USS Concord was a wooden-hulled, three-masted sloop-of-war of the United States Navy, launched on 24 September 1828 from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. She was the first US Navy vessel to bear the name 'Concord' and was so named after the town of Concord for its role at the beginning of the American Revolution. The vessel had a tonnage of 700. The Concord had a complement of 190 officers and seamen with an armament of 20 guns and saw service protecting American merchant ships and other interests in several places around the world. The ship and her crew, who also functioned as Marines, fought in the Seminole Wars in Florida. Concord ran aground while on a patrolling mission along the African coast. Despite determined efforts from the crew, with three losing their lives in the process, the Concord was unable to be refloated. It was the first ship christened by a woman. Sloop-of-war Concord, launched in 1828, was "christened by a young lady of Portsmouth." This is the first known instance of a woman sponsoring a United States Navy vessel. Unfortunately, the contemporary account does not name this pioneer female sponsor (Ceremonial ship launching). Characteristics As a sloop of war, Concord was a three-masted ship of 700 tons and was a smaller vessel compared to frigates and ships of the line, which generally measured 1500 and 2200 tons respectively. The sloop type provoked dissatisfaction, due to the navy board's insistence that they be made to carry 24 guns, despite their dimensions making them better suited to carrying 20 guns. They were criticized for being slow, due in part to their full after body and often being overloaded, a practice typical of vessels in a navy during peace time. Concord as designed was 127 feet long, but had a draft of 16 feet, resulting in an increase in displacement without an increase in length. History The Concord was commissioned on 7 May 1830 with a crew of 190 men and placed under the command of Commodore Matthew C. Perry and saw service as part of the US squadron in the Mediterranean Sea from 22 April 1830 to 10 December 1832. Under Perry's command the Concord was used to transport the US envoy John Randolph of Roanoke, Virginia, to the Imperial Russian court at St. Petersburg in 1832. The ship's naval surgeon was William Turk of Whitehall, New York, who