Combat· West Indies Anti-Piracy Campaign
USS Shark and USS Grampus vs 2 pirate schooners
A combined operation by two of the squadron's schooners.
The USS Shark and USS Grampus worked together to take two pirate schooners in the West Indies, the Marines aboard each ship furnishing boarding parties. Pairing vessels in this way let the squadron cover more water and trap raiders who might have outrun or outfought a single pursuer, and it was a common tactic in the campaign's busiest year. The action was bloodless. Captures like this one, two more pirate craft removed from the sea in a single sweep, were the accumulating substance of the anti-piracy effort. The Grampus and Shark were among the hardest-working ships of the West Indies Squadron, and their joint cruise here was typical of the methodical, unspectacular pressure that gradually reduced the number of pirate vessels operating off Cuba.
Record no. 275