The first USS Porpoise was a topsail schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

 in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

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Porpoise was built in 1820 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine

Kittery, Maine

Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 9,543 at the 2000 census. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals...

. The schooners , , and were her sister ships.

She first cruised in the West Indies in 1821–1823, Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 James Ramage in command, hunting pirate

Piracy

Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...

s.

Cruising the West African coast in 1824–25, the schooner engaged in the suppression of the slave

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

 trade. Late in 1825 she returned to the United States and, under Commander

Commander (United States)

In the United States, commander is a military rank that is also sometimes used as a military title, depending on the branch of service. It is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the military, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Naval rank:In the United States...

 Foxhall A. Parker, cruised off the Northeast coast.

Porpoise cruised the Mediterranean from 1826 until 1830 under the command of Lts. Benjamin Cooper, John H. Bell, and Thomas M. Newell successively. Returning to the West Indies in 1830, she sailed under Lts. John Percival

John Percival

John Percival known as Mad Jack Percival was a legendary officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France, the War of 1812, the campaign against West Indies pirates, and the Mexican-American War.-Biography:Born in West Barnstable, Massachusetts, Percival left home at thirteen to...

, James Armstrong

James Armstrong (Commodore)

Commodore James Armstrong was an officer in the United States Navy.Armstrong joined the United States Navy as a midshipman in 1809 and served on the sloop-of-war Frolic when it was seized by the British in 1814 during the War of 1812...

, and James McIntosh.

While cruising in the West Indies in 1833 under the command of Lt. William Taylor, Porpoise was wrecked on a reef off Point Lizardo.