In 1814, during the
War of 1812,
Firefly became the
flagship of a squadron of five small ships (Firefly, Spark, Flambeau, Spitfire, Torch) which were preparing for a mission to the
West Indies to capture or destroy enemy commerce. However the mission was canceled when a peace treaty with Britain was signed on
24 December. On 20 May 1815, during the
Second Barbary War, command of the
Firefly was given to Lieutenant
George W. Rodgers who departed from New York for the
Mediterranean to join the squadron of Commodore
Stephen Decatur. After a few days at sea Rodgers' squadron encountered a heavy gale and
Firefly sprung a mast, forcing her to return to port for repairs. After repairs were completed
Firefly set sail again for the Mediterranean on 18 July where she joined Commodore
William Bainbridge's and Decatur's squadrons at
Carthagena where preparations for the mission at
Algiers were being made. From there the squadrons sailed to Algiers and spend the next several months maintaining the blockade and enforcing the peace concluded with the
Dey of Algiers by Commodore Decatur and
William Shaler, US Consul to Algiers. On 15 November 1815
Firefly arrived with the squadron at
Newport, R.I., then sailed on to New York where she was laid up at the navy yard. She was sold at public auction on 3 April 1816 at New York. She apparently became the
slaver Africano, or
San Francisco de Paula. ==See also==