"[1] Under Captain Thomas Boyle, who was a part owner of the schooner, Comet sailed from July 1812[2] to March 1814 as a privateer, which was a type of ships licensed by the United States during the War of 1812 to harass the British merchant vessels and divest their cargoes.

[1] Comet was built by Thomas Kemp of Baltimore, Maryland for Captain William Furlong, who made a series of payments of $1,505.

Captain Thorndike Chase paid the rest of the total cost of $3,630 in 1810, bringing his share in the schooner to a little more than half.

The cruise was less successful as the prize ships she was able to capture were all retaken by the British before able to reach the United States.

Comet went back into the home port of Baltimore through fog at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, successfully running the British blockade on 17 March 1813.

By the end of August, all four were released from patrol duty and Comet again put to sea on 29 October 1813, returning to Beaufort, North Carolina.