by commander Oliver Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie, a pivotal victory for the United States in the War of 1812.
• The brig USS Oregon used in the U.S. Exploring Expedition.
• The cargo brig Pilgrim, whose 1834 trading voyage from Boston, Massachusetts to California is described in the book Two Years Before the Mast.
• The brig Rebecca captained by Robert Jenkins whose boarding triggered the War of Jenkins' Ear.
• The brig USS Reprisal that fought in the American Revolution.
• The brig USS Somers, sunk in the Mexican-American War.
• HMS Beagle was built as a brig (1820) for the Royal Navy. She was deployed as a survey vessel to survey the coasts of South America, Australia, and Africa. A mizzen mast was added prior to the 5 year voyage with Charles Darwin to increase the manoeuvrability in the shallow coastal waters that she would explore.
• Jean Lafitte's pirate brig, the Pride from 1815 to 1816.
• The brig HMS Badger, was the future Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson's first command as a young lieutenant.

Note that while the famous mystery ship Mary Celeste is sometimes called a brig, she was clearly a brigantine.