Action of 9 November 1822

Part of West Indies Anti-Piracy Operations, Piracy in the Caribbean

USS Alligator

Date

9 November 1822

Location

Approximately 45 mi (72 km) east of Matanzas, Cuba

Result

Indecisive

Prizes recaptured
Pirates flee

Belligerents

United States

Pirates

Commanders and leaders

William Howard Allen †

unknown

Strength

1 schooner
3 boats

3 schooners

Casualties and losses

4 killed
3 wounded

1 schooner captured
~14 killed

Five captured merchant ships were liberated by American forces after the action.

Indecisive

The Action of 9 November 1822 was a naval battle fought between the United States Navy schooner USS Alligator and a squadron of three piratical schooners off the coast of Cuba during the US Navy's West Indies Anti-Piracy Operation. Fifteen leagues from Matanzas, Cuba, a large band of pirates captured several vessels and held them for ransom. Upon hearing of the pirate attacks, Alligator under Lieutenant William Howard Allen rushed to the scene to rescue the vessels and seize the pirates.

Upon arriving at the bay where the pirates were said to be, Alligator dispatched boats to engage the enemy vessels, as the water was too shallow for the US warship to engage them herself. With Allen personally commanding one of the boats, the Americans assaulted the schooner Revenge. Although the Navy was able to force the pirates into abandoning Revenge, the buccaneers managed to fight their way out of the bay and inflict heavy casualties, including Allen. With their commander mortally wounded, the boats ceased pursuit of the pirates but managed to recover the vessels that had been held in the bay.

In early November 1822, the schooner USS Alligator, under the command of Lieutenant William Allen, put into Matanzas, Cuba, intending to patrol the area as part of the United States Navy's West Indian Anti-Piracy Campaign. Upon arriving at the port, Allen discovered two Americans attempting to raise $7,000 in order to pay a ransom to a band of pirates that had captured their vessels. If the ransom was not delivered, the pirates threatened to destroy the ships and rough up their crews. Learning from these men that the pirates were holed up some 15 leagues away, Allen took the civilians aboard and decided to make an attempt at recovering their ship from the buccaneers.

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Wikipedia