USS Marietta was a small, man-powered gunboat acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1805 for the task of coastal defense. She had 28 rows of oars, which required the effort of 56 seamen to propel her. However, as primitive as she might seem, she was armed with a formidable gun which shot a 24-pound cannon ball, plus a number of smaller, but lethal, guns, which required a number of gunners to be on board during operations.