two-masted sailing ship with square rigging on both masts. Brigs were used for both naval and mercantile purposes. As merchant vessels, they plied mostly coastal trading routes, but oceanic voyages were not uncommon; some brigs were even used for whaling and sealing. Naval brigs carried a battery of 10 to 20 guns on a single deck. In the great European navies of the 18th and 19th centuries, they served as couriers for battle fleets and as training vessels for cadets. In the early U.S. Navy, brigs acquired distinction during the War of 1812 in small fleet engagements on the Great Lakes and as merchant raiders in the Atlantic.

Because square rigging required a large crew, merchant brigs became uneconomical, and in the 19th century they began to give way to such fore-and-aft rigged vessels as the schooner and bark.