Career
Equity first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) with M.Till, master, D.Field, owner, and trade Plymouth–Swansea. [3]
The American letter of marque Price captured Equity, Irwin, master, on 3 April 1813. HMS Iris recaptured Equity on 13 April, the day after she captured Price. Iris sent Equity into Corunna. [4] Equity, of eight men and 88 tons, was carrying wine from Madeira to London. [2]
Lloyd's Register for 1813 showed Equity with Irwin, master, changing to Shaw, J.Field, owner, and trade Plymouth–Madeira. [5] The Register of Shipping (RS) showed her with the same change of master and the same owner as in Lloyd's Register, but showed her with a change of trade, from Plymouth–Wales to London–Limerick. It also showed her as having undergone small repairs in 1812 and having damages repaired in 1813. [1]
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.
Dart was launched in South America under a different name. She was taken in prize circa 1806. Once under British ownership she performed one voyage as a South Seas whaler. She then traded as a merchantman before in 1810 receiving a letter of marque. As a privateer she did something quite unusual: she made a voyage to Africa where she captured five slave ships. After this Dart returned to normal trading, this time with South America. In 1813 as she was returning to London from Buenos Aires she stopped at Pernambuco, where she was condemned as unseaworthy.
Peggy was built at Calcutta in 1793 and initially sailed in the Indian coastal and Far East trade. In 1801 she assumed British registry and her name was changed to Juliana. Her owners sold her to the Transport Board but in 1804 the government resold her and she was sailing as a West Indiaman between London and Antigua. She then made two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), and one voyage to Hobart, Van Dieman's Land, transporting convicts. On her return from this voyage she wrecked in 1821 on the English coast.
Elizabeth was launched at Bermuda in 1786 or 1790. She first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1802. She then made four voyages as a slave ship, during the second of which a French privateer captured her. Next, she spent a little over a year as a hired armed tender under contract to the British Royal Navy. She returned to mercantile service trading with Madeira or Africa, until another French privateer captured her in early 1810.
Paragon was launched at Lancaster in 1801, or 1800. She traded across the Atlantic with the West Indies, South America, and North America. She captured one French vessel, and was herself captured, but swiftly recaptured by the Royal Navy. She was last listed in 1830, but with stale data from 1825.
Manchester was originally built at Falmouth in 1805, and served the Post Office Packet Service. Hence, she was generally referred to as a packet ship, and often as a Falmouth packet. In 1813 an American privateer captured her after a single-ship action, but the British Royal Navy recaptured her quickly. She returned to the packet trade until 1831 when she became a whaler, making one whaling voyage to the Seychelles. From 1835 she was a merchantman, trading between London and Mauritius. She was last listed in 1841.
Recovery was built at Liverpool in 1793. She was a West Indiaman that sailed under a letter of marque. The French privateer Courageaux captured her in 1799. She returned to British ownership by 1800 and continued to trade until she foundered in June 1818 on her way from Hull to Miramichi Bay.
Gallant Schemer was launched in 1799 at Falmouth. A French privateer captured her in 1805, but she was back in British hands by 1808. She then traded with South America and the Mediterranean. A French privateer captured her in 1813.
Starling was built at Harwich in 1802. She traded with Smyrna for some years and then became a West Indiaman. In 1810 a French privateer captured her, but the Royal Navy recaptured her within days. After the British East India Company lost its monopoly on the trade between Britain and India, Starling started trading to the Cape of Good Hope. She wrecked in 1815 off the English coast as she returned from a voyage to Batavia.
Horatio was launched in 1800 at Liverpool. She made four voyages as a slave ship, during two of which she was captured and recaptured. Shortly before the British slave trade ended she left the slave trade and sailed between Britain and South America and as a West Indiaman. She was wrecked in 1817.
Parnassus was launched on the Thames in 1769. She first sailed as a West Indiaman. She twice encountered enemy privateers; the first time she repelled them, but the second time she was captured. A British privateer recaptured her. Parnassus became a whaler in the British Northern Fishery. She was last listed in 1796. The transport Parnassus was lost at Corsica in late 1796.
Lion was a Spanish vessel launched in 1802 that the British came to own in 1809. She was a merchantman and letter of marque. She captured an American privateer in a notable single-ship action in 1813, some months before Lion was wrecked in 1813.
Regulus was built in Spain. The British captured her in 1797. She spent her career trading to the Cape of Good Hope, and West Africa, but was not a slave ship. She was briefly a privateer. She was broken up in 1806.
Young William was launched at Whitby in 1779. Initially, she was a West Indiaman. Later she traded more widely, particularly to Russia and the Baltic. She was captured and recaptured in 1814 and was lost on Nargon Island in 1815.
William Rathbone was launched at Liverpool in 1809 as a West Indiaman. During her career she recaptured a British vessel, and was herself captured by an American privateer, but quickly recaptured by the Royal Navy. Later she traded with Africa, and eventually Calcutta. She burnt at sea in May 1846 when a cargo of jute underwent spontaneous combustion.
Amphitrite was launched at Whitby in 1790. A French privateer captured her in 1794, but the Royal Navy recaptured her. She spent much of her career as a West Indiaman, finishing as a London transport. She was last listed in 1810 or 1811.
Argo was launched in 1802 in France, possibly under another name, and captured c.1804. She became a whaler in the British Southern Whale Fishery and made two complete whale hunting voyages. A US Navy frigate captured her on her third voyage.
Price was launched in 1811 and commissioned at New York in 1813. HMS Iris captured her shortly thereafter. She then became the British merchantman Price. She was last listed in 1820.
Rachael was launched in 1795 at Spain and may have been taken in prize in 1799. She entered British records in 1801. In 1803 she suffered a maritime mishap, and later was captured by a French privateer, but recaptured by the British Royal Navy. She was lost at Fayal, Azores in 1810.
Barrosa was launched at Nantes in 1810 under another name. She was purchased in 1811 as a prize, renamed, and her new owners sailed her as a West Indiaman. A French privateer captured and released her, and a year later an American privateer captured her but the Royal Navy recaptured her.
