USS ''Spitfire'' was the former Baltimore privateer ''Grampus'' that the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

purchased. She was a heavily armed

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

built for service in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, but did not see service until the

Barbary Wars The Barbary Wars were a series of two wars fought by the United States, Sweden, and the Kingdom of Sicily against the Barbary states (including Tunis, Algiers, and Tripoli) and Morocco of North Africa in the early 19th century. Sweden had bee ...

when she was sent with the American fleet to 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 east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

to force an end to piracy of American ships.

Privateer

''Grampus''s captain was John Murphy. She was commissioned as a privateer on 12 February 1813. As a privateer she captured or recaptured eight vessels: *''Catherine & William'', brig, lost at sea *''Eclipse'', brig, sent in *''Ceres'', brig, burnt *''Expedition'', ketch, New York *''Doris'', brig, transport, Marblehead *''Speculator'', brig, divested, given up *''Dry Harbor'', schooner, sent in *Brig, burnt

Purchased for the War of 1812

The third ship to be named ''Spitfire'' by the U.S. Navy, ''Spitfire'' was purchased at

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, about 21 December 1814 for service in a squadron commanded by Commodore David Porter which was to operate out of southern American ports against British shipping in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. However, the

Treaty of Ghent The Treaty of Ghent () was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It took effect in February 1815. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now in ...

ended the second American war with

the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

(UK) before Porter could get the squadron to sea.

Assigned to the Barbary Wars

However, as the United States ended war with the UK, it was reopening hostilities with

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. As a result, the ships acquired for Porter's commerce raiding squadron were assigned to a squadron assembled for operations against the

Barbary pirates The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...

, commanded by Commodore

Stephen Decatur Commodore (United States), Commodore Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was a United States Navy officer. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County, Maryland, Worcester County. His father, Ste ...

. ''Spitfire'' departed

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with the squadron 20 May 1815, and sailed to the

. On 19 June, she helped ''Epervier'', ''Spark'', and ''Torch'' to chase ''Estedio'' ashore at

Cape Palos Cape Palos () is a cape in the Spanish municipality of Cartagena, in the region of Murcia. It is part of a small range of volcanic mounts that form a small peninsula. The Mediterranean islands of Grosa and the group known as the Hormigas Islan ...

and capture that Algerian

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 l ...

. ''Spitfire'' then sailed with the squadron to Algiers where its presence forced the

Dey Dey (, from ) was the title given to the rulers of the regencies of Algiers, Tripolitania,Bertarelli (1929), p. 203. and Tunis under the Ottoman Empire from 1671 onwards. Twenty-nine ''deys'' held office from the establishment of the deylicate ...

to agree to American terms. The squadron then sailed, in turn, to

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

and

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

and successfully demanded indemnities for violations of treaties with the United States during the recent American war with the UK. In September, ''Spitfire'' headed home and was laid up until she was sold 3 April 1816.

References

* * Cranwell, John Philips, & William Bowers Crane (1940) ''Men of marque; a history of private armed vessels out of Baltimore during the War of 1812''. (New York, W.W. Norton & Co.). {{DEFAULTSORT:Spitfire (1814) 1812 ships Ships built in Baltimore Privateer ships of the United States War of 1812 ships of the United States Barbary Wars American ships Schooners of the United States Navy Second Barbary War