At 7am on 4 July 1814, Medway was under the command of Captain Augustus Brine when she encountered the USS Syren, a 16-gun United States brig. An eleven-hour chase ensued, with Syren's crew throwing their cannons, anchors and ballast overboard in the hope of escaping the pursuing British vessel. Their efforts were insufficient and the American vessel was surrendered at sunset.[2] Her crew of 137 men were taken prisoner, and her cargo of ivory impounded and later paid out to Medway's crew as prize money for the capture.[Note 1]
Medway was converted to serve as a prison ship at the Royal Naval Dockyard on Ireland Island in Bermuda in 1847. The colony had been selected for development as the primary British naval and military base in the North American and West Indian region following the loss of all British ports between Nova Scotia and the West Indies with American Independence. Bermuda's manpower was entirely devoted to shipbuilding and seafaring, and the shortage of cheap manual labour led the Admiralty to import convicts from British and Irish prisons, who were housed in hulks like the Medway. Conditions for the convicts were harsh, and discipline was draconian.
In 1849, convict James Cronin, on Medway, was placed in solitary confinement from the 25th to the 29th for fighting. On release, and being returned to work, he refused to be cross-ironed. He ran onto the breakwater, brandishing a poker threateningly. For this, he was ordered to receive punishment (presumably flogging) on Tuesday, 3 July 1849, with the other convicts aboard the hulk assembled behind a rail to witness. When ordered to strip, he hesitated. Thomas Cronin, his older brother, addressed him and, while brandishing a knife, rushed forward to the separating rail. He called out to the other prisoners in Gaelic and many joined him in attempting to free the prisoner and attack the officers. The officers opened fire. Two men were killed and twelve wounded. Punishment of James Cronin was then carried out. Three hundred men of the 42nd Regiment of Foot, in barracks on Ireland Island, responded to the scene under arms.[4]
↑ "Admiralty Office, November 9". Kentish Chronicle. Canterbury, United Kingdom: Mawer Cowtan & Robert Colegate: 3. 22 November 1814. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
↑ Bermuda Sampler 1815-1850, by William Zuill. Publisher: The Bermuda Book Store. 1 January 1937
References
Hannings, Bud. (2012). The War of 1812: A Complete Chronology with Biographies of 63 General Officers. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN978-0-7864-6385-5
Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN0-85177-252-8.
USS Syren was a brig of the United States Navy built at Philadelphia in 1803. She served during the First Barbary War and the War of 1812 until the Royal Navy captured her in 1814. The British never commissioned her but apparently used her for a year or so as a lazaretto, or a prison vessel. She then disappears from records.
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HMS Bulwark was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 23 April 1807 at Portsmouth. She was designed by Sir William Rule as one of the large class 74s, and was the only ship built to her draught. As a large 74, she carried 24-pounder guns on her upper gun deck instead of the 18 pounders found on the middling and common class 74s.
HMS Poictiers was a 74-gun Royal Navy third rate. This ship of the line was launched on 9 December 1809 at Upnor. During the War of 1812 she was part of blockade of the United States. She was broken up in 1857.
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