Combat· Quasi-War with France
Patapsco and Merrimack at Curaçao
A French force had overrun most of the Dutch island of Curaçao, driving the Dutch garrison back into its forts, and American citizens and their property were suffering.
When the Dutch called for help, the USS Merrimack and USS Patapsco appeared off the island on the 22nd. To relieve the pressure, the Patapsco, reinforced with twenty Marines from First Lieutenant David Stickney's guard aboard the Merrimack, stood into the harbor, ran up to within pistol shot of a fort, and opened fire in support of the defenders. The action was one of the few cases of American naval force cooperating with a neutral European power during the Quasi-War, and it helped keep the strategic island out of French hands.
Podcast episodes on Quasi-War with France
Record no. 185