USS Porcupine was a gunboat schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

 built by Adam and Noah Brown at Presque Isle, Pennsylvania and commissioned 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...

 during the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

 as part of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry

Oliver Hazard Perry

United States Navy Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island , the son of USN Captain Christopher Raymond Perry and Sarah Wallace Alexander, a direct descendant of William Wallace...

’s Lake Erie Fleet.

Under the command of Acting Master George Senat, she took part in the Battle of Lake Erie

Battle of Lake Erie

The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, in Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of Great Britain's Royal Navy...

 on 10 September 1813. She was subsequently utilized as a hospital ship

Hospital ship

A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital; most are operated by the military forces of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones....

 for captured wounded seamen. While lying at anchor with and at the head of the Niagara River 12 August 1814, she was attacked by six or eight boats manned by English seamen and Canadian militia. Ohio and Somers were captured, but Porcupine escaped.

Porcupine remained on Lake Erie providing transportation and protection for William Henry Harrison’s men as they won the battle to recover Detroit and the Battle of the Thames in Canada. The Porcupine, still under command of George Senat, transported provisions for Harrison’s army to the mouth of the Thames, and then traveled up the Thames providing artillery and logistics support.

Porcupine was then laid up at Erie Pennsylvania until 1819, when she was refitted and turned over to the Collector of Revenue at Detroit on 2 June. She returned to the Navy 2 August 1821, remaining inactive until sold 8 August 1825. Afterward she was used as a cargo vessel on the Great Lakes

Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...

until 1873 when, being determined unseaworthy, she was beached on the sands of Spring Lake, near Grand Haven, Michigan.