The USS Retaliation was a schooner originally built in Maryland and operated as the French privateer Croyable, based out of Santo Domingo. She was captured by the U.S. Navy off New Jersey on July 7, 1798, by the USS Delaware, commanded by Captain Stephen Decatur Sr. At the time of her capture, Croyable had been preying on shipping near the Delaware Capes, capturing a British brigantine and a Philadelphia merchant vessel named Liberty, as well as boarding and robbing the coaster Alexander Hamilton. This marked her as the first American capture during the early stages of the Quasi-War with France. Following her capture, the U.S. Navy purchased her on July 30, 1798, and renamed her Retaliation. She was manned at Philadelphia and placed under the command of Lieutenant William Bainbridge. Retaliation departed Norfolk in late October 1798, escorting other American warships, and cruised in the West Indies to protect American merchant shipping amid hostilities. Notably, on November 20, 1798, her squadron recaptured the merchantman Fair American, which had been seized by a French privateer five days earlier. However, during a subsequent engagement, the French frigates Insurgente and Volontaire overtook Retaliation while her sister ships were engaged elsewhere, forcing Bainbridge to surrender her. Despite her capture, Bainbridge managed to persuade the French commander that the American ships Montezuma and Norfolk were too formidable for the French frigates, which led to their release. The French renamed her Magicienne, but she was recaptured by USS Merrimack on June 28, 1799. After her return to American control, she served briefly in convoy duties in the Caribbean before arriving in Philadelphia in August 1799. Her crew was discharged, and the schooner was sold on November 29, 1799, marking the end of her brief but notable service in early American naval history.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.