Fawn | |
History | |
---|---|
United Kingdom | |
Name | HMS Fawn |
Ordered | 19 October 1805 |
Builder | Thomas Owen, Topsham, Devon |
Laid down | December 1805 |
Launched | 22 April 1807 |
Commissioned | May 1807 |
Honours and awards |
|
Fate | Sold 20 August 1818 |
United Kingdom | |
Name | Fawn |
Owner | |
Acquired | By purchase |
Fate | Broken up 1844 [5] |
General characteristics [6] | |
Class and type | Cormorant-class ship-sloop |
Tons burthen | |
Beam | 29 ft 7 in (9.02 m) |
Depth of hold | 9 ft 0 in (2.74 m) |
Sail plan | Sloop |
Complement | 121 |
Armament |
|
HMS Fawn was a Cormorant-class ship-sloop of the British Royal Navy, launched in 1807. Before she was sold in 1818 she captured one privateer and destroyed another, and participated in three campaigns. In all, her crew qualified for three clasps to the Naval General Service medal (NGSM). After the Royal Navy sold her in 1818 she became a whaler. She then made seven whaling voyages to the Pacific, and especially to the waters off New Zealand, between 1820 and 1844. She was broken up on her return from her last voyage.
Fawn was commissioned in May 1807 under Commander Fasham Roby, who sailed her for the Leeward Islands on 11 November. [6] On 15 December 1807 she arrived at Barbados with the news of war with Denmark. Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane had been in readiness since 2 September and immediately set sail for the Danish West Indies in his flagship, HMS Belleisle, bringing with him a squadron of warships, including Fawn, and troops under the overall army commander, General Henry Boyer. The British captured St Thomas and Santa Cruz; the Danes did not resist and the invasion was bloodless. [lower-alpha 1]
Commander Roby died in April 1808, a year after his wife had died in England. [8] Commander Nevinson de Courcy replaced Roby on 15 April. [9] Some time after Astraea wrecked on a reef off Anegada on 23 March, Fawn and the two 32-gun frigates Jason and Galatea arrived and engaged in salvage attempts. The British abandoned the wreck on 24 June. [10]
Around this time, Commander George Albert Crofton, late of Observateur, replaced de Courcy. [6]
On 28 (or 20) May Lieutenant James Robertson (Acting), took two of Fawn's boats on a cutting out expedition to capture Spanish privateer schooner and three merchant vessels anchored under the protection of two shore batteries at the northeast end of Porto Rico. The crew of the schooner ran her ashore and abandoned her. To get her off Robertson had to nail sheet lead over holes in her bow. As she pulled away he had the prize crew fire her guns at the privateersmen who were firing small arms from the shore. Suddenly the magazine on the prize exploded, throwing all but Robertson and two seamen into the water. The explosion killed one man, and injured four others. Still, that evening Robertson was able to rejoin Fawn with the schooner and the three merchant vessels. A squall the next day sank the captured schooner, killing five men. [11] [lower-alpha 2]
A little over a month and a half later, on 17 July, Fawn returned to the same location. This time Robertson had three boats from Fawn under his command, as well as two boats from Pultusk. Commander Charles Napier accompanied the operation. Although Napier outranked Robertson, Napier was only accompanying Robertson to gain a knowledge of the coast and agreed that he would have the status of a volunteer, and that Robertson would be responsible for the operation. The British cut out a Spanish merchant schooner from under the guns of two batteries, and then Robertson and Napier landed and spiked the guns in one battery and rendered the guns' carriages unusable. [11]
In January–February 1809 Fawn participated in the invasion of Martinique. Four decades later the operation was among the actions recognised by the clasp "Martinique" attached to the Naval General Service Medal (NGSM), awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847.
Fawn's boats, under the command of Lieutenant Morgan, engaged a cutter and the schooner Guadeloupe on 25 July and captured the schooner. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the NGSM medal with clasp "25 July Boat Service 1809" for the action. Despite this being an action meriting the award of the NGSM with clasp, there is no further information available about what transpired.
In August 1809 or so, Fawn recaptured Sir George Prevost and the American vessel George, Holmes, master, and brought them into Martinique on 2 September. [13] Another report describes Sir George Prevost as a polacre ship and her captor as the French privateer Fine.
At the end of 1809 Fawn formed part of the squadron off Guadeloupe under Captain Volant Vashon Ballard of Blonde. On 25 September Blonde, Fawn, and Scorpion sent their boats after an enemy vessel making for Basse-Terre. [14] [lower-alpha 3] To escape her pursuers, their quarry ran herself ashore in a bay between two batteries. The boat parties reached the French vessel despite cross-fire from the batteries and in the face of small arms fire from men on the beach. However, the British were unable to get the French vessel off. Instead, as she was bilged, they simply left. [14] British casualties amounted to two men wounded from Blonde, one of whom lost an arm and the other of whom later died. [14]
Fawn participated in the capture of Guadeloupe in January and February 1810. [lower-alpha 4] In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Guadaloupe" to all surviving participants of the campaign.
Fawn then sailed to England. On 11 October 1810, Fawn captured a French privateer schooner after an "anxious" six-hour chase during which the quarry threw her guns overboard. The schooner was Temeraire, of ten guns and six large swivel guns, and a crew of 35 men. She was a new vessel, three days out of Brest, and had taken no prizes, though she was in the process of boarding a Pappenberg brig sailing from Dover when Fawn appeared on the scene. [18] Fawn had captured Temeraire off The Lizard, and then sent her into Plymouth. [19]
On 27 June 1811, the American ship George, M'Kirdy, master, which Fawn had detained, arrived in Yarmouth. [20] About a week later, Fawn detained and sent into Yarmouth Sanderness, Jamerson, master, which had been sailing from Denmark. [21]
Crofton received promotion to post captain on 1 Feb 1812. [22] His replacement on 11 February was Commander Thomas Fellowes. [23]
In 1812 or so the Admiralty reclassified Fawn as a post ship. [6] Then on 28 June 1812 Fawn accompanied the Lisbon fleet as a convoy escort. [6]
After cruising in the Channel for some time, Fawn proceeded to escort a fleet of merchantmen from Cork to Barbados. On their arrival in Carlisle Bay, Barbados, the masters of the vessels in the convoy gave Fellowes a letter thanking him "for the excellent arrangements he made to prevent separation, and for his very great attention to them during the voyage". [23]
From Barbados, Fawn proceeded to the Jamaica station where she recaptured several British vessels. [23]
The American privateers Lady Madison and Eagle, each of one gun and 50 men, captured Perthshire on 29 November off Altavela, after a half-hour action in which Perthshire's master, M'Kinley, was killed. Perthshire had been sailing from Newfoundland to Falmouth, Jamaica, when the Americans captured her. Fawn recaptured Perthshire on 5 December and took her into Jamaica. [24] [25] One source further describes Perthshire as a letter of marque of 14 guns, and carrying a cargo of fish and oil. [23]
Fawn then was assigned the task of protecting the trade between Curaçao and the Spanish Main. [23]
On 12 December Fawn encountered Rachel and recaptured her, [26] together with the 12-man prize crew of Americans. (The American privateer Saratoga had captured Rachel the day before in an action at La Guiara.) The British took the Americans on board Fawn and put a six-man prize crew on board Rachel, which they sent her into Jamaica, where the Vice admiralty court condemned her as a prize. Fawn went into La Guaira and picked up Rachel's crew, all of whom agreed to serve on Fawn, though some apparently deserted shortly thereafter. [27]
On 9 January 1813, Fawn captured the Spanish brig Teneriffe and sent her into Port Cavello. [28] From her Fellowes found out that her captor was one of three American privateers that had come from a rendezvous between Beata and Saint Domingo. Fawn set out in pursuit and on 10 January Fellowes sighted a strange vessel. After a long and arduous chase during which the batteries of Port Cavello fired on the privateer to prevent her entering, [23] Fawn succeeded in chasing the American privateer Rosamond, of eight guns and 105 or 120 men, on shore. [29] Rosamond ran on shore on Point Hicacos where her captain and 24 men drowned in attempting to reach the land. Rosamond had on board $100,000 in specie and valuable merchandize, the plunder of various English and Spanish vessels. [23]
The Captain-General of the Caraccas then requested that Fellowes extend his patrol to the east side of the province of Cumana, "where the insurgents have landed at a place called Guiaia, paralyzing commerce, and obstructing the general supplies of provisions sent to the island of H[is] B[ritannic] M[ajesty] and seriously affecting the interests of his afflicted ally, the Spanish nation." [23]
On 6 June Fawn captured the privateer Havannah. [lower-alpha 5]
The Governor of Curaçao, Major-General Hodgson, also acknowledged Captain Fellowes' "zealous and active exertions;" and the merchants of that island presented him with a piece of place. [23]
On 3 July Bedford, Cyane, and Fawn left Jamaica, escorting a convoy of some 100 vessels for England. [31] Bedford's portion of the convoy, some 467 vessels, arrived at the Isles of Scilly on 26 August; the vessels for the Bristol and St George's Channels had separated on 15 and 22 August with Cyane and Fawn. [32]
In October 1813 Fawn was paid off. At the news, the ship's company submitted the following letter to Fellowes:
Sir, "It is with the deepest regrette that we have this day learned that His Majesty's Ship under your Command is ordered to be paid off, as it deprives us of a Commander, we one, and all would wish to sail with. We beg leave. Sir! to state that your great attention to our Comforts in our different stations has left a grateful impression on our minds, and induces us to take the Liberty of soliciting the favour of serving in any Ship to which you may be appouited, we hope, Sir, that you will be pleased to Excuse this freedom as it proceeds from no other motive than our Gratitude to a Commander we so much Esteem and Respect. We have the honor to be (Sir) Your Very humble Servants, " The Ship's Company in General."
There follow 43 signatures. [23]
Fawn remained in Ordinary until the Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy offered "Fawn, of 26 guns and 424 tons", for sale at Plymouth on 13 August 1818. [33] She sold to a Mr. Young for £1,470 on 20 August 1818. [6]
Fawn, of 430 tons, built at Topsham in 1807, with Thomas Allen, master, and John Lydekker, owner, sailed on 5 February 1820 for Peru, on her first whaling voyage. She was at Valparaiso between 30 March and 24 April 1821, and was reported "all well" in March 1822. She returned to England 17 November with 650 casks of whale oil [4]
Charles Dale was Fawn's master for her second whaling voyage. She left Britain on 3 June 1823. She was at Honolulu on 2 April 1824, from 26 to 29 March 1825, and again between 28 September and 17 October. At that time she had 2700 barrels of whale oil. She left for England via Tahiti, where she stopped between 17 November and 1 December. She arrived back in Britain on 9 April 1826 with 550 casks of whale oil. [4]
With unchanged master or owner, Fawn left Britain on 15 August 1826 on her third whaling voyage, with destination the Sandwich Islands (Hawaiian Islands). She was reported to have arrived at Hawaii on 12 October 1827 with 1200 barrels of oil, and to there still on 10 November. She was at Tahiti on 20 November 1828, having been at Honolulu between 6 and 17 October. Fawn arrived back in Britain on 4 April 1829 with 500 casks and one tank. [4]
Charles Dale and Fawn left Britain on 8 July 1829 on her fourth whaling voyage, with destination the Pacific Ocean. She was at Honolulu between 24 March and 23 April 1830 with 240 barrels. She was again at Honolulu between 20 October to 10 November, now with 1100 barrels. She was next reported to have been at Guam in March 1831 in company with Ranger, Lady Amherst, and Matilda. Fawn was reported to have been at the Moluccas in mid-1831 with 2200 barrels. From 16 October to 7 November she was at Honolulu full, with 2600 barrels. She arrived back in Britain on 15 April 1832 with 700 cask. [4]
Fawn's fifth whaling voyage was her last with Charles Dale as master and John Lydekker as owner. She left Britain on 18 July 1832. She was at Honolulu from 8 to 25 April 1833 with 150 barrels. She had been out 19 months when she was reported to have been at Bouka Bay on 15 January 1834 with 1100 barrels. She was also reported to have been off "Bayenwall Island" with 1050 barrels in mid-February. She was at Honolulu on 28 October with 1400 or 1450 barrels. She returned to Britain on 25 September 1835 450 casks. [4]
For her sixth whaling voyageFawn had a new master, Cruickshank. and a new master, Stephen Gardner (or Gardiner). Gardner sailed on 18 January 1836, bound for New Zealand. She was at Talcahuano, Chile, on 29 June 1836 and at Noohava 25 March 1837. Between 13 April and 17 May she was at Honolulu with 300 barrels. She was again at Honolulu between 14 October to 8 November with 700 barrels. By 30 November she was at Fanning. She returned to Honolulu on 4 January 1838. She reached Port Ascension (Ascension Island?) on 20 April 1838, Guam on 12 May, and Woahoo (Oahu) on 12 October, by which time she had 1500 barrels. On 1 December she was at Sydney. Homeward bound, she was at St David's Island on 12 February 1839, and in the Sunda Straits by 28 March. She returned to Britain on 24 July 1839. [4]
Captain John Dun (or Dunn), was master of Fawn on her last whaling voyage. She left Britain on 15 April 1840 with destination New Zealand. She was at Akaroa on 11 February 1843 with 350 barrels of oil. She was next reported at Tahiti from 25 April to 6 May 1843. She returned to Britain on 15 July 1844. [4]
HMS Eclipse was a Royal Navy Cruizer-class brig-sloop built by John King at Dover and launched in 1807. She served off Portugal and then in the Indian Ocean at the capture of the Île de France. Shortly thereafter she captured Tamatave. She was sold for mercantile service in 1815. She traded with India until 1823. Then between 1823 and 1845 she made seven voyages as a whaler.
HMS Lynx was a 16-gun ship-rigged sloop of the Cormorant class in the Royal Navy, launched in 1794 at Gravesend. In 1795 she was the cause of an international incident when she fired on USRC Eagle. She was at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, and during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars took numerous prizes, mostly merchant vessels but also including some privateers. She was also at the second Battle of Copenhagen in 1807. She was sold in April 1813. She then became the whaler Recovery. She made 12 whaling voyages in the southern whale fishery, the last one ending in 1843, at which time her owner had her broken up.
HMS Charybdis was a Royal Navy Cruizer-class brig-sloop built by Mark Richards and John Davidson at Hythe, and launched in 1809. She captured two American prizes during the War of 1812 before she was laid up in 1815 and sold in 1819. She apparently then became the whaler Greenwich, which made three voyages for Samuel Enderby & Sons and one for Daniel Bennett & Son. She was wrecked in the Seychelles in 1833 on her fourth whaling voyage.
HMS Arab was a 22-gun post ship of the Royal Navy. She was formerly the 18-gun French privateer Brave, which the British captured in 1798. She served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars until she was sold in 1810.
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.
Ronco was a French Illyrien or Friedland-class brig built at Venice and launched in April 1808. HMS Unite captured her less than two months later. The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Tuscan. She served in the Mediterranean and participated in one action that earned her crew a Naval General Service Medal. She was first offered for sale in 1816 and sold in 1818. At that time mercantile interests purchased her and she became a whaler, making six voyages before being condemned as no longer seaworthy in March 1840 and sold in April during her seventh voyage.
Nettuno was a French Illyrien or Friedland-class brig built at Venice and launched in June 1807. HMS Unite captured her a year later off Zara. The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Cretan. She served in the Mediterranean. She was sold in 1814. Between 1815 and 1831 she made five voyages as a whaler.
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 Indian was a Bermuda-built sloop launched in 1805. She captured several small privateers while on the West Indies and Halifax stations before the Royal Navy sold her in 1817. Her main claim to fame, however, is that she was the first command of future Rear-Admiral Charles Austen, who was also the brother of the famed novelist Jane Austen. After the Navy sold her she became a whaler for Samuel Enderby & Sons. She apparently sailed for them until the mid-1830s; she then sailed for other owners until mid-1847, for a total of nine whaling voyages since leaving naval service.
HMS Echo, launched in 1797 at Dover, was a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy. She served on the Jamaica station between 1799 and 1806, and there captured a small number of privateers. The Navy sold her in 1809 and she became a whaler. She made four complete whale-hunting voyages but was wrecked in the Coral Sea in April 1820 during her fifth whaling voyage.
HMS Foxhound was the French Navy's brig Basque, launched in 1809, that the British Royal Navy captured in 1809 and took into service as a 16-gun sloop. She had a relatively brief naval career in which she captured a number of merchant vessels. After the Navy sold her in 1816, she made some 10 or 11 whaling voyages between 1817 and 1848.
Rifleman was a Cruizer-class brig-sloop launched in 1809 for the Royal Navy. She served in the North Sea, on the Halifax and Jamaica stations, and in the Mediterranean Sea. During her service she recaptured a Royal Navy vessel in Danish service, and two privateers. The Navy sold her in 1836 and she proceed to sail as a merchantman and whaler between 1837 and 1856.
Serpent was a French navy brig of the Palinure class, launched in 1807 at Paimbeouf (Nantes) as Rivolli, but renamed. HMS Acasta captured her in 1808 in the Caribbean and the British Royal Navy took her into service there as HMS Pert but renamed her Asp. The navy disposed of her in 1814. She then made five voyages as a whaler, and wrecked in December 1828 on her sixth voyage.
HMS Coquette was launched in 1807 and spent her naval career patrolling in the Channel and escorting convoys. In 1813 she engaged an American privateer in a notable but inconclusive single-ship action. The Navy put Coquette in ordinary in 1814 and sold her in 1817. She became a whaler and made five whaling voyages to the British southern whale fishery before she was lost in 1835 on her sixth.
HMS Inspector was launched in 1801 at Mistley as the mercantile Amity. The Royal Navy purchased her in 1803 and named her HMS Inspector. The Navy laid her up in 1808 before selling her in 1810. She then returned to mercantile service. Between 1818 and 1825 she made four voyages as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. She returned to mercantile service and was last listed in 1833 as being at Falmouth.
Norfolk was built in France in 1784 under a different name. The British captured her c. 1800 and she made some voyages as a West Indiaman. She also made a cruise as a privateer. Between 1803 and 1808 she served the Royal Navy as an armed defense and hired armed ship on the Leith Station. She spent her time escorting convoys in the North Sea and captured one French privateer. After her naval service, between 1808 and 1814 Norfolk was a London-based transport. From 1814 to 1820 she made four voyages as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. She was last listed in 1823.
Royal George was launched in 1803 as a brig for the Revenue Service. The Royal Navy purchased her in 1806 and renamed her HMS Bustard. She served on active duty between 1808 and 1815, distinguishing herself in operations in the Mediterranean. She then sailed to the West Indies. The Royal Navy sold her in 1815 and she became the whaler Royal George. She made three whaling voyages and was lost in 1825 on her fourth.
Sir Andrew Hammond was launched at Bermuda in 1800. She spent almost a dozen years as a West Indiaman. From 1812 on she was a whaler. On her first whaling voyage she sailed to the Pacific where the United States Navy captured her. She then served briefly in the United States Navy before the British Royal Navy recaptured her. She returned to whaling and made a further eight whaling voyages. She was lost in 1841 on her tenth whaling voyage.
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.
HMS Esk was a Cyrus-class ship-sloop launched at Ipswich in 1813. During the War of 1812 she captured one United States privateer, and fought an inconclusive action with another. Between 1825 and 1827 Esk was part of the West Africa Squadron, engaged in suppressing the trans-Atlantic slave trade, during which period she captured a number of slave ships. A prize she had taken also engaged in a notable single ship action. The Royal Navy sold Esk in 1829. Green, Wigram, and Green purchased her and between 1829 and 1845 she made four voyages in the British southern whale fishery as the whaler Matilda.