The construction of the ship was commissioned on 13 December 1775, and finished by July 10 of the next year. The Templar, Nicholas Biddle, was named as her Captain in October of the same year. Due to scarcity of seamen, the USS Randolph was staffed by British sailors, who were imprisoned in Philadelphia, and set sail in February 1777. She reached Charlestown almost a month later, her masts broken, and her crew struck by fever. The crew had also mutinied during the journey.