Ferret was one of eight three-gun schooners in a sixteen-vessel force operating around the West Indies. Mapping and navigational work occupied much of her service, alongside patrols in the shallow waters around Cuba. On 18 June 1823 she fought pirate craft with assistance from a merchant vessel. More routine duties included carrying sailors, Marines, and supplies between operational stations. Farragut also took her north to the Washington Navy Yard for repairs and then returned south, gaining experience of the supply and maintenance arrangements that sustained a small command.
Chapter · 48:16-57:35
USS Ferret and a first independent command
USS Ferret gave the twenty-two-year-old Farragut an independent command combining hydrographic work, counter-piracy, and transport duties in the Caribbean.