The first USS Prometheus was a brig

Brig

A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...

 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...

 from 1814 to 1818.

Prometheus was built by William Seguin, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

; purchased in 1814 by the Navy from Messrs. Savage and Dryan, the original owners, as the brig Escape; commissioned and renamed Prometheus, she was fitted out at Philadelphia by Master Commandant

Master Commandant

Master commandant was a rank within the early United States Navy. The rank of master commandant was slightly higher than lieutenant, and a master commandant would often command warships too small to justify the command of a full captain. In the United States Navy, the rank was shortened to...

 Joseph J. Nicholson.

In March–May 1815 she made a cruise to the West Indies to carry U.S. Senators

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 Eligius Fromentin

Eligius Fromentin

Eligius Fromentin was an American politician.Fromentin was born and raised in France, where he later became a Roman Catholic priest. Fromentin fled the country during the French Revolution and arrived in the United States. He at first settled in Pennsylvania, but then moved to Maryland, where he...

 and James Brown

James Brown (Senator)

James Brown was a lawyer, U.S. Senator from Louisiana and Minister to France. He was the brother of John Brown, the cousin of John Breckinridge, James Breckinridge and Francis Preston, the brother-in-law of Henry Clay, the uncle of James Brown Clay, Henry Clay, Jr., John Morrison Clay, the great...

 to Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

. She sailed for Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 on 14 August 1816 to take Edward Coles

Edward Coles

Edward Coles manumitted his slaves in 1819, was secretary to James Madison , neighbor and anti-slavery associate of Thomas Jefferson and was the second Governor of Illinois, serving from 1822 to 1826...

, special messenger from the President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 to the Emperor Alexander I of Russia

Alexander I of Russia

Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....

, returning to Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

, on 25 November. In 1817 she was employed in surveying the U.S. coast north of Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...

, and in 1818 she operated along the southern coast and at New Orleans, Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

.

In October 1818 she was pronounced unseaworthy and decommissioned. Prometheus was dismantled and sold at auction at New Orleans in 1819.