Josiah Fox, a Quaker, wielded great influence in ship design during the early years of the United States. He served as clerk in the United States War Department in 1794, assistant Navy Constructor from 1795 to 1798, Navy Constructor and Superintendent of Buildings at the Gosport, Virginia Navy Yards from 1798 to 1801, and United States Navy Constructor from 1804 to 1809. He designed U.S.S. Constitution (“Old Ironsides”), U.S.S. United States, U.S.S. Constellation, U.S.S. Crescent, the revenue cutters Pickering and Eagle, Diligence, U.S.S. Chesapeake, U.S.S. John Adams, U.S.S. Philadelphia, Schooner Ferret, gunboats No. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, Brig Hornet, and Sloop of War Wasp; Constitution, United States, and Constellation were joint efforts by Fox, Humphrey, and Doughty.