USS Enterprise ( 1799 ) The third ship to be named USS " Enterprise " , was a schooner , built by Henry Spencer at Baltimore , Maryland , in 1799 , whose command was given to Lieutenant John Shaw . This ship was overhauled and rebuilt several times , effectively changing from a twelve gun schooner to a fourteen gun topsail schooner and eventually to a brig rigged ship . First Caribbean tour . On 17 December 1799 , " Enterprise " departed the Delaware Capes for the Caribbean to protect United States merchantmen from the depredations of French privateer s during the Quasi - War with France . Within the following year , " Enterprise " captured eight privateers and liberated 11 American vessels from captivity , achievements which assured her inclusion in the 14 ships retained in the Navy after the Quasi - War . Placing her for sale was suggested in mid - March 1801 . First arrival in Mediterranean . After Lieutenant Shaw , due to ill health , was relieved by Lieutenant Andrew Sterett , " Enterprise " sailed to the Mediterranean . Being delayed by getting new masts , she left Baltimore in early May 1801 . Raising Gibraltar on 26 June 1801 , where she was to join other U . S . warships in the First Barbary War . Battle with corsair " Tripoli " . " Enterprise ' s " first action came on 1 August 1801 when , just west of Malta , she defeated the 14 - gun Tripolitan corsair " Tripoli " , after a fierce but one - sided battle . Unscathed , " Enterprise " sent the battered pirate into port since the schooner ' s orders prohibited taking prizes . The action was described in Washington City ' s National Intelligencer & Adv . on 18 November 1801 . Naval Victory < br > < br > Yesterday captain Sterret , commander of the schooner " Enterprize " , part of the Mediterranean squadron , arrived here , with dispatches for the Secretary of the Navy . < br > < br > Captain Sterret is bearer of dispatches from commodore Dale , which exhibit a detailed account of the proceedings and situation of the Mediterranean squadron . < br > < br > On the 1st of August , the schooner " Enterprize " , commanded by captain Sterret , and carrying 12 six pounders and 90 men , bound to Malta for a supply of water , fell in with a Tripolitan cruizer , being a ship of 14 six pounders , manned by 80 men . < br > < br > At this time the " Enterprize " bore British colours . Captain Sterret interrogated the commander of the Tripolitan on the object of his cruize . He replied that he came out to cruise after the Americans , and that he lamented that he had not come alongside of some of them . Captain Sterret , on this reply , hoisted American , in the room of British colours ; and discharged a volley of musquetry ; which the Tripolitan returned by a partial broadside . — This was the commencement of a hard fought action , which commenced at 9 am and continued for three hours . < br > < br > Three times , during the action , the Tripolitan attempted to board the " Enterprize " , and was as often repulsed with great slaughter , which was greatly increased by the effective aid afforded by the Marines . Three times , also , the Tripolitan struck her colours , and as often treacherously renewed the action , with the hope of disabling the crew of captain Sterret , which , as is usual , when the enemy struck her colours , came on deck , and exposed themselves , while they gave three cheers as a mark of victory . < br > < br > When for the third time , this treacherous attack was made , captain Sterret gave orders to sink the Tripolitan , on which a scene of furious combat ensuded , until the enemy cried for mercy . < br > < br > Captain Sterret , listening to the voice of humanity , even after such perfidious conduct , ordered the captain either to come himself , or to send some of his officers on board the " Enterprize " . He was informed that the boat of the Tripolitan was so shattered as to be unfit for use . He asked , what security there was , that if he should send his men in his own boat , they would not be murdered ? < br > < br > After numerous supplications & protestations the boat was sent : The crew of the Tripolitan was discovered to be in the most deplorable state . Out of eighty men , 20 were killed , and 30 wounded . Among the killed were the second lieutenant and Surgeon ; and among the wounded were the Captain and first lieutenant . And so decisive was the fire of the " Enterprize " that the Tripolitan was found to be in a most perilous condition , having received 18 shot between wind and water . < br > < br > When we compare this great slaughter , with the fact that not a single individual of the crew of the " Enterprise " was in the least degree injured , we are lost in surprise at the uncommon good fortune which accompanied our seamen , and at the superior management of Captain Sterrett . < br > < br > All the officers and sailors manifested the truest spirit , and sustained the greatest efforts during the engagement . All , therefore , are entitled to encomium for their valour and good conduct . The marines , especially , owing to the nearness of the vessels , which were within pistol shot of each other , were eminently useful . < br > < br > After administering to the relief of the distresses of the wounded Tripolitans , and the wants of the crew , Capt . Sterrett ordered the ship of the enemy to be completely dismantled . Her masts were accordingly all cut down , and her guns thrown overboard . A spar was raised , on which was fixed , as a flag , a tattered sail ; and in this condition the ship was dismissed . < br > < br > On the arrival of the Tripolitan ship at Tripoli , so strong was the sensations of shame and indignation excited there , that the Bey ordered the wounded captain to be mounted on a Jack Ass , and paraded thro ' the streets as an object of public scorn . After which he received 500 bastinado es . < br > < br > So thunderstruck were the Tripolitans at this event , and at the apprehended destruction of their whole marine force , that the sailors , then employed at Tripoli on board of cruisers that were fitting out by the government , all deserted them , and not a man could be procured to navigate them . On 3 February 1802 , the U . S . Congress resolved that a commemorative sword should be given to Sterrett , and a month ' s pay to the others on the " Enterprise " . Remainder of Mediterranean patrol . At Gibraltar on 3 October 1801 , " Enterprise " was ordered to return to Baltimore with dispatches for the Secretary of the Navy . While in port , Sterett was ordered on 17 November to pay off and discharge the crew , and that Sterett would be given a furlough and replaced after he oversaw the ship ' s refitting . Master Commandant Cyrus Talbot was offered the command , but he was discharged 23 October 1801 , under the " Peace Establishment Act " . Her next victories came in 1803 after months of carrying despatches , convoying merchantmen , and patrolling the Mediterranean . On 17 January , she captured " Paulina " , a Tunisian ship under charter to the Bashaw ( Pasha ) of Tripoli , and on 22 May , she ran a 30 - ton craft ashore on the coast of Tripoli . For the next month " Enterprise " and other ships of the squadron cruised inshore , bombarding the coast and sending landing parties to destroy enemy small craft . On 12 November 1803 Stephen Decatur assumed command of the " Enterprise " . On 23 December 1803 , after a quiet interval of cruising , " Enterprise " joined with frigate " Constitution " to capture the Tripolitan ketch " Mastico " . The captured vessel was taken back to Syracuse and refitted and renamed " Intrepid " . Command was then turned over to " Enterprise ' s " commander Lieutenant Decatur . Because of her regional appearance the ketch was well suited for making its way into Tripoli ' s harbor without raising suspicion and was used in a daring expedition to board , capture and burn the frigate " Philadelphia " , captured by the Tripolitans and anchored in the harbor of Tripoli . Decatur and volunteers from the " Enterprise " carried out their mission almost perfectly , destroying the frigate and depriving Tripoli of a powerful warship . " Enterprise " continued to patrol the Barbary Coast until July 1804 when she joined the other ships of the squadron in general attacks on the city of Tripoli over a period of several weeks . " Enterprise " passed the winter in Venice , Italy , where she was practically rebuilt by May 1805 . She rejoined her squadron in July and resumed patrol and convoy duty until August 1807 . During that period she fought ( 15 August 1806 ) a brief engagement off Gibraltar with a group of Spanish gunboats who attacked her but were driven off . " Enterprise " returned to the United States in late 1807 , and cruised coastal waters until June 1809 . After a brief tour in the Mediterranean , she sailed to New York where she was laid up for nearly a year . 1811 recommissioning . Repaired at the Washington Navy Yard , " Enterprise " was recommissioned there in April 1811 , then sailed for operations out of Savannah , Georgia and Charleston , South Carolina . She returned to Washington on 2 October and was hauled out of the water for extensive repairs and modifications : when she sailed on 20 May 1812 , she had been rerigged as a brig . At sea when war was declared on Britain , she cruised along the east coast during the first year of hostilities . On 5 September 1813 , " Enterprise " sighted and chased the brig HMS " Boxer " . The brigs opened fire on each other , and in a closely fought , fierce and gallant action which took the lives of both commanding officers , " Enterprise " captured " Boxer " and took her into nearby Portland , Maine , with Edward McCall in command . Here a common funeral was held for Lieutenant William Burrows , " Enterprise " , and Captain Samuel Blyth , " Boxer " , both well - known and highly regarded in their respective naval services . Second Caribbean patrol . After repairing at Portland , " Enterprise " sailed in company with brig , for the Caribbean . The two ships took three prizes before being forced to separate by a heavily armed ship on 25 February 1814 . " Enterprise " was compelled to jettison most of her guns in order to outsail her superior antagonist . The brig reached Wilmington , North Carolina , on 9 March 1814 , then passed the remainder of the war as a guardship off Charleston , South Carolina . Mediterranean , New Orleans , and West Indies Squadrons . " Enterprise " served one more short tour in the Mediterranean Squadron ( July – November 1815 ) , then cruised the northeastern seaboard until November 1817 . In 1818 she was commanded by Lieutenant Lawrence Kearny of the New Orleans Squadron who evicted Jean Lafitte from Galveston , Texas . From that time on she sailed the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico as one of the founding vessels of what later became the West Indies Squadron in 1821 . She was active in suppressing pirates , smugglers , and slavers ; in this duty she took 13 prizes . An attack on Cape Antonio , Cuba in October 1821 resulted in the rescue of three vessels taken by pirates and the breaking up of an outlaw flotilla reputedly commanded by James D . Jeffers , aka Charles Gibbs . Her long career ended on 9 July 1823 , when , without injury to her crew , she stranded and broke up on Little Curacao Island in the West Indies . Measurements . In 1799 she was built as a fast - sailing schooner with a complement of 70 , mounting twelve 6 - pounders . The first commanding officer of the Enterprise thought that she was too lightly built and that her quarters , in particular , should be bulletproofed . In 1800 , her armament was increased to fourteen guns , and at this time her dimensions are given as :