Aegean Sea Anti - Piracy Operations of the United States Aegean Sea Anti - Piracy Operations began in 1825 when the United States government dispatched a squadron of ships to suppress Aegean Greek pirates . Due to the Greek civil wars and the decline of the Greek Navy , the Aegean quickly became a haven for pirates who sometimes doubled as privateer s . American merchant vessels were attacked so the Mediterranean Squadron began escort and patrol duties . The operation was declared a success in 1828 . Operations . In the wake of the Greek Navy ' s defeat in the 1823 Battle of Bodrum , the Greek Navy turned to privateering . With the breakdown of law and order in the Aegean , piracy became widespread . Several American merchant ships were plundered by 1825 so that year President James Monroe sent Commodore John Rodgers to protect American commerce . From 1825 to 1828 , seven American warships were assigned to the Mediterranean Squadron including the flagship USS " North Carolina " , the frigate USS " Constitution " , the sloops USS " Fairfield " , USS " Lexington " and USS " Ontario " , and the schooner s USS " Porpoise " and USS " Warren " . The sloops and schooners were the main vessels deployed against the pirates because the larger men - of - war were too large to be effective . Many of the Greek pirates used small three masted vessels called mistiko s and were usually armed with one bow gun . Commodore Rodgers ' first squadron in the Aegean occupied its time by convoying merchant ships and did not fight any engagements . In 1826 the squadron was withdrawn but another was sent in 1827 after a new escalation in piracy . Again the naval force was under John Rodgers ' command . USS " Warren " would be the first to fight the brigands in a battle , she was newly constructed and sailed from Boston in February 1827 . In September , the " Warren " ceased escort duty and under the command of Lieutenant Lawrence Kearny , she captured a sixteen gun brig on October 4 while patrolling around Cape Matapan and the port of Carabusa . One boat and fifteen pirates were also taken . While sailing in convoy on October 16 , Lieutenant Louis M . Goldsborough of the " Porpoise " liberated the British brig " Comet " after watching it get captured by 250 pirates in five vessels . In the ensuing battle , around ninety brigands were killed or wounded while the Americans suffered no casualties . Three brigs left the convoy at that point and two of them were later attacked . The first brig was captured off Chios and the second was abandoned by her crew before it was captured . On October 23 , one American sailor from the " Porpoise " was wounded in a skirmish near Andros . USS " Warren " chased a ten gun pirate brig on October 25 and it grounded off Argentiere before sinking , the pirates escaped to shore . " Warren " recovered the American ship " Cherub " and the Austrian vessel " Silence " off Syros on October 28 and two days later the Americans captured a pirate tratta propelled by forty oars and landed sailors and marines on Mykonos to recover stolen property from the " Cherub " , " Silence " and the " Rob Roy " . One pirate boat was burned during the landing and the town shelled . On November 7 , a boat expedition from the " Warren " under the command of Lieutenant William L . Hudson destroyed one pirate boat and captured another off Andros . The " Warren " also landed men on Argentiere and Milos in December , and convoyed eight American merchant vessels from Milos to Smyrna . In just over two months , the " Warren " captured or destroyed seven pirate vessels , rescued three merchant ships , recovered stolen property , escorted two convoys , and patrolled hundreds of miles in the Mediterranean . By the end of 1827 , the United Kingdom , Russia and France had deployed their own fleets to the Aegean for suppression of piracy and to support Greek independence from the Ottoman Empire . In January 1828 a combined fleet of British and French warships attacked Carabusa which was a major center of piracy . Following its destruction , reports of pirate attacks began to cease and by the end of 1828 , Secretary of the Navy Samuel L . Southard declared that because of the convoy system enforced by the United States Navy and the arrival of powerful fleets in the Aegean , the threat of piracy was eliminated .