Action off Charles Island The Action off Charles Island was a naval battle fought during the War of 1812 in the summer of 1813 off Charles Island in the Galapagos . An American squadron of three vessels attacked three British armed whalers , and captured them . The engagement was notable for being one of the few to occur in the Pacific Ocean during the war and involved United States Marine Lieutenant John M . Gamble , the first marine to command an American warship . Background . In the war between the United Kingdom and the United States , American Captain David Porter , in the thirty - six gun frigate , led a fleet of armed vessels in the South Pacific in one of the first commerce raiding operations in history . At the time of the action , " Essex " was accompanied by two smaller vessels , recently captured from the British and classified as sloops - of - war by Captain Porter . They were the 10 - gun " Greenwich " of 338 tons burthen and the 10 - gun " Georgiana " of 280 tons burthen . Porter had sent the rest of his fleet to Valparaiso to be sold while he and the remaining vessels patrolled for British whalers between Tumbes , Peru and the Galapagos . Because Porter had entered the Pacific with no more than 350 American servicemen under his command , when he took prizes he could only place small skeleton crew s in most of his ships . The " Georgiana " had a complement of forty - two men under Mr . Adams , the " Essex " s chaplain , and the " Greenwich " held only fourteen men under the command of Lieutenant Gamble . Action . There is some confusion as to the date of the battle , in later memoirs , Lieutenant Gamble recalled that it was fought on the 12 or 13 of July while Captain Porter ' s memoir , and letters from Porter to Gamble , state that it occurred on the 14 of July . Either way at about 11 : 00 am the Americans were sailing west from Tumbes , Peru , off Banks Bay ( Bahia de Bancos ) in the Galapagos when they sighted three sets of sails on the horizon . Commodore Porter signaled his ships to prepare for action and a chase began . At the time , the majority of British ships cruising in the South Pacific were whalers sailing under letters of marque , legally permitting hem to act as privateer s should the opportunity arise . The first British vessel Porter captured was the brig " Charlton " of ten guns . " Charlton " was sailing in the center of the three ships and she surrendered to " Essex " without a fight as " Greenwich " and " Georgiana " went after the " Seringapatam " . " Seringapatam " was originally built of teak at Bombay as a small man - of - war of 357 tons burthen for Tippoo Sahib of Mysore . However , he died at the Battle of Seringapatam and the British merchants who bought her used her as a whaler . " Seringapatam " had made several whaling and sealing voyages to the South Atlantic and this area since 1800 . Her commander , Captain William Stavers , had a forty - one man crew and she was armed with fourteen 9 - pounder guns . On this voyage she had captured one American whaler on the way to the whaling grounds . When escape seemed unlikely , " Seringapatam " changed course and appeared to be making an attack run on the " Greenwich " but the latter came to a halt and waited for the " Georgiana " to come up and provide assistance . At this point , four men were transferred from the " Georgiana " to the " Greenwich " so Captain Stavers chose to break off the attack and continue fleeing . Lieutenant Gamble closed the distance between the two ships and he first demanded that the British surrender . But when the Americans came within pistol range , " Seringapatam " raise her colors and fired a powerful broadside . " Greenwich " immediately returned fire with small arms and cannon and for several moments the two vessels exchanged fire . American fire proved to be more accurate and after taking heavy damage , the British struck their colors and " Greenwich " ceased her firing . Just as Lieutenant Gamble was preparing to board the enemy , " Seringapatam " attempted another escape . Gamble ordered his men to resume shooting at the sails of the British vessel and eventually brought her to a halt . Meanwhile , " Essex " had finished pursuing the small 8 - gun " New Zealander " and captured her without difficulty . Captain Porter then assisted in chasing down " Seringapatam " . Aftermath . American sources make no mention of casualties on either side though the " Greenwich " sustained some damage and the " Seringapatam " was crippled . Porter took 89 prisoners in all and the American ships were already filled with captives , the Americans disarmed the " Charlton " , loaded her with 48 of the prisoners , and sent her to Rio de Janeiro as a cartel with the prisoners under parole with orders to surrender to the first American authority they encountered . Captain Stavers , when asked to surrender his privateer ' s commission , revealed that though he had applied for a letter of marque , he had not yet received one , but that it was probably waiting for him in Lima . Captain Porter announced that Stavers would be taken to the United States and be tried as a pirate , and ordered him and his crew to be put in irons . They were given more freedom after some liberated American whalers told Porter that the British had treated them well during their time as prisoners aboard " Seringapatam " . The American press declared " Seringapatm " to have been a formidable threat to American commerce in the Pacific , making Lieutenant Gamble famous , with the consequence that he received many letters of congratulations from naval officers . " Seringapatam " was found to have carried up to 30 , 000 dollars worth of armaments and provisions . Gamble was promoted to captain and died in 1836 as a lieutenant colonel . However , despite a petition to the U . S . Congress , he never received any prize money for the capture or his subsequent service and suffering . Following the engagement , Captain Porter made for Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas where he built America ' s first base in the Pacific and repaired his ships . He then sailed off , leaving " Greenwich " , " Seringapatam " , and another prize , the " Sir Andrew Hammond " , behind . It was after his departuer that the Seringnapatam Mutiny occurred . The mutineers and British prisoners - of - war recaptured " Seringapatam " and sailed her to Australia , from where she was returned to her owners . Gamble burned " Greenwich " before leaving Nuka Hiva in " Sir Andrew Hammond " .