Joshua Huntington was an established businessman on the Connecticut coast of Norwich Landing by the time the American Revolution broke out in 1775. Huntington, as the state's agent for the Continental Congress, orchestrated the construction of the frigate Confederacy from 1776-1778. The ship was built in the Thames River at Norwich, and upon its completion on November 8, 1778 was towed to New London for its final outfitting. Under the command of Captain Seth Harding, the frigate Confederacy began its short life as an American ship.

On September 17, 1779, Confederacy was commissioned to sail to France to return the French Minister, Count Gerard, and the American Minister to Spain, John Jay. Two months into their voyage, on November 7, 1779, the ship was dismasted by a heavy wind and was nearly destroyed. The ship was forced to seek refuge on Martinique, West Indies in early December. From there, the ship's diplomatic passengers departed for France on the French frigate L'Aurore and after repairs, Confederacy returned to active duty.

In 1781, only two short years after it was launched, Confederacy was captured by the British ships Roebuck and Orpheus off the coast of Cape Francois, West Indies, where she had been sent to retrieve supplies for the American army. The British appropriated the ship, changed its name to Confederate, and sent her to England with the supplies and nearly 100 prisoners.

This small collection of bills, receipts, and a handful of correspondence relating to orders, shipments and supplies comprise a relatively complete file of material pertaining to the construction of the frigate Confederacy. From bills for lumber and other supplies to wage records for the shipyard, these records cover most of the necessary duties and how much workers were paid for what duties, how much different supplies cost, and what types of material were used. The wage records that are present, along with some of the correspondence, often provide names of the workers. In addition, it appears from other sources that the type of lumber used to construct Confederacy -- green wood -- eventually contributed to its demise. After the British captured Confederacy and sent her back to England, it was discovered that the ship was suffering from excessive hull rot.

The records also help to illuminate the many difficulties involved in the production of this ship, including the lack of funds necessary to transport the necessary supplies to the construction site. During the Revolution, finances were by not easy to procure for the Americans. However, a letter written in June of 1786, included in the collection, indicates that Joshua Huntington was still suffering the negative impact on his finances from the construction of the ship almost ten years after construction began and nearly five years after the ship was captured by the British.

Although this collection is very small, a richly detailed account of the construction of the ship can be derived from it. In addition, the approximately 525 items included serve to illuminate other aspects of colonial history, financial aspects of the American Revolution and the life of Joshua Huntington.

None

The collection is open for research.

Cite as: [Indicate cited item or series here], The Frigate Confederacy Papers (Collection 222), The Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Purchased, 1939.

Reprocessed by: Mindy Steinberg

Processing Completed: January 2001

Material on Joshua Huntington and his financial accounts can be found in the William Griswold Lane Memorial Collection in the Manuscripts and Archives Division of the Yale University Library.

English.

"Confederacy: From the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships." (http://www.hazegray.org/danfs/frigates/confeder.htm).

Hunt, Robert E. "Model Shipbuilding." (http://members.tripod.com/shipbldr/gallery.htm).

Middlebrook, Louis F. History of Maritime Connecticut during the American Revolution. (Salem, 1925). Vol. 1, pp. 50-51.

ST 7/13/88