History | |
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Name: | John Bull |
Namesake: | John Bull |
In service: | May 1804 |
Out of service: | December 1806 |
Fate: | Returned to owner |
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Name: | John Bull |
Captured: | September 1809 |
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Name: | John Bull |
Acquired: | 1809 by capture |
Commissioned: | August 1810 |
Fate: | Currently unknown |
General characteristics [1] | |
Type: | Cutter |
Tons burthen: | 11936⁄94, or 120 [2] (bm) |
Complement: | 30 (privateer) [2] |
Armament: |
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His Majesty's hired armed cutter John Bull served the British Royal Navy under contract between 5 May 1804 and 26 November 1806. She then became a privateer. She detained numerous vessels before she herself fell prey to a French privateer in 1809. She then became a French privateer. Her ultimate fate is currently unknown.
On 14 October 1804 John Bull delivered dispatches from Plymouth to Admiral Nelson in the Mediterranean. She left for Plymouth that same day. [4] On 4 November John Bull arrived from Gibraltar with dispatches from off Toulon. [5]
John Bull arrived at Port Royal, Jamaica, on 28 March 1805 after a 38-day voyage from Plymouth. She was carrying dispatches, and the news of the commencement of war with Spain, though the order that Spanish vessels be detained was already known.
On the way out John Bull had encountered Acasta, which a gale had caused to separate from the convoy that Acasta she was escorting to Jamaica. Acasta intended to search for the convoy for a day or two.
From Jamaica John Bull sailed on to Barbados where 10 vessels of the convoy had arrived before she left. [6]
While on the Jamaica station, and prior to 1 June, John Bull, under the command of Lieutenant Kortwright, captured the French schooner Elizabeth, which was carrying a cargo of sundries. [7]
In mid-September John Bull detained and sent into Plymouth two vessels: Palinurius, Merrehew, master, from New York, and Sirene, Horkendorf, master, from Bordeaux. [8]
On 8 March 1806 John Bull, under the command of Lieutenant George Broad, captured the Spanish vessels Legero and Los Animos. [9] On 2 May John Bull arrived with dispatches from Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren concerning the British victory at the action of 13 March 1806
Between 18 and 21 June, Admiral Warren and a squadron were off Madeira. John Bull, Moucheron, and Whiting arrived at Madeira on 18 June and they sailed from Madeira to join the squadron on 21 June. [10]
On 9 December Captain Michael Till received a letter of marque for the cutter John Bull. [2]
In mid-January 1807 the privateers John Bull and Busy detained Vrow Anna, a Dane, which had been sailing from Marennes to Gothenburg. [11] A few days later John Bull detained and sent into Plymouth John Adams, which had been sailing from Alicante to Cochin. [12]
In early February John Bull detained the American vessel Henrietta, Nichols, master, which had been sailing from Leghorn. [13] A few weeks later John Bull detained and sent into Plymouth the Danish vessel Provistina Jacobsen, which had been sailing from Alicante. [14]
The privateers John Bull and Indefatigable sent the Danish ship Little Catherine, Beorne, master, into Plymouth on 24 June. Little Catherine had left Bengal on 1 February and St Helena on 28 April. When she left St Helena she left there the frigate Sir Edward Hughes, eleven home-bound East Indiamen, four whalers, and a vessel returning from Botany Bay. [15]
On 24 July John Bull sent into Dartmouth the Danish vessel Aurora, Pedersen, master, which had been sailing from Lisbon to Antwerp. [16] A day or so later John Bull detained and sent into Plymouth General Walterstof, Groot, master. General Walterstorf had been sailing from Saint Croix to Copenhagen. [17]
At the end of August John Bull detained Froe Secolitas, Sursen, master, which had come from Saint Thomas's. John Bull also detained Flask, Erickson, master, from Lisbon to Tonningen, and Neord, Tyson, master, from Oporto to Tonningen. John Bull sent all three into Plymouth. [18]
At the beginning of October John Bull detained and sent into Plymouth, Indogheten, Johnson, master, coming from Cette. [19]
On 10 October a small privateer captured Cornelius, Hussey, master, as Cornelius was sailing from Liverpool to Newfoundland. That same day John Bull recaptured Cornelius and sent her into Plymouth. [20]
Early in January 1808 John Bull detained Johanna, Suraisson, master, and sent her into Plymouth. Johanna had been sailing from Archangel to Oporto. [21]
On 17 August the Spanish schooner Diligente arrived at Plymouth. The privateer John Bull had detained her as Diligente was sailing from St Sebastian to St Andero. [22]
Early in September 1809 the letter of marque cutter John Bull captured the Spanish vessel N.S. Aransia. She had been sailing from Cadiz to Seville and John Bull brought her into Plymouth. [23]
In September the French privateer Pourvoyeur, of Dieppe, captured the cutter John Bull and carried her into that port. [24] [lower-alpha 1] Apparently John Bull and Pourvoyeur exchanged fire, and then the French boarded John Bull and took her in hand-to-hand combat. The French reported having lost one man killed; British casualties were 14. [26] [lower-alpha 2]
On his 20-day cruise, Balidar, captain of Pourvoyeur, gathered four prizes , including John Bull, that he sold in Dieppe. The other three prizes were: Little Arthur, Exchange (of Wells), and Suckey. [lower-alpha 3] He grossed 447,862 francs. [30]
John Bull was commissioned in August 1810 as a French privateer with ten 12 or 18-pounder carronades. [3]
Notes
Citations
References
HMS Boadicea was a frigate of the Royal Navy. She served in the Channel and in the East Indies during which service she captured many prizes. She participated in one action for which the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal. She was broken up in 1858.
HMS Persian was a Cruizer-class brig-sloop built by Daniel List and launched at Cowes in 1809. She captured two privateers before she wrecked in 1813.
HMS Scorpion was a Royal Navy Cruizer-class brig-sloop built by John King at Dover and launched in 1803. She was the first of the class to be built since the launching of Cruizer in 1797. Scorpion had a long and active career during the Napoleonic Wars, earning her crews three clasps to the Naval General Service Medal when the Admiralty authorized it in 1847, two for single-ship actions. She also took a number of prizes. Scorpion was sold in 1819.
His Majesty's hired armed ship Harlequin served the British Royal Navy from 2 July 1804 until she was wrecked on 7 December 1809. She was of 18537⁄94 tons (bm), and she carried an armament of ten 6-pounder guns, eight 12-pounder carronades, and two swivel guns. During her service with the Royal Navy Harlequin captured a number of prizes. In 1809, she was wrecked near Newhaven as she was escorting a convoy in the Channel.
HMS Moucheron was a French privateer, built in 1799, that the British captured in 1801 and that the British government purchased in 1802 for the Royal Navy. She foundered in 1807 in the Mediterranean without leaving a trace.
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.
Lady Warren was a French prize that a Briton purchased c. 1804 and that served as a hired armed ship on a contract to the Royal Navy from 7 May 1804 into mid-1807. She served in the Channel, primarily out of Plymouth, convoying and cruising. During 1805 she detained numerous merchant vessels. She left naval service in early-to-mid 1807 and became a letter of marque merchantman. She was wrecked, without loss of life, in November.
Résistance was a 48-gun Vengeance-class frigate of the French Navy. HMS St Fiorenzo captured her in 1797 and the Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Fisgard. She was sold in 1814.
The French brig Suffisante was launched in 1793 for the French Navy. In 1795 the Royal Navy captured her and took her into service under her existing name. HMS Suffisante captured seven privateers during her career, as well as recapturing some British merchantmen and capturing a number of prizes, some of them valuable. She was lost in December 1803 when she grounded in poor weather in Cork harbour.
His Majesty's hired armed schooner Lady Charlotte served the British Royal Navy on contract between 28 October 1799 and 28 October 1801. She had a burthen of 120 85⁄94 tons (bm), and was armed with twelve 12-pounder carronades. As a hired armed vessel she captured several privateers and recaptured a number of British merchant vessels. After her service with the Royal Navy, she apparently sailed as a letter of marque until the French captured her in 1806.
HMS Swallow was an 18-gun Albatross-class brig-sloop of the British Royal Navy, launched in 1795 and sold in 1802. During her naval career she captured a number of French privateers while on the Jamaica station. After her sale she became an armed whaler sailing under a letter of marque. As a privateer she captured two French whaling vessels but then is no longer listed after 1810.
HMS Jalouse was a Cormorant-class ship-sloop of the British Royal Navy launched in 1809 and sold in 1819. She participated in the capture of a French privateer, but spent most of her active service escorting convoys. The Navy sold her in 1816.
HMS Derwent was launched in 1807 and later that year became one of the first ships sent by the British Royal Navy to suppress the slave trade.
Invincible Napoleon was a three-masted French privateer commissioned in Bayonne in Spring 1804. She made numerous cruises until 1813–1814 when the British and the Americans repeatedly captured her. In her brief career as an American privateer she captured some 14 vessels. She finally ending up in British hands and was taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia as a prize.
Antoine-Joseph Preira, also known under the nom de guerre of Balidar, was of Portuguese origin but operated in the English Channel as a privateer under the French flag during the Napoleonic Wars.
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 Sharpshooter was launched in 1805. She operated in the Channel, often from the Channel Islands. She participated in two actions and captured a small number of merchant vessels. She was sold and broken up in 1816.
Lord Hawke was launched at Ostend in 1793, almost certainly under a different name. In 1798 she became a British privateer. The French captured her in 1799 and she became the French privateer Revanche. The British Royal Navy recaptured her in 1800. New owners returned her to her original British name. She disappeared in early 1801, presumed to have foundered with all hands.
HMS Growler was a Archer-class gun-brig built for the British Royal Navy and launched in 1804. She captured several French privateers and one Danish privateer, and took part in two actions that earned her crew the Naval General Service Medal (NGSM). She was sold in 1815.
HMS Favorite was an 18-gun Cormorant-class ship-sloop, launched in 1806 and broken up in 1821. In her career she sailed as far North America, the Caribbean, Africa, South America, and the Far East. She captured or recaptured several merchant ships and a handful of privateers.