| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Hercules |
| Namesake | Hercules |
| Launched | 1796, or 1797, [1] Bristol |
| Captured | 21 February 1814 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | |
Hercules was launched at Bristol in 1796 as a West Indiaman. In 1815, a United States privateer captured her, but the Royal Navy recaptured her. Because the recapture occurred after 1 March 1815, she was returned to the United States.
Hercules first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1796. [2]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1796 | J.Powell | Protheroe | Bristol–Jamaica | LR |
| 1809 | F.Gay | F.Fisher | Bristol–Jamaica | LR |
| 1811 | F.Gay James Rae | F.Fisher | Bristol–Jamaica | LR; lengthening and good repairs, 1809 & 1810 |
| 1815 | James Rae | F.Fisher | Bristol–St. Vincent | LR; lengthening and good repairs, 1809 & 1810 |
On 9 February 1815 Hercules, Rae, master, passed Tenerife in company with Josephine, Gillies, master. Hercules was on her way from Bristol to Jamaica, and Josephine was on her way from Liverpool to St Lucia. They had parted from the West Indies convoy on 29 January in a gale. [3]
On 24 February 1815, the United States letter of marque Hollins, of 10 guns and 70 men, captured Hercules at 13°6′N57°46′W / 13.100°N 57.767°W , some 112 mi (180 km) east of Barbados. Hollins took out part of Hercules's cargo and stores and sent her to America. Rae and his crew arrived at Grenada on 5 March. [4] [lower-alpha 1]
The schooner HMS Canso recaptured Hercules off Abacco on 9 March, and reportedly sent her to Halifax. [7]
Hercules arrived at Nassau. There she was to be returned to the Americans. [8]
All British vessels American vessels had captured prior to 1 March and still in American possession after that date were returned to them, even if the vessels had been recaptured after 1 March. The reason was that the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812 between the United Kingdom and the United States, took effect on 1 March. Therefore, any vessel that the Americans had captured before March 1, i.e., during wartime, such as Hercules, was a valid prize, and a vessel recaptured after 1 March, such as Hercules, was recaptured during peacetime, and so not a valid prize. [3]
Sir John Sherbrooke was a successful and famous Nova Scotian privateer brig during the War of 1812, the largest privateer from Atlantic Canada during the war. In addition to preying on American merchant ships, she also defended Nova Scotian waters during the war. After her conversion to a merchantman she fell prey to an American privateer in 1814. She was burnt to prevent her reuse.
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. She was built at Portsmouth Dockyard by Nicholas Diddams.
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 the blockade of the United States. She was broken up in 1857.
HMS Atalanta was the American letter of marque schooner Siro, launched in 1812, that the British captured in 1814. There is no evidence that she actually entered into active service with the Royal Navy. She was a merchant brig when the USS Wasp captured her in September 1814 and sent her into Savannah as a prize, where she was condemned and sold.
HMS Canso was the American letter of marque schooner Lottery, launched in 1811, that a British squadron captured in 1813. The Royal Navy took Lottery into service as HMS Canso and she served during the War of 1812 and briefly thereafter. The navy sold her in 1816.
Bona was launched in 1809. After the outbreak of war with the United Kingdom, Bona took to the sea twice. On her first voyage she cruised as a privateer, engaged in two actions, one of which resulted in taking a merchantman that she had to abandon. Her owners next sent her out as a letter of marque. During this voyage the British captured Bona.
Dry Harbour was launched in 1804 in France under another name. She was apparently captured in 1812 and became a British merchantman. American privateers captured her in 1814 but she was recaptured shortly thereafter. She was condemned at Antigua circa December 1814.
Lady Mary Pelham was launched in 1811 as a packet based in Falmouth, Cornwall for the Post Office Packet Service. She repelled attack by privateers in 1812 and 1813, the latter being a notable and controversial engagement with an American privateer. Another American privateer captured her in February 1815 in the West Indies. New owners retained her name and between 1815 and at least 1824 she continued to sail to the Continent and South America.
HMS Bramble was launched in Bermuda in 1809. She had a relatively brief and uneventful career before the Royal Navy sold her in December 1815. She became the mercantile Bramble, and was last listed in 1824.
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 vessels carrying over 1100 slaves. Barbadoes became a powder ship in Jamaica that was later wrecked with her remains being sold.
HMS Thrasher was launched in 1804 at Brightlingsea, or Colchester as the merchant vessel Adamant. The British Royal Navy purchased her in June 1804, renamed her, and fitted her out as a gunbrig. She captured numerous small merchant vessels, most of them Dutch or Danish. After the Navy sold her in 1814, she returned to mercantile service under her original name of Adamant. She made a voyage to Malta in 1815 and was wrecked as she was returning to London.
Nimble was built in Kingston upon Hull in 1802. She traded with Portugal, first from Hull and then from Liverpool. She was lengthened in 1806. Later, she traded between London and Brazil, and then London and the West Indies. An American privateer captured her in 1814. She was recaptured and then disappeared from ship arrival and departure (SAD) data.
Caledonia was built in 1807 in Chester. She sailed as a letter of marque West Indiaman, trading between England and Demerara. She captured or recaptured two vessels, and in 1812 repelled an attack by a US privateer in a single ship action. In 1833, she made a voyage to India, sailing under one of the last licences that the British East India Company (EIC) issued before it gave up its shipping activities. Caledonia then continued to trade with India, Africa, and Peru. She suffered a maritime incident in 1840. She was condemned after having returned to Lima in April 1846 in a highly leaky state.
HMS Columbia was the United States privateer brig Curlew, which the British Royal Navy captured in 1812 and took into service as HMS Columbia. The Navy sold her in 1820.
Vittoria was a schooner launched at Baltimore in 1811 under another name. British owners acquired her in 1813, probably as a prize, and renamed her. She became a privateer sailing out of Guernsey and captured at least three vessels trading between the United States and France. She disappeared from online records circa 1814, though she remains listed to 1818 with data unchanged from 1813. A French privateer may have captured her in 1814.
HMS Pioneer was a Pigmy–class schooner of the Royal Navy, launched in 1810 as a cutter. During her service with the Navy she captured one French privateer and assisted at the capture of another. In 1823–1824 she underwent fitting for the Coast Guard blockade. She then served with the Coast Guard to 1845. She was sold at Plymouth in 1849.
Biscayneer was a cutter launched in 1779. From at least 1781 on she was a privateer based in Dartmouth, Devon. She captured or recaptured several vessels before her owner-captain sold her in 1783 after the end of the American War of Independence. New owners renamed her Retreat. She was last listed in 1784.
Ottawa was a merchant ship launched at Quebec in 1814 that sailed to England and acquired English registry. In 1815 a US privateer captured her. Although the Royal Navy recaptured her, the Vice-admiralty court at Jamaica restored her to her original captors. She later returned to British ownership and was wrecked in 1822.
Alicia Hill was launched in 1807 in France under another name. She was taken in prize and entered British ownership in 1811. In 1812 a French privateer captured her, but the Royal Navy quickly recaptured her. She primarily traded with the Mediterranean. Still, pirates plundered her off the coast of Sierra Leone. She was wrecked at Odessa in the Black Sea in November 1820.
Chesterfield was launched in 1806 at Portland. She served from November 1806 to her capture in October 1811, as a Post Office Packet Service packet, sailing between Weymouth and the Channel Islands. A French privateer captured her at the end of October 1811 in "a spirited but ineffectual" single ship action. She then became a French privateer that made several captures before the Royal Navy recaptured her.