West Indies Squadron from Wikipedia.org United States Navy ships had for years operated against piracy and the slave trade in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico but it was not until 1822 that a permanent squadron was formed. On December 22, 1817, USS John Adams forced the pirate Luis Aury to evacuate his base at Amelia Island, Florida. Later, John Adams was flagship of Commodore Biddle's squadron. By 1820, conflict with the pirates and privateers started to incline, United States warships engaged in several naval actions that year and a total of twenty-seven American merchant ships were captured. In between 1818 and 1821, USS Enterprise captured thirteen pirate and slave ships while serving with the New Orleans Squadron and later in the West Indies. On October 24, 1819, while under command of Lieutenant J. R. Madison, USS Lynx captured two pirate schooners and two boats in the Gulf of Mexico, and on November 9, she captured another pirate boat in Galveston Bay. In October, 1821, while sailing off Cape Antonio, Cuba, USS Enterprise came to the assistance of three merchantmen which had been seized by four pirate craft. Boats were launched and attacked the brigands. In the end, over forty pirates were killed or captured and two of their vessels taken. A month later, the Enterprise attacked a pirate base near Cape Antonio and cleared the area criminals. In September 1821, three American merchant ships were captured off Matanzas, Cuba. The crew of one ship was tortured, and the vessel was set on fire. Survivors were able to escape to shore in a boat. Three men were killed on the second American ship, and everyone on the third vessel which was also burned. This incident was one of the main reasons why an anti-piracy operation was launched.

USS Hornet captured a privateer schooner named Moscow on October 29, 1821 and on December 21, she captured a pirate ship apparently without a fight, and the crew escaped to shore. On December 16, 1821, Lieutenant James Ramage in USS Porpoise was sailing off Cape Antonio and found five enemy vessels, including the merchant brig Bolina. Forty sailors were lowered into five boats and Ramage led the advance. Though some of the pirates fled to shore, many resisted and the five American boats destroyed the five pirate ships by burning them and freed the Bolina. Three pirates were captured and several killed according to reports. In autumn of 1821, USS Spark, under by Lieutenant John Elton, departed Boston and joined the list of vessels assigned to counter piracy. In January 1822, Elton captured a Dutch flagged pirate sloop. Seven prisoners were taken to Charleston for trial. Spark then returned to the Caribbean and remained on station for the next three years by which time the official West Indies Squadron was formed. When the United States Navy began campaigning against the pirates, the Royal Navy was quick to follow suit and created their own West Indies Squadron. A British merchant under Captain William Smith ship was taken over by Spanish pirates of the schooner Emanuel in July 1822. The pirates made the British commander walk the plank, and when he attempted to swim away, he was shot in the back. USS Grampus encountered the brig Palyrma flying Spanish colors on August 15, 1822. Commanding Lieutenant Gregory suspected the ship to be a pirate, so he approached to board, but as the Grampus drew near, the Palyrma opened fire and a brief three and a half minute battle was fought. After boarding the wrecked vessel, the pirates were found to be from Puerto Rico and had a letter of marque that was intended to get the outlaws out of a situation like this. The letter was found to be fake, so the pirates were detained and handed over to the Spanish in Cuba. Commodore Porter then attacked and destroyed a pirate force at Funda Bay, Cuba between September 28 and 30, 1822. Also on September 28, the Peacock captured a boat filled with pirates about sixty miles from Havana. Later that afternoon USS Peacock met the merchant vessel Speedwell which was attacked by pirates two hours before. In response, Captain Stephen Cassin launched a boat expedition which captured four schooners but again most of the pirates escaped. On November 2, 1822, USRC Louisiana along with USS Peacock and the Royal Navy schooner HMS Speedwell captured five pirate vessels off Havana. On November 8, 1822, Lieutenant William Howard Allen of USS Alligator was killed in battle while leading an attack against three enemy schooners which were holding five merchantmen hostage. In the action, two of the schooners were captured and at least fourteen pirates were killed. Due to Lieutenant Allen's death, Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson authorized Commodore Porter to procure new vessels for the squadron. Porter acquired eight new shallow draft schooners, five large barges, a steam powered riverboat and a storeship schooner. The schooners were each armed with three guns and became the USS Beagle, USS Ferret, USS Fox, USS Greyhound, USS Jackal, USS Terrier, USS Weasel, and the USS Wild Cat. The storeship was USS Decoy and the steamer became USS Sea Gull. In 1823, two barges, USS Gallinipper and USS Mosquito, liberated an American merchant vessel on April 8. The navy sailors killed two of the pirates and arrested one other though most got away. On April 16, Mosquito, Gallinipper and USS Peacock, spotted a felucca off Colorados. Peacock managed to capture the felucca though its crew fled to shore but before leaving the pirates scuttled three of their schooners. On July 5, 1823, USS Sea Gull, under the command of Lieutenant William H. Watson, with the barges Gallinipper and Mosquito, fought pirates off Matanzas, near where Lieutenant Allen was killed in 1822. The three American vessels encountered a heavily armed schooner with a crew of about seventy-five near a Cuban village. The United States Navy attacked with their cannon, and the schooner was hit so her captain began a retreat. When further hits struck the schooner, the pirates panicked and began to abandon ship by jumping into the water. The barges maneuvered in close to the schooner, and the sailors and marines on board fired volleys into their fleeing enemy, shouting "Allen, Allen" in the process. Fifteen pirates made it ashore but were attacked by an American landing party. Eleven more were killed, and the last four were captured by the Cuban villagers. In total about seventy pirates were killed while only five survived. On July 21, the commanders of Beagle and Greyhound were investigating Cape Cruz, Cuba in a boat when it was fired upon from the shore. The Americans withdrew to their ship, and on the next morning they landed sailors and marines who attacked and destroyed a makeshift fort. The pirates evaded the American shore party, but their base was dismantled and a few heavy artillery pieces were removed. USS Sea Gull, with Ralph Voorhees in command, recaptured the merchant schooner Pacification from pirates on March 30. Famed pirate Roberto Cofresí was defeated on March 2, by the USS Grampus and two Spanish sloops off Boca del Infierno. Cofresi was considered the last Caribbean pirate to be successful. After he was executed on March 29, 1825, piracy declined in the region, though isolated incidents involving the squadron and pirates continued into the 1830s.