USS Nautilus ( 1799 ) Nautilus was a schooner launched in 1799 . The United States Navy purchased her in May 1803 , renaming her the USS " Nautilus " ; she thus became the first ship to bear that name . She served in the First Barbary War . She was altered to a brig antine . The British captured " Nautilus " early in the War of 1812 and renamed her HMS " Emulous " . After her service with the Royal Navy , the Admiralty sold her in 1817 . Origins . Henry Spencer built " Nautilus " in 1799 as a merchant vessel on the Eastern Shore of Maryland . The Navy purchased her at Baltimore , Maryland , from Thomas Tennant . She was commissioned 24 June 1803 , under Lieutenant Richard Somers . First Barbary War . " Nautilus " sailed to Hampton Roads , whence she got underway on 30 June for the Mediterranean , carrying dispatches for the U . S . Mediterranean Squadron stationed there assigned to protect the interests of the United States and its citizens residing or trading in that area , and threatened at that time by the Barbary States . " Nautilus " arrived at Gibraltar on 27 July and departed again on the 31st to deliver dispatches to Captain John Rodgers in , then returned to Gibraltar to await the arrival of Commodore Edward Preble , in , and join his squadron . " Constitution " arrived at Gibraltar on 12 September , and after provisioning , the squadron , less , sailed 6 October with vessels of Capt . Rodgers ' s squadron to Tangier . This display of naval strength induced the Emperor of Morocco to renew the treaty of 1786 . On 31 October 1803 , the Tripolitans captured " Philadelphia " and the squadron ' s interests came to focus on Tripoli and Tunis . Using Syracuse as their rendezvous point , the vessels appeared off Tunis and Tripoli at different times between November 1803 and May 1804 . In February 1804 , while Lt . Stephen Decatur daringly sailed into Tripoli harbor and burned the captured " Philadelphia " , " Nautilus " cruised off Tunis . Toward the end of the month " Nautilus " retired to Syracuse , returning to Tripoli in mid - March . During May and June she repaired at Messina . Departing 5 July , she joined " Constitution " off Tripoli on 25 July . During August and early September , she took part in the siege of Tripoli and saw action in five general attacks between 3 August and 3 September . For the next five months , she continued to cruise off Tripoli and Tunis , retiring periodically to Syracuse and Malta , whence in February 1805 , she sailed to Livorno to acquire a new mainmast . On 27 April 1805 , with Oliver Hazard Perry in command , she arrived off Derna to participate in the attack , capture , and occupation of that town . She remained until 17 May , during which time she provided cover for the forces of Hamet Caramanli , former Bashaw of Tripoli , as they went into action against the army of Hamet ' s brother Yusuf ibn Ali Karamanli , who had overthrown Hamet and assumed his title . Departing on the 17th , " Nautilus " retired to Malta with dispatches and casualties . At the end of the month , she returned to Tripoli and on 10 June hostilities ceased with the signing of a peace treaty . " Nautilus " remained in the Mediterranean for a year after the treaty went into effect , conducting operations from Malta and Gibraltar . In the spring of 1806 she was assigned to Algiers for dispatch duty , sailing in June for the United States . Between wars . Arriving at Washington , D . C . , in mid - July , " Nautilus " entered the Washington Navy Yard there and was placed in ordinary . Reactivated in 1808 , she was employed on the East Coast until entering the Navy Yard again in 1810 . The Navy then altered her to a brig , giving her a battery of twelve 18 - pounder ( 8 kg ) carronade s . The Navy recommissioned in 1811 and she joined Stephen Decatur ' s squadron . Capture . After the War of 1812 with Britain broke out on 18 June 1812 , " Nautilus " gained the dubious distinction of being the first vessel lost on either side . A squadron built around the Third Rate ( 64 guns ) and the two Fifth Rate frigates , ( 38 guns ) and ( 32 guns ) , captured her off northern New Jersey . " Nautilus " was 24 hours out on a cruise from New York when " Shannon " and " Aeolus " captured her on 17 July . At the time of her capture she mounted 16 guns , had crew of 106 men and was under the command of Lieutenant William M . Crane . HMS " Emulous " . The British immediately but informally took " Nautilus " into service under the name " Emulous " , having just lost the " Cruizer " class brig - sloop on 2 August . " Emulous " proceeded to capture a number of American privateers or merchant vessels . On 25 August " Emulous " captured the American ship " Gossamer " . That same day , " Emulous " captured the American privateer schooner " Science " , under the command of Captain W . Fernald . " Science " , of 74 tons , five guns and 52 men was on a cruise out of Portsmouth . On 29 August the Admiralty formally purchased " Nautilus " / " Emulous " for £3 , 252 17s 2d . Next , " Emulous " was among the vessels sharing in " Spartan " s capture of the " Melantho " on 17 September . Four days later " Emulous " , with , and captured the brig " Ambition " , sailing from Baltimore to Boston on 21 September 1812 . On 2 February 1813 " Emulous " was commissioned under Commander William Mackenzie Godfrey , on the Halifax station . On 5 April she captured the American schooner privateer " Cossack " . Next , on 5 May , " Emulous " , " Shannon " , and captured the schooner " Ann " , of 42 tons , sailing from New Orleans to Bourdeaux . That same day " Nymphe " , together with the same three other British ships , captured the American ship of war " Montgomery " , of 12 guns and a crew of 75 men . She was on her way home after a two - month cruise off the coast of Ireland . On 4 August , " Emulous " recaptured the schooner " Four Brothers " , of 330 tons bm , R . Sinclair , master . On 21 or 24 September , the Canadian privateer " Dart " drove the American privateer " Orange " , a chebacco boat of two guns and 11 men , on to Fox Island in Machias Bay on the coast of Maine . There the boats of " Emulous " and , under the command of Lieutenant Wright of " Emulous " , destroyed her . Then on 10 October , " Emulous " destroyed two small American privateers in Passamaquaddy Bay , between Maine and New Brunswick . One was a schooner called the " Orion " , of one gun and 16 men ; the other was the row boat " Camelion " , with 17 men and small arms . At some point " Emulous " captured the American ship " Bird " . Post - war and fate . On 22 July 1814 , Godfrey removed to . Captain John Gore then took command on 23 July 1814 and remained until 3 February 1815 . In June 1815 " Emulous " came under the command of Commander John Undrell , still on the Jamaica station . His replacement was the newly promoted Commander Thomas Wrenn Carter , who removed to " Carnation " in April 1816 . Her last commander was Lieutenant Caleb Jackson ( acting ) . " Emulous " arrived at Deptford on 19 June 1816 to pay off and was laid up there . The Admiralty sold her for £900 in August 1817 .