Commanded by Captain John Young, Saratoga departed Philadelphia on August 13, 1780 escorting the packet, Mercury, which was sailing for Europe carrying Henry Laurens.

Some two hours later, Saratoga had closed within hailing distance and learned that the chase was the Royal Navy's brig, HMS Keppel, and not about to surrender.

During the action, due to gale force seas, coinciding with her insufficient ballast, the Saratoga's guns were unable to inflict any serious damage on Keppel.

Three days later, as Saratoga approached Cape Henlopen, she came upon the Sarah, a British ship bound for New York laden with rum from the West Indies.

They anchored off Chester, Pennsylvania, the following afternoon where the Sarah was promptly condemned and sold, along with her cargo, which brought the continental treasury funds desperately needed to refit the frigate, Confederacy, for sea.

Saratoga spent three days at Chester, where she replenished her stores and took on additional iron for ballast before heading back down the Delaware toward the open sea and another cruise.

As she closed the distance between herself and her quarry, Young ordered his helmsman to head for the open water between the British ships which proved to be the large 22-gun privateer Charming Molly and the schooner Two Brothers.

After Saratoga had fired a broadside into Charming Molly, a boarding party, led by Lieutenant Joshua Barney, leapt onto the merchantman's deck and initiated a fierce hand-to-hand fight which soon compelled the ship's captain to strike his colors.

Young then set out after the fleeing Two Brothers which, when overtaken, surrendered without resistance and promptly headed for the Delaware for libeling in Admiralty court in Philadelphia.

As soon as his crew had finished temporary repairs to Charming Molly's battle-damaged hull, Saratoga began to search for the remaining merchant fleet, a ship and two brigs.

At dawn, near Cape Henlopen, a blue jacket sailor aloft reported seeing two unknown sails, one dead ahead and the other several miles off her port quarter.

On December 15, after being refitted at Philadelphia, Saratoga got underway for Hispaniola to pick up a load of French military supplies which were awaiting transportation to America.

Within two hours, after seeing the Red Ensign flying from her stern, Saratoga had reached within firing range and sent a warning 4-pounder shot across the stranger's bow.

Tonyn had recently sailed from St. Augustine, Florida laden with turpentine, indigo, hides, and deerskins intended for Liverpool.

Young spent a day repairing Tonyn and Saratoga's rigging, then the two ships got underway on the morning of January 11 for Hispaniola.

On the 16th, Saratoga captured, without resistance, the armed brig Douglas, which was carrying wine from Madeira to Charleston, South Carolina, an Southern port then under British control.

On January 27, Saratoga and Tonyn reached Cap-Français, Saint-Domingue where Young turned Tonyn over to the French admiralty courts and arranged to have Saratoga docked to have her hull scraped and coated with pitch while awaiting the arrival of military cargo and French Navy frigates to assist in convoying a fleet of Allied merchantmen.

Midshipman Penfield, commander of the prize crew, later reported that as he was supervising his men's efforts to follow the Saratoga, the wind suddenly rose to fearful velocity and almost capsized his ship.