HMS Speedwell was the mercantile Royal George, which the Royal Navy purchased in 1815 and converted to a 5-gun schooner. During her career in the West Indies, she helped capture or destroy a number of pirate vessels, and capture several slave ships transporting enslaved people. The Royal Navy sold her at Jamaica in 1834.
After her purchase, the Navy spent between 26 August 1815 and 22 March 1816 fitting Speedwell at Sheerness for eventual service as a tender to the flagship in the West Indies. She did sail to the Jamaica Station almost immediately; already on 13 October 1816 the "tender Speedwell" arrived off "Yallaha" as two "Carthaginian" pirate vessels, one a large schooner, were firing on the Betsey as she was sailing to Santa Martha.[lower-alpha 1] At Speedwell's arrival on the scene the two privateers broke off their attack and sailed away.[2]
There are also records of Speedwell being on the Jamaica station in 1820 and 1825.[3] In between she worked to suppress piracy, in concert with the United States Revenue Cutter Service.
USSPeacock served in the expedition that included the Revenue Marine schooner USRCLouisiana and the British schooner Speedwell. The trio broke up a pirate establishment at Bahia Honda Key on 28–30 September capturing four vessels. They burnt two and sent the others with prize crews to New Orleans. Eighteen of the captured pirate crew members were sent to New Orleans for trial.[4][5]
In an action on 2 November 1822, Peacock and Speedwell, together with USRC Alabama, engaged pirates, which resulted in the taking of five pirate ships.
In connection with one or the other of these actions Lieutenant William Geary of Speedwell discovered bills of lading and coffee bags from Vittoria, which pirates had captured and looted some weeks earlier.[6]
Speedwell was acting as a tender to the frigate Sybille, and under the command of Lieutenant W.H.Geary. Speedwell shared with the frigate Tyne in the capture of two pirate schooners on 5 November, Union and Constantia (alias Esperanza), and in the destruction of Hawke and Paz.[lower-alpha 2]
Between 24 March and 24 May 1824, the frigate Hussar, Captain George Harris, and Speedwell, with Icarus in company, destroyed a pirate felucca at the Isle of Pines, Cuba, and captured her crew.[lower-alpha 3]
One of these incidents may be the source of the following anecdote. In his confessions before being executed on 11 January 1830 in the military fortress at La Puerta de Terra, San Fernando, a few miles south of Cadiz, the pirate Nicholas Fernandez, recalled an incident:- "We arrived at the coast of Cuba and learned that His Majesty's schooner Speedwell, accompanied by several barges from other vessels of war, was engaged in securing a key near Cayo Romano off the north Coast of Cuba where a number of pirates had secreted themselves in the woods. Some small craft which the pirates used in other cruises, were captured by the barges ... it was expected the pirates would be hunted from their lurking places."
Then on 31 January 1825, Speedwell seized the schooner James. Unfortunately, the prize money notice does not give the reason.[10]
Lieutenant James Cooper Bennett, who had commanded HMSRenegade, commanded Speedwell on 5 March 1826 when she captured the slave ship Orestes, and thereby freed 238 captives.[lower-alpha 4]Orestes had grounded near Grass-cut Cay on the Grand Bahama Banks (23°40′N77°20′W / 23.667°N 77.333°W / 23.667; -77.333). The crew had taken refuge on one of the Cays, leaving their cptives for several days without food or water. Bennett was unable to get the ship afloat and so took the freed captives aboard Speedwell, as well as the master of Orestes, Don Jose Ramon Munio (or Mutio), the mate, and a passenger. During the voyage to Havana, Don Munio died, as did 26 enslaved people. Speedwell was able to land 212 enslaved people. Orestes had loaded 285 enslaved people on 19 January; in all over a quarter of the enslaved people she had loaded had died.[12][13]
It is not clear that the Navy formally commissioned Speedwell before 14 April 1826, when Lieutenant Justus Oxenham commissioned her.[3] Lieutenant B. Hutchings took command in August 1828.[3] Lieutenant James Hookey replaced Hutchings in June 1829, and Lieutenant William Warren replace Hookey on 31 August.[3]
On 15 October 1831 Speedwell stopped briefly at Havana. There she reported that she had boarded a slave ship off Trinidad, on the coast of Cuba. However, the ship was sailing under a French flag and so Speedwell had to let her proceed as Speedwell was not authorized to detain French vessels transporting enslaved people.[14]
In 1832, Speedwell captured three ships transporting enslaved people:
This may have been the last of some five voyages transporting enslaved people.[19]
Speedwell captured Planeta a few miles south of the Isle of Pines. Planeta, Salvador Feliu, master, had gathered enslaved people along the "River Cameroons" on the Calabar Coast. The British and Spanish Mixed Court of Justice, at Havannah, condemned Planeta on 26 April.[14]
The capture of Aquila took place a few miles east of the Isle of Pines. Under the command of Juan Ferrer y Roig, master, she too had acquired enslaved people on the Calabar Coast. Aquila was substantially larger than Speedwell, and had a crew of 70 men. Aquila fought for an hour before she surrendered. The court in Havannah condemned her on 18 June.[14]
On 25 June Speedwell detained Indagadera a few miles east. She was under the command of her mate, Bartolomé Alemany, her original master, Ramon Casal, having died during the voyage. She had acquired enslaved people from Onis, Rio Lagos. On 1 July two men rowed a boat to Indagadera while she lay in Havannah harbour. They intended to free Alemany, and her boatswain and steward, who were still on board. However, Speedwell's crew were alert; they captured the two men and handed them over to the Spanish admiral of the port. The court condemned Indagadera on 9 July.[14]
These three captures resulted in Warren's promotion to Commander.[20]
Fate
In January 1834 the Navy sold Speedwell at Jamaica for £344 10s.[1]
↑ A first-class share, that of Captain Geary of Sybille, was worth £277 7s 0d; a sixth-class share, that of an ordinary seaman, was worth £1 17s 5+1⁄4d.[7] A later payment for the hull and stores of Constantin amounted to £40 13s 0d for a first-class share, and 10s 0+3⁄4d for a sixth-class share.[8]
↑ A first-class share of the prize money was worth £90 10s 3d; a sixth-class share was worth 7s 1+1⁄2d.[9]
↑ A first-class share of the prize money was worth £548 16s 6+1⁄2d; a sixth-class share was worth £28 17s 8+1⁄4d, or more than a year's wages.[11]
↑ A Commander's share was worth £306 12s 0d; a sixth-class share was worth £9 2s 1+1⁄2d.[16]
↑ A Commander's share was worth £929 19s 7d; a sixth-class share was worth £25 7s 3d.[16]
↑ A Commander's share was worth £234 6s 4+1⁄2d; a sixth-class share was worth £6 1s 2+3⁄4d.[16]
HMS Cherub was an 18-gun Royal Navy Cormorant-class sloop built in Dover in 1806. She participated in two major campaigns in the West Indies during the Napoleonic Wars, and one major engagement in the Pacific during the War of 1812, all each of which earned her crews clasps to the Naval General Service Medal. The Navy sold her in 1820.
The third HMS Black Joke was probably built in Baltimore in 1824, becoming the Brazilian slave ship Henriquetta. The Royal Navy captured her in September 1827, and purchased her into the service. The Navy renamed her Black Joke, after an English song of the same name, and assigned her to the West Africa Squadron. Her role was to chase down slave ships, and over her five-year career, she freed thousands of slaves. The Navy deliberately burnt her in May 1832 because her timbers had rotted to the point that she was no longer fit for active service.
HMS Havannah was a Royal Navy 36-gun fifth-rate frigate. She was launched in 1811 and was one of twenty-seven Apollo-class frigates. She was cut down to a 24-gun sixth rate in 1845, converted to a training ship in 1860, and sold for breaking up in 1905.
HMS Weazel was a Royal Navy 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop, launched in 1805 at Topsham, Devon. She saw active service in and around the Mediterranean during the Napoleonic Wars resulting in her crews earning three clasps to the Naval General Service Medal, was decommissioned in 1815, and was sold for breaking in 1825.
HMS Staunch was a Royal Navy 12-gun Archer-class gun-brig, built by Benjamin Tanner and launched in 1804 at Dartmouth, Devon. She served in the Indian Ocean and participated in the action of 18 September 1810 before she foundered with the loss of all hands in 1811.
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.
HMS Belette was an 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop, built by King at Dover and launched on 21 March 1806. During the Napoleonic Wars she served with some success in the Baltic and the Caribbean. Belette was lost in the Kattegat in 1812 when she hit a rock off Læsø.
HMS Brazen was a 28-gun Royal Navy Bittern-class ship sloop, launched in 1808.
HMS Severn was an Endymion-class frigate of the British Royal Navy, launched in 1813 as one of five heavy frigates built to match the powerful American frigates. The shortage of oak meant that she was built of "fir", which meant a considerably shortened lifespan. Nonetheless, the ship saw useful service, especially at the bombardment of Algiers in 1816, before being broken up in 1825.
HMS Comus was a 22-gun Laurel-class sixth-rate post ship of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1806. In 1807 she took part in one notable single-ship action and was at the capture of Copenhagen. In 1815 she spent six months with the West Africa Squadron suppressing the slave trade during which time she captured ten slavers and freed 500-1,000 slaves. She was wrecked in 1816 with no loss of life.
HMS Colibri was the French naval Curieux-class brig Colibri, launched in 1808, that the British captured in 1809 and took into the Royal Navy under her existing name. She spent her time in British service on the North American station based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. During the War of 1812, Colibri served mostly in blockading the American coast and capturing privateers and merchant ships. She foundered in 1813 in Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, but without loss of life.
HMS Linnet was originally His Majesty's revenue cutter Speedwell, launched in 1797, that the Royal Navy purchased in 1806. Linnet captured a number of privateers before the French frigate Gloire captured her in 1813. The French sold or transferred her to the Americans, who operated her as the privateer Bunkers Hill. In March 1814 the British recaptured her, but did not return her to service.
HMS Cambrian was a Royal Navy 40-gun fifth-rate frigate. She was built and launched at Bursledon in 1797 and served in the English Channel, off North America, and in the Mediterranean. She was briefly flagship of both Admiral Mark Milbanke and Vice-Admiral Sir Andrew Mitchell during her career, and was present at the Battle of Navarino. Cambrian was wrecked off the coast of Grabusa in 1828.
Grecian was an American schooner launched in 1812. During the War of 1812 she received a letter of marque. The Royal Navy captured her on 5 February 1814 and took her into service as HMS Grecian. She was sold in 1822. In 1823 she became a merchantman. In 1824 the Chilean Navy captured her, but she escaped, and thereafter may have served for a time as a Spanish privateer. After the end of the Peruvian War of Independence she apparently returned to more conventional pursuits and was probably lost in 1829 though she was still listed in 1830 as sailing between London and Lima.
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.
HMS Union was the mercantile City of Kingston that the Royal Navy purchased in 1823 for service as a 3-gun schooner. She served in the suppression of the slave trade in the West Indies. She was wrecked in 1828.
HMS Barbadoes was a 16-gun vessel, the American Herald, captured in 1813. The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Barbadoes She captured a number of merchantmen and privateers before she was paid-off in May 1816. In 1814–1815 she also captured three Spanish and French slave ships carrying over 1100 enslaved people. Barbadoes became a powder ship in Jamaica that was later wrecked with her remains being sold.
HMS Partridge was a Cormorant-class ship-sloop launched in 1809. She captured some small vessels while serving in the Mediterranean in 1813–1814. She participated in the blockade of Naples in 1815 with the result that her officers and crew received a great deal of prize money for its fall. She was broken up in 1816.
HMS Cockchafer was a United States schooner, formerly named Spencer, that the Royal Navy (RN) captured and employed as a ship's tender. She captured two American armed brigs, one in a single-ship action. The Navy sold her in 1815.
HMS Renegade was a schooner built in the United States in 1820, or possibly even earlier. She had been the pirate ship Zaragozana operating out of Havana that the British Royal Navy captured on 31 March 1823, and took into service. The Navy sold HMS Renegade in January 1826.
References
British and Foreign State Papers (1847), Volume 22, Part 1. (Great Britain: Foreign Office).
Clowes, W. Laird, et al. (1897-1903) The royal navy: a history from the earliest times to the present. (Boston: Little, Brown and Co.; London: S. Low, Marston and Co.).
McCarthy, Matthew (2013). Privateering, Piracy and British Policy in Spanish America, 1810-1830. Boydell Press. ISBN9781843838616.
State Papers: Correspondence with the British Commissioners at Sierra Leone, The Havannah, Rio de Janeiro, and Surinam concerning the Slave Trade, 1826-27. (1827).
Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN978-1-86176-246-7.
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