Nantucket Shipbuilding - Confirming The Brig 'Dolphin' / America, England

Confirming The Brig 'Dolphin' / America, England

The first ship of notable size recorded as built on Nantucket at Brant Point was the Brig 'Dolphin', launched in 1723 and 30 to 40 tons weight. This 'Dolphin' is mentioned in the small exhibit about Brant Point shipbuilding in the Egan Marine Institute on Nantucket but following her history is extremely difficult. A Captain Thomas Prince, baptized on August 3, 1658, in either Hull or Scituate, Massachusetts, is recorded as Commander of the Brig 'Dolphin'.

In several genealogical records, there is mention of a brig 'Dolphin' that saw action in the Revolutionary War for the American Navy. However, these events are more than five decades after the launch of the brig 'Dolphin' at Brant Point. The US Navy published maps and charts from a brig 'Dolphin' in 1854, but this is 131 years after the launch of the brig 'Dolphin' at Brant Point. The online edition of the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships cannot confirm a Brig 'Dolphin' that was built at Brant Point, Nantucket in 1723, nor a fighting ship of this type and name that subsequently fought in the Continental Navy. Although, there is no 'Dolphin' in US Naval Records for the 18th century, the possibility exists that the Nantucket Brig 'Dolphin' never saw official service in the Continental Navy.

Records for the Royal Navy document several war ships carrying the name 'Dolphin'in the 18th and early 19th centuries, but none were built in America at any locality, Brant Point Nantucket or elsewhere.