The first USS "Argus, originally named USS "Merrimack, was a brig in the United States Navy commissioned in 1803. She enforced the Embargo Act of 1807 and fought in the First Barbary War – taking part in the blockade of Tripoli and the capture of Derna – and the War of 1812. During the latter conflict, she had been audaciously raiding British merchant shipping in British home waters for a month, when the heavier British intercepted her. After a sharp fight during which "Argus"s captain, Master Commandant William Henry Allen, was mortally wounded, "Argus" surrendered when the crew of "Pelican" were about to board.