USS Essex - Model Shipways MS2041

The USS Essex was a thirty-two-gun frigate built in Salem, Massachusetts in 1799. She was known around the world for her speed and graceful lines, achieving many dramatic firsts for the young American Navy.

Essex was the first US warship to round the Cape of Good Hope into the Indian Ocean. Thirteen years later, she became the first American man-of-war to round the Horn into the Pacific.

Sailing the Pacific during the War of 1812, she captured 18 British whaling and merchant ships, causing the British to lose almost a million dollars of lost revenue and devastating their whaling industry.

The British sent two ships, the Phoebe and Cherub to hunt down the Essex. They cornered her off Valparaiso and engaged her in battle. Her 32 carronades were no match for the enemy's long guns. She was captured and taken into the Royal Navy.