Capture of the sloop Anne

Capture of the sloop Anne
Part of West Indies Anti-Piracy Operations, Piracy in the Caribbean
Una Goleta de Guerra Persigue un Barco Pirata, the artwork used to depict the event in Paul G. Miller's Historia de Puerto Rico (1922).
Date March 5, 1825 Location Caribbean Sea; within the seaward boundaries of the municipalities of Salinas and Guayama, Puerto Rico, Spanish West Indies Result Allied victory Anne (El Mosquito) is disabled; pirates flee ashore
Belligerents
Tri-national anti-piracy alliance  Denmark  Spain  United States	Roberto Cofresí's pirates
Commanders and leaders
John D. Sloat Tomás Renovales Garrett J. Pendergrast Juan Bautista Pierety Salvador Pastoriza	Roberto Cofresí
Strength
United States: 1 schooner 140 sailors and marine infantry Spain/Denmark: 3 sloops sailors and marine infantry Support: 1 frigate sailors and marine infantry	3 sloops 1 schooner At least a dozen armed pirates on the flagship
Casualties and losses
~2 wounded 1 sloop damaged	~3 killed 6 wounded 1 sloop captured

The capture of the sloop Anne was the result of a naval campaign carried out by an alliance between the Spanish Empire forces in Puerto Rico, the Danish government in Saint Thomas and the United States Navy. The powers pursued Roberto Cofresí's pirate flotilla in March 1825 because of the economic losses suffered by the parties to the pirates, as well as diplomatic concerns caused by their use of the flags of Spain and Gran Colombia which menaced the fragile peace between the naval powers. Several of those involved had been attacked by the freebooters. Among the diplomatic concerns caused by Cofresí was a robbery carried out by several of his subordinates, the catalyst of an incident that threatened war between Spain and the United States known as "The Foxardo Affair", eventually leading to the resignation of his rival, pirate hunter David Porter.

Sailing under the authorization of the Danish West Indies, the coalition employed two local ships, including a former victim of the pirates named San José y las Animas and USS Grampus of the West Indies Squadron. A ship from Gran Colombia, named La Invencible, also provided support during the initial stages. The final naval engagement took place on March 5, 1825,^[1] and began with a trap set at Boca del Infierno, a passage off Bahía de Jobos, Puerto Rico. The flagship of Cofresí's flotilla, the sloop Anne (otherwise known as Ana), was baited by the set up. Surprised and outnumbered, the pirates abandoned the ship and escaped to shore, where they were captured by Puerto Rican authorities and placed on military trial. With the execution of Cofresí, the West Indies Anti-Piracy Operations were considered a success and he came to be known as "the last of the West India pirates".^[2]