USS Scourge was the former British privateer

Privateer

A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...

, Transfer, which had been sold to Tripoli

Tripoli

Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...

 at Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

. As a Tripolitan ship, she had been used in blockade running during the Barbary Wars

Barbary Wars

The Barbary Wars were a series of wars between the United States of America and the Barbary States of North Africa in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. At issue was the Barbary pirates' demand of tribute from American merchant vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. If ships failed to pay, pirates...

 of North Africa. She was captured off Tripoli, on 21 March 1804 by , commanded by Lieutenant Charles Stewart. When captured, she had a crew of 80 men and mounted 10 guns.

Commodore Edward Preble

Edward Preble

Edward Preble was a United States naval officer.-Early life and Revolutionary War:Preble was born at Falmouth, Eastern Massachusetts, now Portland, Maine, 15 August 1761, the son of Gen. Jedidiah Preble. As a boy, his home was destroyed in the burning of Falmouth by British Naval Commander Henry...

 renamed the ship Scourge and outfitted her with 16 six-pounder guns. On 17 April 1804, she joined Preble's squadron and participated in the blockade of Tripoli and also in the attacks on Tripoli. She was commanded by . John H. Dent

John H. Dent

John Herbert Dent was an officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War, the First Barbary War, and the War of 1812. He was acting Captain on the USS Constitution" during the attacks on Tripoli in 1804.-Early years:Born in Charles County, Maryland, Dent was the son of Congressman George...

, John Rowe

John Rowe (naval officer)

John Rowe was a navy officer of the United States Navy during the First Barbary War.Rowe was appointed midshipman in the Navy 2 December 1799. He volunteered for Lieutenant Stephen Decatur's expedition into Tripoli Harbor...

, and Ralph Izard

Ralph Izard (1785)

Ralph DeLancey Izard was a United States Navy officer who became a hero for his actions at Tripoli, during the Barbary Wars. The destroyer USS Izard was named after him.-Early service:...

. On 30 November 1804, Scourge, under the command of Lieutenant Izard, sailed for the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 where she saw coastal service. In 1812, she was declared unfit for service and sold at auction in Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

.