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USS Congress (1799)

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Recently passed to GA. This article is short! As I pointed out on the talk page, there is a lack of any substantial writing that has been done via sources used for this article. In fact, for a change, the DANFS article actually contained more information about her later career than anything else did. There are still gaps in her later career that I'm not sure could ever be filled in without extensive research that goes beyond what is expected for a WP article. Nevertheless, I'm nominating this article for A-class. --Brad (talk) 18:09, 19 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Excellent article, although I was confused by the beginning of the construction section; I realize you've linked the main article at the start of the section, but to begin with 'The keel of "Frigate F" was laid down' is very confusing as I've no idea what Frigate F is. Might I suggest a few sentences explaining what the first six frigates programme was?
 Done Your observation was spot on. I realize that I wrote the construction section making a lot of assumptions. I will rework that section and also fix your questions about Algiers. --Brad (talk) 10:22, 23 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Could we have some info, even just a sentence, on what the previous two Constellations were, since it's mentioned in the lede but not the main article, so far as I can see.
Constellations? If you mean the previous two ships named Congress there is a link at the top of the article for more information on the other ships named Congress. My feeling is that dragging those ships into this article is more or less off topic.
Yes, that's what I meant, I apologize. I guess that's fair enough then. Skinny87 (talk) 14:52, 23 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
'Construction was interrupted in March 1796 upon conclusion of peace terms with Algiers' - Eh? What peace terms, what conflict with Algiers? This section needs some real context!
When ship names are first used, I would suggest placing 'USS' in front of them, like the Chesapeake in the second section, as it confused me for a second before I clicked on the link.
The article is written about a US Navy ship, therefore having to point out the nationality of other ships of the US Navy isn't really needed. This isn't the case when Royal Navy ships are brought into the article which I have identified by using the HMS prefix.
'She was then placed in ordinary at the Washington Navy Yard' - What does 'in ordinary' mean, please? Even just a wikilink would be good.
in ordinary is linked in the lead section. No need for repetitive linking.
'recaptured one American flagged ship' - This is rather confusing. I assume it was captured by the British before they recaptured it, but why was it still flying the US flag? Was it some kind of subterfuge?
Hopefully I have clarified a bit further but sources are lacking any detailed description of who had captured that ship to begin with.
No information on what the nine prizes captured by the two ships were, I'm guessing? Skinny87 (talk) 09:01, 21 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Most of the War of 1812 section was researched by having to follow the doings of President and United States which Congress served with during that time. Congress was always written as an afterthought in most of the sources. --Brad (talk) 15:53, 21 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Well, you've certainly cleared up everything I wanted to know. Full support! Skinny87 (talk) 14:52, 23 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • "she returned to Boston in April and was ordered to the Washington Navy Yard to be placed in ordinary.[1][13] En route, she passed Mount Vernon on her way up the Potomac and Captain Sever ordered her sails lowered, flag at half-mast, and fired a 13-gun salute to honor the recently deceased George Washington.[14]" Eh? If my geography's correct, one wouldn't sail up a river in Virginia to get to Boston, in Massachusetts.
Here is part of the paragraph I used from Allen p. 258:
Meanwhile the vessels not needed for service in the spring of 1801 were laid up in different ports. The United States, Congress, and New York were ordered to Washington. The Congress sailed from Boston and " was delayed by head winds, so that we did not reach Washington till late in May. We passed the frigate United States in the lower part of the Potomac. About 10 o'clock in the morning of a beautifully serene day we passed Mount Vernon.
I'm not a nautical navigation expert but I believe that to get from Boston to Washington DC by ship you must go from Boston down to the mouth of the Potomac and back up to DC.
I think I must have misread it the first time, it looks good now. – Joe N 01:27, 3 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Any idea what happened between 1807 and 1811?
I can't fill in any more gaps from my sources. At this point I think that further research might require a trip to the National Archives to find the log books of Congress or records from the various navy yards she was in during that period. But that is research far beyond what is expected for a wp article. --Brad (talk) 18:07, 27 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Obviously, that wouldn't be necessary. It's still a shame though. – Joe N 01:27, 3 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]
– Joe N 15:40, 27 September 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page, such as the current discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
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