Master Commandant Andrew Sterett Chronological History

1778

January 27 – Andrew Sterett is born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of John and Deborah Sterett.

1798

March 25 – Andrew Sterett enters the United States Navy as a Lieutenant at the age of twenty.

May 25 – Andrew Sterett reports aboard the newly commissioned frigate CONSTELLATION as a Third Lieutenant with Captain Thomas Truxton in command.

1799

February 9 – Lt. Andrew Sterett commands a battery of CONSTELLATION great guns in a battle against the 40-gun French frigate L’Insurgente during the Quasi-War with France (1798-1801).  L’Insurgente lost 29 dead and 14 wounded; the only American loss was a seaman run through by Sterett’s saber in a summary execution, the seaman, Neal Harvey, having abandoned his post in a panic. 

1800

February 1 – Lt. Andrew Sterett is the first lieutenant onboard CONSTELLATION when she defeats the powerful French frigate La Vengeance during the Quasi-War with France (1798-1801).

May 1 – Lt. Andrew Sterett reports onboard the newly launched PRESIDENT as first lieutenant. Commodore Thomas Truxton is in command of the West Indies Station. PRESIDENT was a three-master 44-gun heavy frigate and the last of the U.S. Navy’s first heavy frigates to be built.

October 27 – Lt. Andrew Sterett takes command of the schooner “Little Lucky ENTERPRISE,” carrying six-pounders and 90 men.

December 24 – While in command of ENTERPRISE, Lt. Andrew Sterett takes captures the French privateer La Amour De La Patrie off St. Kitts during the Quasi-War with France (1798-1801).

1801

June 2 – In command of ENTERPRISE, Lt. Andrew Sterett sails from Hampton Roads for the Straits of Gibraltar. ENTERPRISE is part the Mediterranean Squadron led by Commodore Richard Dale, which is authorized under the Peace Establishment Act of 1801 that orders a massive naval demobilization.

June 29 – After experiencing a strong transatlantic passage, ENTERPRISE with Lt. Andrew Sterett in command creeps into Gibraltar Bay. Commodore Richard Dale, who is in command of the Mediterranean Squadron, learns that Tripoli has declared war on the United States six weeks earlier.

August 1 – Lt. Andrew Sterett in command of ENTERPRISE defeats the Tripolitan corsair during the Barbary Wars.  Congress votes to bestow to Sterett a commemorative sword and to give extra pay to his men.

November 17 – Lt. Andrew Sterett in command of ENTERPRISE returns to Baltimore with dispatches for the Secretary of the Navy.

December 1 – President Thomas Jefferson writes a congratulatory letter to Lt. Andrew Sterett for duties while in command of ENTERPRISE during the Barbary Wars and capture of the Tripolian cruiser.

December 3 – Lt. Andrew Sterett acknowledges the receipt of President Thomas Jefferson’s congratulatory letter.

1802

February 3 – The U.S. Congress resolved that Lt. Andrew Sterett receives a commemorative sword; the rest of Enterprise’s crew received a month’s pay for defeating the Tripolitan corsair Tripoli, after a fierce but one-sided battle just west of Malta. Enterprise emerged unscathed and the battered pirate into port.

February 11 – While in command of ENTERPRISE, Lt. Andrew Sterett again sails to Tripoli, this time to blockade the coast and to protect a merchant convoy along the coast of Spain and Gibraltar.

August 15 – Lt. Andrew Sterett landed United States Council James Simpson at Tangiers for negotiations that resulted in the firm establishment of peace with Morocco.

1803

January 17 – While in command of ENTERPRISE, Lt. Andrew Sterett captures the ship Paulina which attempted to transport cargo from Malta into the port of Tripoli under the imperial flag of the Bey of Tunis.  Sterett remarked to Paulina’s crew, “Go tell the Bashaw of Tripoli and the people of your country that in the future they may expect only a tribute of powder and ball from Sailors of the United States.”

March 1 – Lt. Andrew Sterett relinquishes command of ENTERPRISE to Lt. Isaac Hull.

May 24 – Lt. Andrew Sterett is requested by the Secretary of the Navy to superintend the building of the schooner VIXEN at Baltimore, MD.

June 1 – Lt. Andrew Sterett returns to the United States as a passenger aboard the CHESAPEAKE.

November 15 – Lt. Andrew Sterett is granted furlough on half pay to make a merchant voyage to the East Indies.

1804

May 20 – Master Commandant Andrew Sterett’s official date of rank. He is nominated third on the list sent by Navy Secretary Robert Smith to President Thomas Jefferson.  Nominated by U.S. Senate on November 7 and confirmed November 22.

1805

May 5 – Master Commandant Andrew Sterett returns to the United States from his East Indies excursion after shipwrecking and spending time in Lisbon, Portugal.

June 3 – Master Commandant Andrew Sterett is ordered to superintend the brig HORNET building at Baltimore under the agency of Col. John Stricker.

June 29 – Master Commandant Andrew Sterett reluctantly tenders his resignation from the Naval Service due to Lt. Stephen Decatur, Jr., promotion to Captain, an officer junior in rank.

July 5 – Master Commandant Andrew Sterett’s resignation is accepted “with regret” by Navy Department effective June 29, 1805.

Maintaining the objective of the Association by educating the public on the maritime heritage of all ships named STERETT as to the roles these ships played in the United States history, and the importance of preserving the ship’s historic data for future generations (2013 Bylaws, Article II).

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