USS Alligator engaged three pirate schooners off the coast of Cuba in one of the West Indies anti-piracy operations of the United States.

The third USS Alligator was a schooner in the United States Navy.

The action of 9 November 1822 was a naval battle fought between the United States Navy schooner USS Alligator and a squadron of three pirate schooners off the coast of Cuba during the Navy's West Indies anti-piracy operation. Fifteen leagues from Matanzas, Cuba, a large band of pirates captured several vessels and held them for ransom. Upon hearing of the pirate attacks, Alligator under Lieutenant William Howard Allen rushed to the scene to rescue the vessels and seize the pirates.

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel defined by its fore-and-aft rig on all of two or more masts and the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. The most common variants are gaff-rigged and staysail schooners, with the topsail schooner carrying a square topsail on the foremast, and Bermuda and junk-rigs being rarities.

The West Indies anti-piracy operations of the United States were a series of military operations and engagements undertaken by the United States Navy against pirates in and around the Antilles. Between 1814 and 1825, the American West Indies Squadron hunted pirates on both sea and land, primarily around Cuba and Puerto Rico. After the capture of Roberto Cofresi and his sloop Anne in 1825, acts of piracy became rare, and the operation was considered a success, although limited occurrences went on until slightly after the start of the 20th century.