The first Baltimore in naval service in the United States was a 12-gun brigantine that served in the Continental Navy from 1777 to 1780. Baltimore was built in Baltimore, Maryland in 1777. She was fitted out by the orders of the Marine Committee of the Continental Congress as a packet or despatch vessel and commissioned in the Continental Navy under the command of Captain Thomas Read. Few details of Baltimore's service are available. In addition to performing despatch service, she is said to have participated in the defense of the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay in 1778 and 1779.