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The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought entirely at sea between the United States and France from 1798 to 1801.
The pirates of the Mediterranean Sea caused the United States Congress in 1794 to begin building a navy for the protection of commerce. Shortly thereafter, depredations by the privateers of Revolutionary France required the US Navy to protect the expanding merchant shipping of the United States. Naval squadrons sought out and attacked enemy privateers until France agreed to an honorable settlement.
The Quasi-War started on July 7, 1798 when the United States Congress rescinded treaties with France.
Captain Thomas Truxtun's insistence on the highest standards of crew training paid handsome dividends as the frigate ConstellationThe first USS Constellation 38, a frigate, was the first ship to be commissioned in the United States Navy; the first US Navy vessel to put to sea; and the first US Navy vessel to engage, defeat, and capture an enemy vessel. On 27 March 1794, a special ac won two victories over French men-of-war. Eight cutters (one sloopImportant notice ''This article is about the modern civilian boat type. For the warships of the 1800s to World War II, see Sloop-of-war. In sailing, a sloop is a vessel with a single mast on which is hoisted a fore-and-aft mainsail and a single jib, plus, five schoonerA schooner is a type of sailing ship characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts. Schooners were first used by the Dutch in the 16th or 17th century, and further developed in North America from the time of the American Revolution.s, and two brigIn sailing, a brig is a vessel with two masts at least one of which is square rigged. In modern parlance, a brig is square rigged on both masts, and this is the standard name for such a vessel. Previously, brig has been used as an abbreviation of brigantis) operated along the southern coast of the United States and among the islands of the West Indies. The two brigs and two of the schooners each carried 14 guns and 70 men. The sloop and the other schooners each had ten guns and 34 men. Of the twenty-two prizes captured by the United States between 1798 and 1799, eighteen were taken by unaided cutters. Revenue cutters also assisted in capturing two others. The cutter Pickering made two cruises to the West Indies and captured ten prizes, one of which carried 44 guns and was manned by some 200 sailors, more than three times Pickering's strength.
The Quasi-War was ended by the Convention of 1800 (Treaty of Mortefontaine).
United States wars
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