USS Enterprise

Eight ships of the United States Navy have been named USS Enterprise. According to the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Enterprise means "Boldness, energy, and invention in practical affairs."

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• The first American Enterprise was originally the uncommissioned British sloop George, captured by American forces in the American Revolutionary War in 1775. Rechristened Enterprise, she served as a sloop-of-war during the American Revolution.
• The second Enterprise, a schooner, was a successful letter-of-marque before she was purchased on 20 December 1776 for the Continental Navy. Commanded by Captain Joseph Campbell, Enterprise operated principally in Chesapeake Bay. She convoyed transports, carried out reconnaissance, and guarded the shores against foraging raids by the British. Only meager records of her service have been found; they indicate that she was apparently returned to the Maryland Council of Safety before the end of February 1777.
• The third Enterprise, a schooner, was built by Henry Spencer at Baltimore, Maryland, in 1799.
• The fourth Enterprise was also a schooner, and commissioned in 1831.
• The fifth Enterprise was a screw sloop commissioned 1877.
• The sixth Enterprise, a motorboat, served in a noncommissioned status in the Second Naval District during World War I.
• The seventh Enterprise (CV-6), an aircraft carrier, was the most-decorated U.S. Navy vessel of World War II.
• The eighth Enterprise (CVN-65) was the world's first nuclear aircraft carrier, launched in 1960 and still on active service as of 2005.
 
USS Enterprise: See also ►