The USS ''Firefly'', was a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

with two masts, square-rigged, formerly named ''Volant'' and originally built as a

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

for use as a

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

. The U.S. Navy purchased ''Volant'' on 8 December 1814 at

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

by and was fitted her out as US naval 14-gun brig. She served during the War of 1812 and Second Barbary War of 1815. ''Firefly'' was purchased because of the several US blockade efforts where smaller ships with better maneuverability were needed for the task. The Navy sold her in 1816 and she became a Portuguese

slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast ...

History

Engraving depicting Bainbridge Squadron off Algiers

In 1814, during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, ''Firefly'' became the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

of a squadron of five small ships which, under the command of Captain David Porter, were preparing for a mission to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

to capture or destroy enemy commerce. However the mission was canceled when a peace treaty with Britain was signed on

24 December Events Pre-1600 * 502 – Chinese emperor Xiao Yan names Xiao Tong his heir designate. * 640 – Pope John IV is elected, several months after his predecessor's death. * 759 – Tang dynasty poet Du Fu departs for Chengdu, wher ...

. Leiner, 2007 p.74 On 20 May 1815, during the

Second Barbary War The Second Barbary War (1815) or the U.S.–Algerian War was fought between the United States and the North African Barbary Coast states of Tripoli, Tunis, and Algiers. The war ended when the United States Senate ratified Commodore Stephen De ...

, command of the ''Firefly'' was given to Lieutenant George W. Rodgers who departed from New York for the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

to join the squadron of Commodore

Stephen Decatur Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was an American naval officer and commodore. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County. His father, Stephen Decatur Sr., was a commodore in the Unite ...

. After a few days at sea Rodgers' squadron encountered a heavy gale and ''Firefly'' sprung a mast, forcing her to return to port for repairs. After repairs were completed ''Firefly'' set sail again for the Mediterranean on 18 July where she joined Commodore

William Bainbridge William Bainbridge (May 7, 1774July 27, 1833) was a Commodore in the United States Navy. During his long career in the young American Navy he served under six presidents beginning with John Adams and is notable for his many victories at sea. He ...

's and Decatur's squadrons at Carthagena where preparations for the mission at

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

were being made. From there the squadrons sailed to Algiers and spend the next several months maintaining the blockade and enforcing the peace concluded with the

Dey of Algiers Dey (Arabic: داي), from the Turkish honorific title ''dayı'', literally meaning uncle, was the title given to the rulers of the Regency of Algiers (Algeria), Tripoli,Bertarelli (1929), p. 203. and Tunis under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 on ...

by Commodore Decatur and

William Shaler William Shaler (1773 – March 29, 1833) was an American government official who served as a diplomat and confidential agent in several foreign locations, including Algiers, Mexico and Cuba. Life and career William Shaler was born in Bridgepo ...

, US Consul to Algiers. On 15 November 1815 ''Firefly'' arrived with the squadron at

Newport, R.I. Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yo ...

, then sailed on to New York where she was laid up at the navy yard. She was sold at public auction on 3 April 1816 at New York. She apparently became the slaver ''Africano'', or ''San Francisco de Paula''.
Walker, Andrew (2019) "Illegal Under the Laws of All Nations? The Courts of Haiti and the Suppression of the Atlantic Trade in African Captives", ''Law and History Review''.

History

See also

Citations

Further reading