Editing Black Seas (section)

===The United States of America===
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[[File:Bhrich.jpg|400px|thumb|"They had us in the first half, not gonna lie." - ''Captain John Paul Jones in response to the enemy captain asking if he had struck his colors, said in action on the USS Bonhomme Richard against the HMS Serapis off the coast of Northern England, September 23, 1779.'']]

The creator of this article would like it to be known that he plays this fleet, and, in fact, anyone who thinks there is a better one is factually incorrect.

'''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-3ws7b4sZg Appropriate Music]''' 

The United States Navy has a fascinating story beginning in 1774. In the span of forty years, it expanded, shrunk to one ship, which was subsequently auctioned off and the branch dissolved, then re-constituted in 1794, sailed to fight pirates in the Mediterranean in 1801, then the French and British between 1800-1813. Their story is a nice break from the standard tale of tradition and institutional culture associated with other national maritime forces. 

What's cool about the USN in the Age of Sail is its focus on meeting the moment. The fledgling Republic barely had the revenue, let alone the ''legal authority'' to raise funds for the construction of a new fleet of warships, so whatever could be scrabbled together was extremely precious. When Congress authorized the construction of several frigates in response to rising French tensions (that would ultimately lead into the Quasi-War), congressional shipbuilders scoured the young country for specific types of hardwood. This attention to detail culminated in each ship having a distinct personality even if it belonged to a larger class of vessel. The results were a handful of exquisitely built, robust, heavily armed ships dubbed "super-frigates" by history. Though they had the displacement of frigates of Fifth or Sixth rates, they could (and oftentimes were) upgunned to match the firepower of some Old World Fourth Rates. Notable examples include the USS ''United States, President, Constellation, Chesapeake, Congress'', and of course the venerable ''Constitution''. 

*'''Over Fitted:''' In keeping with the theme of "everything but the kitchen sink," US ships get Over Gunned for a 20% discount of 80 points, and Sturdy for 40, which is a pretty fuckin' slick way of turning your 5th Rate frigate into a fast and formidable Third Rate. Furthermore, US naval lists ''CANNOT'' field AMERICAN First, Second, or Third Rate ships. We simply weren't making any, not that we could if we wanted to anyway due to being underdeveloped and undergunned since British policy in colonial times had involved the prohibition on cannon foundries in the colonies. Hence the super frigate approach.
** This is literal. A 5th Rate has 2H-1L-1C per broadside and 36 ship points, along with a Rate of Knots of 5 and a 150 points price tag. . A 3rd Rate has 3H-2L-2C with 74 ship and a Rate of Knots of 4 costing 280. Altogether, buffing a 5th Rate with Over Gunned and Sturdy (120+150) rounds out an American frigate to 270. 
*** Although 10 points cheaper with the same armament as a Third Rate, you're making a trade here for speed over staying-power. You're going to have almost 20 less ship points than a real Third Rate, but you'll have another inch of speed, which at full sails gets you 3 inches farther than the actual thing. 

*'''Drilled:''' Same thing as the British national trait, since American sailors were also periodically trained in gunnery and old hands at seamanship. Combine with Over Gunned to get the most "bang" for your buck with the +1 to hit when shooting. 
** Drilled + Over Fitted means that Americans are the ''de facto'' kings of fire-and-maneuver on the open sea. Where the Spanish castle up, the French stay out of their enemy's arc of fire while hitting sails, and the British use formations, Americans are all about planning your moves three sails ahead and putting your firepower *exactly* where it needs to be, while maintaining enough speed to get the fuck outta dodge. This is perfect for avoiding Spanish killing fields, British formation moves, and French disabling maneuvers. 


'''American Officers'''

Everyone else has a slate of pretentious officers while we got some '''BADASS MOTHERFUCKERS'''. 

*'''COMMODORE Stephen "Pirate-Shafter" Decatur'''
Revolutionary, Pirate Hunter, and motherfucker all around, Stephen is your anti-privateer officer. Slap him onto a super frigate and have him snipe your opponent's privateers. His +1 to hit against them, followed up by a +2 on boarding actions to them makes him the best officer in the book for the job. Otherwise completely useless. 

*'''  CAP'N James "Don't stop the party just because I've been shot" Lawrence'''
One of America's first Naval heroes by virtue of his immortal words (paraphrased above) that he spoke before being carried below decks following a fatal gunshot wound in the course of fighting a boarding action against the ''HMS Shannon'', James has exactly one fun trait: A ship under his command NEVER strikes the colors. The full quote, which justifies this rule, is ''"Don't give up the ship. Fight her till she sinks."'' Which is pretty badass considering he had been shot at close range by a gun loading a .70 caliber BALL. 

*'''Oliver Hazard "Your ships? My ships." Perry'''
The Hero of Lake Erie, Perry managed to capture [[Awesome|an entire squadron of British ships on Lake Erie during the War of 1812 with nothing more than 5 schooners, 3 brigs, and a sloop, effectively doubling the American fleet presence in that body.]] He's got a very simple, yet fun rule for scenario games. Any battle agreed to be upon any US Lake (so the Great Lakes or Finger Lakes, or fuckin Lake George, I don't know) imparts a +1 to hit modifier when shooting an +1 to any skill test to the entire US fleet. 

'''American Ships'''

*'''''USS Constitution'''''
The closest thing we have to a national shrine other than the Gettysburg Battlefield and Washington's Headquarters in Newburgh where the Revolutionary War was officially concluded. The ''Constitution'' is a sumanabitch that is a true superfrigate and she certainly presents that way in-game. For 290 points, Old Ironsides has a smackingly good broadside of 3H-3L-1C and 1L on the bow to give anyone a swift kick in the arseholio. She's got 60 ship points, breaks at 20, and goes 5" per move. For 290 points, it's not bad at all considering her special is that every time you're hit, a successful skill test divides incoming damage by half each time it's inflicted, rounding up. Old Ironsides, indeed. 

*'''''USS Essex'''''
The whip of choice for a swashbuckler. +2 to boarding actions (ALL boarding actions). And for 190 points, that's a pretty good deal. Otherwise she's got a somewhat better profile than your normal frigate with 45 ship points, breaking at 15, 2H-1L-1C and of course the standard 5" of your [[Standard Template Construct|STC]] frigate. 
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