Joshua Humphreys was an American ship builder and naval architect. He was the constructor of the original six frigates of the United States Navy and is known as the "Father of the American Navy".
The building of the Frigate Philadelphia, Plate 29 of Birch's Views of Philadelphia (1800). The man standing in the foreground may be a portrait of Humphreys.
USS Constitution c. 1803–04
Original six frigates of the United States Navy
The United States Congress authorized the original six frigates of the United States Navy with the Naval Act of 1794 on March 27, 1794, at a total cost of $688,888.82. These ships were built during the formative years of the United States Navy, on the recommendation of designer Joshua Humphreys for a fleet of frigates powerful enough to engage any frigates of the French or British navies, yet fast enough to evade any ship of the line.
USS Constitution, the last of the original six frigates of the United States Navy still in commission
Carronade on the spar deck of Constitution
Painting of the October 30, 1812 Engagement between the United States and the Macedonian –Oil on canvas by Thomas Birch, 1813
Detail of USS Constellation (from Capture of the French Frigate, L'Insurgente –Watercolor by Admiral John W. Schmidt, 1981)
