USS Wild Cat
Naval Schooner · United States · Lost 1824 · The Florida Keys
A shallow-draft pirate-hunting schooner of Commodore David Porter's 'Mosquito Fleet,' lost with all 31 hands in a Straits of Florida gale in 1824.
The Vessel and Her Loss
USS Wild Cat was one of eight small, shallow-draft schooners purchased for Commodore David Porter's West Indies Squadron 'Mosquito Fleet,' created to pursue pirates into the shoal waters of Cuba and Puerto Rico from a base at Key West. After eighteen months of patrol and convoy duty, Wild Cat was lost with all 31 crew in a gale while sailing between Cuba and Key West in October 1824.
Vessel
- 1822
- Not established
- Baltimore, Maryland
- Wood
- Not established
- Not established
- 48
- Sail
- United States Navy
Loss
- October 28, 1824
- Storm
- At sea between Cuba and Thompson's Island (Key West)
- Straits of Florida
- Cuba → Thompson's Island (Key West), Florida
- Not established
- 31
- 31
- Lieutenant Legaré
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Straits of Florida, near Key West
General crossing between Cuba and Key West; no wreck site has been found.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (60/100)
No wreck site has ever been located; the vessel's exact position when lost is not established.
Naval History and Heritage Command / NavSource
Construction, service, and loss details.
Wikipedia, citing Navy ship histories
Service timeline and loss narrative.
