| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Charles |
| Launched | 1804, Fowey |
| Fate | Last listed in 1825 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Tons burthen | 11853⁄94, or 119 (bm) |
| Armament |
|
Charles was a schooner launched in 1804, possibly under another name. Between 1811 and 1814 she served as HM hired armed schooner Charles. She then returned to mercantile service. She initially traded with the Continent and Newfoundland, but for the remainder of her career she sailed between Bristol and Palermo. She was last listed in 1825.
The Royal Navy employed the hired armed schooner on contract between 23 October 1811 and 4 May 1814. [1]
In December 1811, Lieutenant John Little was appointed captain of Charles, for service on the Downs station. Charles recaptured two merchant vessels, and witnessed the capture of two French privateers. [2]
One of the recaptured vessels was Nancy, Morrison, master, which Charles recaptured on 8 October 1813. [3]
In December 1813, Charles was attached to the fleet under Admiral Young, anchored off Walcheren. In the following spring she carried to France part of the suite of Louis XVIII. On Little's return from this mission, he was appointed to the schooner HMS Whiting. [2]
After the end of her contract with the Navy, Charles returned to mercantile service. She first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1814. [4]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1814 | T.Atherdeen | T.Lloyd | London–Rotterdam | LR; raised 1814 |
| 1815 | T.Atherdeen Ambier | T.Lloyd | London–Rotterdam | LR; raised 1814 |
| 1818 | R.Burton | Bickley | Bristol–Newfoundland Bristol–Palermo | LR; raised 1814, good repair 1815, & repairs 1818 |
| 1820 | R.Burton | C.Harvey | Bristol–Palermo | LR; raised 1814, good repair 1815, & small repair 1818 |
Charles was last listed in 1825 with data unchanged since 1820.
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HMS Volage was a Laurel-class sixth-rate post-ship of the Royal Navy. She served during the Napoleonic War, capturing four privateers and participating in the Battle of Lissa (1811). She was sold in 1818. Her new owners renamed her Rochester and she served in a commercial capacity for another 12 years, first sailing between England and India, and then making two voyages to the South Seas as a whaler. She was last listed in Lloyd's List in 1831.
HMS Forester was a Royal Navy 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop built by John King and launched in 1806 at Dover. She had a relatively uneventful career before the Navy sold her in 1819.
HMS Circe was a Royal Navy 32-gun fifth-rate frigate, built by Master Shipwright Joseph Tucker at Plymouth Dockyard, and launched in 1804. She served in the Caribbean during the Napoleonic Wars, and participated in an action and a campaign for which in 1847 in the Admiralty authorised the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with clasps. The action, off the Pearl Rock, near Saint-Pierre, Martinique, was a debacle that cost Circe dearly. However, she also had some success in capturing privateers and a French brig. She was sold in 1814.
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HMS Rover was a Royal Navy Cruizer-class brig-sloop laid down in 1804 but not launched until 1808. She served in the North Sea, off the north coast of Spain, in the Channel, and on the North American station. She captured two letters-of-marque and numerous merchant vessels before being laid-up in 1815. She then sat unused until she was sold in 1828. She became a whaler that made four voyages to the British southern whale fishery between 1830 and 1848. She was last listed in 1848.
London Packet was a merchant vessel launched on the Thames in 1791. She served the Royal Navy as a hired armed ship from 31 March 1793, to at least 30 September 1800, and despite some records, apparently for a year or more beyond that. She then returned to sailing as a merchant man until an American privateer captured her in May 1814.
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Éole was an 18-gun corvette of the French Navy, launched, captured, and later commissioned in the Royal Navy in 1799 as HMS Nimrod after her capture by HMS Solebay. She was then "the finest and most handsome ship-sloop in the British navy". She was sold in 1811. Nimrod made three whaling voyages between 1811 and 1819. On her first she captured several American whalers. Nimrod was last listed in 1820.
HMS Thais was built for the British Royal Navy in 1806 and was the name-vessel of her class of fire ships. Between 1811 and 1813 she served in the West Africa Squadron, which was attempting to suppress the slave trade. During this service she captured several slave traders and an American privateer. She made one voyage to the East Indies. Thais was sold in 1818. She then became a merchantman. She was last listed in 1826.
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Lord Eldon was launched at Sunderland in 1801. She was initially a London-based transport, but new owners contracted with the Admiralty. From certainly 1804 through approximately 1811 she served the British Royal Navy as a hired armed ship. During this period Spanish vessels captured her, but the Royal Navy recaptured her. Between 1812 and 1813 she underwent lengthening. In 1814 she returned to serving as a transport. She was driven ashore and damaged in 1817; she was no longer listed in 1819.
HMS Plumper was launched in 1807. She captured three small American privateers early in the War of 1812 but was wrecked in December 1812.
HMS Autumn was launched at Shields in 1800 as a merchantman. The Royal Navy purchased her in 1801. The Navy sold her in 1815 and she returned to mercantile service. She was lost in 1818.
HMS Royalist was launched in 1807. She captured many privateers and letters of marque, most French, but also some from Denmark and the United States. Her crew twice were awarded the Naval General Service Medal. She was instrumental in the capture of a French frigate. The Royal Navy sold her in 1819. She then became a whaler, making three complete voyages. She was condemned after a mishap while on her fourth.
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HMS Tyne was launched at Topsham in 1814 as a Conway-class sixth rate. She served in the East Indies and in the Pacific Squadron. She also served in the Caribbean, cruising against pirates, during which she captured the pirate schooner Zaragozana. In 1825 the Navy sold Tyne and she became the whaler William. She was lost in early 1827 in the Bonin Islands on her first voyage to the British southern whale fishery.
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