page_title: West Indies anti-piracy operations of the United States
section_title: 1824–1825
hierarchical_section_title: West Indies anti-piracy operations of the United States / Operations / 1824–1825
caption_attribution_description: Roberto Cofresí (1791 - 1825). Pirata puertorriqueño(Monumento en Cabo Rojo)
context_page_description: The West Indies Anti-Piracy Operations refer to the United States Navy presence in the Antilles, and surrounding waters, which fought against pirates. Between 1817 and 1825, the American West Indies Squadron constantly pursued pirates on sea and land, primarily around Cuba and Puerto Rico. After the capture of Roberto Cofresi in 1825, acts of piracy became rare and the operation was considered a success although limited occurrences went on until slightly after the start of the 20th-century.
context_section_description: Throughout the history of the West Indies Squadron, tropical disease was common among the American warships which had to sail back to the United States when outbreaks occurred. By January 1824, most of the West Indies Squadron ships had been recalled, mainly because of illness though in February, the squadron under Commodore Porter, sailing in flagship USS Firefly, returned to operate for a few months before sailing north again in July. During this time, piracy in Puerto Rican waters began to briefly rise until mid-1825: between July and August, ten attacks on American merchant vessels were reported and only a few warships remained on station. By October the majority were back in home waters.  Commodore Porter was relieved of duty in February 1825 and joined the Mexican Navy; this was after the Spanish authorities in Puerto Rico detained USS Peacock's commander Lieutenant Platt in October 1824. That month pirates raided Saint Thomas in the Danish Virgin Islands and returned to Fajardo with $5,000 worth of stolen merchandise from an American owned business. The stores owner requested that Lieutenant Platt help him recover his goods. Platt landed men in Fajardo on October 27. In order to not alert the pirates, the shore party wore civilian clothes and as a result, they were arrested by the Spanish Army and charged with piracy. Platt explained why he was out of uniform and later the Spanish allowed for one of his men to retrieve the lieutenant's uniform and commission. Upon seeing this, the Americans were released. When Commodore Porter heard of this he sailed to Fajardo with USS John Adams, Beagle and Grampus. There he landed a shore party on November 14 and demanded an apology from the Spanish. Eventually the Spaniards agreed to make a public apology so the expedition boarded their ships and sailed away.  The United States government was not happy with Commodore Porter's actions and he was court martialed before resigning his commission. The American operation against West Indies pirates was declared a victory in 1825 though occasional outbreaks of piracy continued.
  In March 1825, Gallinipper was accompanied by the frigate HMS Dartmouth and the schooners HMS Lion and HMS Union in an operation against Cuban pirates. United States Navy Lieutenant Isaac McKeever commanded and led an attack against a hostile schooner at the mouth of the Sagua la Grande. American and British forces took the ship, killed eight enemies and captured nineteen others, incurring only one man wounded. On the following day, another schooner was captured but the pirates escaped and the vessel was taken without bloodshed. El Mosquito, the ship of famed pirate Roberto Cofresí was disabled on March 2, by USS Grampus and two Spanish sloops off Boca del Infierno. With his crew scattered, the pirate captain fled inland, where a local by the name of Juan Garay recognized and ambushed him allowing the authorities to capture him. Cofresí was considered the last Caribbean pirate to be successful. After he was executed on March 29, 1825, piracy declined in the region for good. United States naval operations in the West Indies were eventually turned over to the Home Squadron and the Brazil Squadron by 1842.
caption: A monument of Roberto Cofresi in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico.
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