The first USS Patapsco was a sloop

Sloop

A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....

 in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

.

Patapsco was launched as Chesapeake June 20, 1799 by Captain De Rochbruns, and renamed Patapsco between October 10 and November 14 apparently to free the name for . Commanded by Captain Henry Geddes, she escorted brig Acteon to New Orleans, carrying General James Wilkinson

James Wilkinson

James Wilkinson was an American soldier and statesman, who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, but was twice compelled to resign...

 and his staff to that port. She then cruised in the West Indies, protecting American shipping from French cruisers and privateers during the Quasi-War

Quasi-War

The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought mostly at sea between the United States and French Republic from 1798 to 1800. In the United States, the conflict was sometimes also referred to as the Franco-American War, the Pirate Wars, or the Half-War.-Background:The Kingdom of France had been a...

 with France. Operating in Commodore Silas Talbot

Silas Talbot

Silas Talbot was an officer in the Continental Army and in the Continental Navy. Talbot is most famous for commanding the USS Constitution from 1798 to 1801.-Biography:...

’s squadron, she captured schooner Cecilia after a five-hour chase May 28, 1800. On August 7 she captured French letter of marque Dorade. In the autumn she also engaged Louisa Bridge but the schooner escaped.

She aided and a British frigate in capturing Curaçao

Curaçao

Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...

, in the Netherlands Antilles

Netherlands Antilles

The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...

, after the French had taken it from the Netherlands, before returning to Philadelphia in December. She was sold there in June 1801.