In the succeeding months, Constellation additionally encountered and seized two French privateers, Diligent and Union.Īfter a brief voyage under Captain Samuel Barron, Constellation was later commanded once more by Truxtun. In a hard-fought victory, she brought her prize into port. Subsequently, on February 9, 1799, the Constellation captured a French 40-gun frigate, L'Insurgente, in battle off Nevis, West Indies. Under the command of Captain Thomas Truxtun, she sailed for the Caribbean in December 1798. After the construction of Constellation was finished at Sterrett Shipyard, Baltimore, MD, she launched on September 7, 1797.Ĭonstellation convoyed American merchantmen at the outset (from June through August 1798), before sailing for the West Indies to protect United States' commerce. However, plans were later altered in its execution by builder David Stodder, and superintendent of shipbuilding, Captain Thomas Truxtun. The first Constellation initially was a frigate designed by naval constructors Joshua Humphreys and Josiah Fox.