USS ''Spark'' was a heavily armed

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 ...

in the services of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, built for service in 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 ...

. However, she was completed too late for that war and was assigned, instead, to the Barbary Wars in the Mediterranean. After two voyages in support of that action, she was assigned to suppress pirates in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, where she was successful in capturing a number of pirate ships and their crews.

Service history

The first ship to be so named by the Navy, ''Spark''—a privateer built in 1813 at the Rysam Boat Yard (est. 1797 reference Sag Harbor Historical Society) in Sag Harbor on Long Island, New York—was purchased by the Navy at

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, in 1814 for service in the war with the United Kingdom. However, the war ended before the brig could get to sea for active service against the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. ''Spark'', commanded by Lt. Thomas Gamble, departed

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on 20 May 1815 and sailed for the Mediterranean for operations in 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 ...

's squadron against pirates of

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 ...

. She reached

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

on 15 June and, two days later, helped in operations resulting in the capture of the Algerian

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 ...

, ''Mashuda'', near Cape de Gatt. On the 19th, she aided ''Epervier'', ''Torch'', and ''Spitfire'' in running ''Estedio'' ashore where she was boarded and captured. After cruising in the Mediterranean through the summer, ''Spark'' sailed for home on 6 October in a squadron commanded by Commodore William Bainbridge and reached

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

, on 15 November and was laid up for repairs. Recommissioned on 1 July 1816, the brig sailed again for the Mediterranean on 6 September carrying a letter from the President of the United States for the Dey of Algiers and orders appointing Commodore Isaac Chauncey and Consul-General Shalter commissioners to negotiate for peace. ''Spark'' cruised in the Mediterranean until returning home in 1821. In the autumn of 1821, ''Spark'', now commanded by Lt. John H. Elton, departed Boston, Massachusetts, for the Caribbean for operations against pirates. In January 1822, he captured a Dutch

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

and brought her and seven pirates to

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, for trial. She returned to the Caribbean and spent over three years suppressing buccaneers. The brig returned home in 1825. That year enslaved seaman James Hutton, through his attorney

Francis Scott Key Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet from Frederick, Maryland, who wrote the lyrics for the American national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner". Key observed the British bombardment ...

brought a freedom suit against Lt. William J. Belt, USN. Judge

William Cranch William Cranch (July 17, 1769 – September 1, 1855) was a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge and chief judge of the United States Circuit Court of the District of Columbia. A staunch Federalist Party, Federalist and nephe ...

of the District of Columbia Court, in his verdict, found that Lt. Belt by his action in enrolling James Hutton as an Ordinary Seaman aboard USS Columbus, and USS Spark (1813) was sufficient evidence of "implied manumission" and subsequently accorded Hutton his freedom. In reaching a decision, the court relied on muster rolls of both vessels and the letter of Commodore William Bainbridge dated 6 June 1825.Hutton V Belt 1825, https://earlywashingtondc.org/doc/oscys.case.0063.007 In 1826 the USS Spark was sold at

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spark Ships built in New York (state) War of 1812 ships of the United States Barbary Wars American ships Dispatch boats of the United States Navy Brigs of the United States Navy 1813 ships