until Guerriere was launched on 20 June 1814. It proved to be an effective warship in the War with the Barbary Pirates in 1815. In its early efforts to enforce the law, the Navy used the ports of Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA from 1808 or 1809 to 1812 as home ports for several ships patrolling the Atlantic ocean in that area; however, USS Chesapeake sailed off the west coast of Africa early in 1813. The Navy created the African Squadron for the purpose of intercepting ships with "black ivory" on board; however, very few ships were operating together at any one time, which meant that the "blockade of Africa" was ineffective. More important tasks such as the War of 1812, the ongoing troubles with the Barbary pirates, the extermination of the pirates in the West Indies from 1819 to 1827, the protection of American shipping in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Peru in the 1830s, the War with Mexico in the 1840s, the voyages to Japan in the 1850s, and transporting of diplomats to other nations left little capability available for use in the African Squadron. Nevertheless, some noteworthy events involving ships while they were assigned to the African Squadron did occur. See also William "Bull" Nelson Joseph Denman Mary Faber (slave trader) References External links Chasing Freedom: The Royal Navy and the Suppression of the Transatlantic Slave Trade Africa Africa African slave trade History of West Africa 19th-century history of the Royal Navy Slavery in the British Empire History of the Atlantic Ocean Abolitionism in Africa Slavery in South America Slavery in North America Slavery in the Caribbean Anti-slavery military operations