ENTERPRISE, The, the name of a number of American and English boats, the most famous of which was an American 12-gun schooner with such a brilliant career that she became known as the "Lucky Little Enterprise.° Built 1799 to deal with the French privateers in the West Indies, she had an extraordinary cruise in 1800 under the command of Lieut. John Shaw : in a six months' run she took eight privateers, some of them much heavier than herself, and aggregating 47 guns, and also recaptured four American merchantmen. In 1801 she was sent under Lieut. Andrew Sterett with Captain Dale's squadron to the Mediter ranean against the Barbary pirates, captured a 14-gun Tripolitan after a fierce engagement, and later was at the bombardment of Tripoli. In December 1801 she returned to the United States, but went back to the Mediterranean in 1802 under Lieut. Isaac Hull. In 1803 she was under the command of Lieut. Stephen Decatur (q.v.), who in December of that year captured with her the Tripolitan Mastico which later be came famous in connection with Decatur's re capture of the Philadelphia. Between 1805 and 1809 the Enterprise was in home waters. From 1809-11 she was once more in the Mediter ranean, this time under Lieutenant Trippe. Her most memorable battle was during the War of 1812 and was fought with the English brig Boxer, Captain Blythe, on 5 Sept. 1813, off the Maine coast, toward Monhegan Island. By that time she had been converted into a brig, carried 16 guns and was under Lieut. William Burrows; the Boxer had 14 guns. The crews were about 100 each. The fight began at 3:20 P.M., and was ended at 4 by the surrender of the Boxer, literally cut to pieces in hull, masts, rigging and spars, several of her guns dis mounted, boats and quarters shattered; the Enterprise was almost uninjured, with but one shot in the hull and one in the main-mast.
Both commanders were killed and were later buried side by side at Charleston. Burrows who had received his mortal wound during the progress of the fight was succeeded by Lieuten ant McCall. After this heroic battle the Enter prise, together with some other boats, cruised for some time in southern waters under Lieut James Renshaw and there, even though she had lost much of her former speed by the structural changes made upon her, escaped at a number of occasions from English boats which were attempting to capture her. She then served until the end of the war as harbor guard at Charleston. From 1816-19 she was again attached to the Mediterranean squadron, this time under Lieut. Laurence Kearney. In 1821 she cruised in the West Indies and suc cessfully broke up the pirates then swarming in those waters. In 1823 she was wrecked on Curacoa, but all hands were saved. A famous English boat bearing the name Enterprise was one of three masts which, under the command of Capt., later Adm., Richard Collinson, made, from 1850-55, one of the many unsuccess ful searches for Sir John Franklin's ships in the Arctic. Consult Collinson, Sir R., 'Journal of H. M. S. (London 1889) ; Hill, F. S., 'Twenty-Six Historic Ships' (New York 1903) ; 'The Romance of the American Navy) (New York 1910) ; 'The "Lucky Little Enter prise; etc.' (Boston 1900) ; Maclay, E. S., 'A History of American Privateers' (New York 1899) ; 'A History of the United States Navy' (3 vols., New York 1902) ; Morris, C., 'Heroes of the Navy in America' (Philadelphia 1907) ; Speers, J. R., 'The History of Our Navy' (4 vols., New York 1897); 'A Charmed American Warship' (in Harper's Magazine, Vol. CIV, pp. 927-936, New York 1902).