The first "known" ship to bear the name was a 70 ton British Sloop of War naval vessel, named HMS George.  This ship was captured by the (United States) Continental Navy on 18 May 1775.  This vessel would remain in service to that navy on Lake Champlain until it ran aground near Whitehall, NY and was burned to prevent capture on 6/7 July 1777.  Between 20 December 1776 and February 1777, a second Enterprise served in the Continental Navy.  This 25 ton privateer schooner that was purchased by the Continental Navy would serve in Chesapeake Bay before being returned to the Maryland Council of Safety.

   The third Enterprise was constructed in 1799.  This 135 ton schooner was commissioned by 17 December 1799 as the first ship of her class (Bauer, 29).  It fought in the Quasi War with France, Barbary Wars and the War of 1812.  This vessel also fought against pirates, slavers, and smugglers within the waters of the United States of America. While performing these duties, the ship recovered, captured or defeated 36 ships. One of the many ships captured by Enterprise was accomplished with "Old Ironsides", the USS Constitution, in December of 1803.  Enterprise was practically rebuilt in 1805 in Venice. The ship would also be "re-rigged" as a brig type ship in 1811 at Washington Navy Yard. The vessel would serve about twenty-four years in the US Navy before running aground and being lost on 9 July 1823.

   Eight years later, a 194 ton Boxer class (Bauer, 31) schooner was commissioned as the fourth ship to bear the name Enterprise.   This naval vessel spent a total of six years patrolling off South America and sailed around the world once before being decommissioned 24 June 1844.  This vessel was the last Enterprise to use sails as its sole power source.

    The United States and the world would not see another Enterprise until 16 March 1877, when a 1375 ton bark rigged, steam powered Adams class (Bauer, 77) Sloop of War was commissioned as the fifth ship in the US Navy to bear the name Enterprise.  This vessel would spent the next thirteen years engaged in survey work or in reserve for the United States Navy.  During the 1891-1892 academic year, this Enterprise would serve as a school ship to the US Naval Academy. In October of 1892, the ship was loaned to the Commonwealth (State) of Massachusetts as a training vessel.  The vessel would be returned to the Navy in 1909 and sold1 October of that year, making it the longest serving vessel to bear the name Enterprise to that time.

    Of the two vessels, both aircraft carriers, to bear the name Enterprise in the 20^th Century, The Yorktown class Carrier Vessel (CV) 6 is the most famous of the two. CV-6 was commissioned on 12 May 1938, 28 and a half years after its predecessor was sold by the US Navy. This carrier would serve in almost every major Pacific Theater battle of World War II. This vessel's aircraft would duel with Japanese attackers on December 7, 1941. CV-6 escorted its sister ship, USS Hornet in the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in early 1942. The vessel's aircraft participated in the sinking of three Japanese aircraft carriers in the Battle of Midway. Enterprise fought with distinction until the end of World War II. The ship was severely damaged by a Japanese Kamikaze attack on May 14, 1945. Repairs kept the vessel out of service until the end of the war. The carrier returned 10,000 soldiers to the United States after the war ended. The vessel was decommissioned and placed in reserve on February 17, 1947. The vessel was reclassified twice; first as an attack carrier (CVA) on 1 October 1952, then as a antisubmarine carrier (CVS) on August 8, 1953. Enterprise was removed from the Naval Vessels Register on October 2, 1956.  Attempts to turn the ship into a museum in 1949 & 1956 failed.  The US Navy sold it for scrap on July 1, 1958 and the ship was completely dismantled by the end of March 1960.  During the vessel's distinguished career, it received 20 of 22 combat stars.  The vessel was credited with the sinking of 71 enemy ships and shooting down 911 aircraft. Enterprise was the most decorated ship of World War II.

     The second USS Enterprise of the 20^th Century was commissioned as Nuclear Powered Attack Carrier Vessel (CVAN) 65 on November 25, 1961. CVAN-65 was the first nuclear powered aircraft carrier and longest warship built at that time. The vessel was built with a square island that supported phased array radar and a then complex EW system. Enterprise participated in the blockade of Cuba in 1961, and circled the globe in 1963 with the nuclear powered  vessels USS Long Beach and USS Bainbridge. CVAN-65 was the first nuclear vessel in combat where the vessel's aircraft struck targets in Vietnam during the Vietnam Conflict. The ship assisted in the evacuation of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) at the end of that conflict in 1975. Also in 1975, Enterprise was reclassified CVN-65 on 30 June of that year. Between 1979 and 1982, the ship received improvements at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Also, between 1990 to 1995, Enterprise was updated and reconstructed at Newport News Naval Shipyard for service through 2015. CVN-65 is currently under the command of Captain Eric C. Neidlinger. (Information incomplete since the ship is still in service. For further information on CVN-65, click on the image of the Enterprise, which is courtesy of the USS Enterprise [CVN-65] web site.)