HMS Deane

The HMS Deane was a Buckley class destroyer escort originally commissioned to be built for the U.S. Navy. Before it was finished in 1943 it was sold to England and saw service during World War II.

The HMS Deane was named after Silas Deane, an American patriot who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and Commissioner to France during the American Revolutionary War. Deane was instrumental in forming the United States Navy and securing aid from France.

Silas Deane was a victim of political slander by fellow Commissioner Arthur Lee who sought to become sole commissioner to France. He was reduced to poverty by the political machinations of Lee‘s faction ⁽¹⁾. Deane lived in exhile, first in the Netherlands and then in England until 1789 when he died by suspicious circumstances shortly after embarking on a voyage to America to clear his name. He was eventually vindicated by his descendants ^(2} .

⁽¹⁾ “France in the Revolution” Chapter IV “Silas Deane’s Mission” by James Breck Perkins "Chapter IV Silas Deane's Mission" can be viewed on line at www.americanrevolution.org/frcon.html [1]

⁽²⁾ "Silas Deane, a Connecticut leader in the American Revolution", by George L. Clark, New York, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1913 can be viewed online at www.quinnipiac.edu [2]