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USS Ferret (III)

Schooner:
  • Built, date and location unknown
  • Launched, date unknown
  • Purchased, 20 December 1822, at Baltimore, Md.
  • Commissioned early in 1823, LT. S. Henley, USN in command
  • Ferret sailed from Hampton Roads 14 February 1823 with a squadron commanded by COMO. D. Porter, USN, bound for the West Indies
  • Based at Key West, Ferret was one of the many small craft which comprised Porter's "Mosquito Fleet," assigned to suppress piracy in the Caribbean
  • Along with convoying merchantmen, she raided a pirate barge and seven boats in a Cuban bay named Bacuna Yeauga on 18 June 1823
  • With her small boat holed at the water line by a buccaneer's musket ball, Ferret had to break off the attack, since a high wind and heavy sea prevented her from entering the channel. She put to sea to seek aid, and returned next day with a boat loaned by a British ship to find that the governor of the province had already dispersed the pirates.
  • Twice during her service Ferret sailed north to Washington Navy Yard for repairs, supplies, and new crew members
  • Final Disposition, on 4 February 1825, while on patrol off Cuba, she capsized in a gale and heavy seas, about 8 miles off the port of Canasi. One officer and three men were sent in the small boat for assistance, while the others lashed themselves to the wreck. By morning the schooner was almost completely under water, and settling fast. While a raft was made by lashing the foremast and main boom together, several of the best swimmers headed for shore to get help. Just then USS Jackal arrived, and took off the survivors who had been clinging to the wreck nearly 21 hours. Five members of the crew were lost.
    Specifications:
    Displacement unknown
    Length unknown
    Beam unknown
    Depth of Hold unknown
    Draft unknown
    Speed unknown
    Complement 31
    Armament three guns
    Propulsion sail
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    Ferret (III)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
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    Last Updated 15 April 2022