In August 1812, during his First Command with the Marengo, he captured a young Scotsman from the English ship Concord called James Swanston Miller (1798-1855) and stranded him unexpectedly on the island of Grand Canary.

After this freak of chance, the Swanston and Miller families went on to build a famous and unplanned mercantile dynasty in the island which hugely boosted the local economy after the Napoleonic Wars and into the 20th century.

[5] However Belvidera was sighted and chased away by USS President and her squadron (Captain John Rodgers) allowing Marengo to capture the English brigantine Lady Sherbroke from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

On 29 August 1812 Marengo captured the British brigantine Concord (Captain Taylor) between Tenerife and Fuerteventura according to Lloyd's List Marine Collection.

[21][22][23] James Miller (1839-1915) and his brother Joseph Miller (1840-1920) were awarded the Spanish decoration of Caballo de la Real Orden de Isabel la Catolica for their contribution to the development of the island's economy by constructing the Port and its facilities, the Santa Catalina Hotel and for supporting Spanish institutions such as the Chamber of Commerce.

[26] It is possible that the Royal Navy made an attempt to rescue James Swanston Miller and his fellow captured passengers with the 38-gun frigate, HMS Macedonian.

[4] On arrival in New York the neutral Spanish owners of part of Concord's cargo of wine (destined for delivery to James Miller, merchant in Fuerteventura) sued Florye Charretton and Ordronaux for the loss of their property and the 190 or so pages of court documents that have survived in the US archives provide much information about the effect of privateering on mercantile trade in this period.

Now enriched by his prize winnings and supported by his patron, Mme Charretton, Ordronaux purchased one of this new breed of ships, the Prince de Neufchatel, which was constructed in New York between 1812 and 1813 by the firm of Adam and Noah Brown to a design attributed to Christian Bergh.

On 28 October 1813, he took command of the Prince de Neufchatel, and showing considerable skill, sailed her to Cherbourg virtually unarmed, arriving there on 27 January 1814 for fitting out.

[29] Showing further panache, Ordronaux managed to capture his next prize Hazard (Captain John Anderson) on 18 January, before his ship was properly fitted out.

[29] After fitting out and arming with eighteen guns (compared to Marengo's six)[30] Ordronaux undertook his first cruise from Cherbourg into the English Channel in early March 1814.

On 11 October, and with Douglass still under tow, Prince de Neufchatel met the British 40 gun frigate HMS Endymion off the southeastern tip of Martha's Vineyard.

[7] The vessel's Letter of Marque (from the US Government), Registry Certificate and Muster Roll were found on board and are now held by the UK National Archives.

[33] After the war, and now a rich man, Ordronaux settled in New York City in 1816[34] and married Jean Marie Elizabeth Charretton the daughter of his former patron.