Cordelia was a Cherokee Class brig-rigged Sloop-of-War of 237 tons. She was 90 feet 2 inches long on her main deck and had a beam of 24 ft 7 in, her draft was 9 ft at the rudder. Her armament comprised eight 18-pounder carronades on her broadside with two 6-pounder long guns in her bows. She also carried a dozen half-pounder swivel guns attached to her upper deck bulwarks and in her fighting tops. She had a complement of 52.
