The first US Navy destroyer to be lost in combat was the USS Jacob Jones, sunk by the German submarine SM U-53 6 December, 1917. The ship's brief history, and its loss- the only US destroyer lost during the great war- represented the risks faced by, and heroism of, the men of the US Navy in that war.
Gregor MacGregor's fraud has been widely described as one of the most brazen in history.