24-gun ship. Port stern quarter. Alfred (formerly the Black Prince) commissioned in 1775.

The first battleship ever owned by the United States of America, the U. S. S. Alfred was commissioned at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 23 December 1775. The ship was purchased from the British Royal Navy where it was named the Black Prince. (This wooden ship-of-the-line is not to be confused with the ironclad Black Prince built in 1861.) Lieutenant John Paul Jones commanded the USS Alfred and he received the Alfred into the US Navy on 03 December 1775 by hoisting the Grand Union Flag. After receiving the USS Alfred, the Continental fleet consisted of six ships under the command of Admiral Esek Hopkins, the first Commodore and only Commander-In-Chief the US Navy ever had.

Artist, Harry W. Carpenter
Photo: United States Navy
National Archives and Records Administration
Still Picture Branch - College Park, Maryland