Quasi-War Timeline

The last United States warship had been sold in 1785, leaving the country with only a small Revenue Cutter Service flotilla and a few neglected coastal forts.

Image source: United States Navy

Because ships of the line were expensive and required specialized facilities, Congress compromised in 1794 by ordering six large frigates.

Image source: Original six frigates of the United States Navy

By 1798, the first three of the six frigates ordered by Congress were nearly complete, giving the United States a stronger naval force for the conflict.

Congress reconstituted the United States Navy in response to French attacks and the vulnerability of American commerce.

On July 7, 1798, Congress approved the use of force against French warships in American waters while seeking to prevent the conflict from escalating beyond those limits.

On July 16, 1798, Congress approved additional funding for USS Congress, USS Chesapeake, USS President, USS General Greene, and USS Adams.

In late 1796, French privateers began seizing American ships trading with Britain. Their campaign was aided by the almost complete lack of a United States Navy.

From October 1796 through June 1797, French vessels captured 316 ships, representing 6 percent of the American merchant fleet and causing estimated losses of $12 million to $15 million.

From the perspective of the United States Navy, the Quasi-War consisted of a series of ship-to-ship actions in United States coastal waters and the Caribbean, even as the conflict formed part of a wider European theater that had been active since 1793.

USS Delaware captured the French privateer La Croyable outside Egg Harbor, New Jersey, in one of the first significant ship-to-ship actions of the Quasi-War.

Image source: Capture of La Croyable

On November 20, 1798, the French frigates Insurgente and Volontaire captured the schooner USS Retaliation, commanded by Lieutenant William Bainbridge.

By 1799, losses had been significantly reduced through informal cooperation with the Royal Navy. Merchant ships from the two nations were allowed to join each other's convoys.

On February 9, 1799, the American frigate Constellation captured the French Navy frigate L'Insurgente.

Image source: USS Constellation vs L'Insurgente

The schooner USS Retaliation, captured by French frigates in November 1798, was recaptured on June 28, 1799.

On January 1, 1800, an American merchant convoy escorted by USS Experiment fought off an attack by 14 French privateer barges in the Gulf of Gonâve.

In September 1800, USS Pickering and its entire crew were lost at sea in a storm.

Image source: USS Pickering

The replacement of the French First Republic by the Consulate in November 1799 opened the way for a more conciliatory diplomatic approach.

Image source: Coup of 18 Brumaire

Although the agreement kept the United States neutral during the Napoleonic Wars, it did not resolve underlying tensions with European powers. Those tensions later contributed to the War of 1812.

Image source: Convention of 1800

The ruling associated with the conflict became the basis for many similar actions in later conflicts, including the Vietnam War and the Gulf War.

The Convention of 1800, signed on September 30, ended the Quasi-War between the United States and France.

The Convention of 1800 affirmed the rights of Americans as neutrals at sea and abrogated the 1778 French alliance, but did not provide compensation for approximately $20 million in alleged American economic losses.

By late 1800, combined United States and British naval operations, along with the more conciliatory stance of the new French government, had significantly reduced French privateer activity.