Spark, commanded by Lt. Thomas Gamble, departed New York City on 20 May 1815 and sailed for the Mediterranean for operations in Commodore Stephen Decatur's squadron against pirates of Algiers.

She reached Gibraltar on 15 June and, two days later, helped in operations resulting in the capture of the Algerian flagship, Mashuda, near Cape de Gatt.

After cruising in the Mediterranean through the summer, Spark sailed for home on 6 October in a squadron commanded by Commodore William Bainbridge and reached Newport, Rhode Island, on 15 November and was laid up for repairs.

Recommissioned on 1 July 1816, the brig sailed again for the Mediterranean on 6 September carrying a letter from the President of the United States for the Dey of Algiers and orders appointing Commodore Isaac Chauncey and Consul-General Shalter commissioners to negotiate for peace.

That year enslaved seaman James Hutton, through his attorney Francis Scott Key brought a freedom suit against Lt. William J.