In the spring of 1819 Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson selected Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry for the mission of establishing friendly relations with the government of newly independent Venezuela and negotiating to obtain restitution for United States schooners "Tiger" and "Liberty" that the Venezuelans had illegally taken during the revolution. In 1819, by order of President James Monroe "Constellation" sailed for the Orinoco River, Venezuela, along with the frigate and the schooner . Arriving on 15 July, Commodore Perry shifted his flag to "Nonsuch" and sailed upriver to Angostura to negotiate an anti-piracy agreement. A favorable treaty was signed on 11 August with Vice-President Francisco Antonio Zea, but when the little fleet started downriver, many of the crew including Perry had been stricken with yellow fever.