His Majesty's hired armed cutter Telemachus served the Royal Navy from 17 June 1795 until 15 January 1801. She was of 1285⁄95 tons (bm), and carried fourteen 4-pounder guns. [1] During her five and a half years of service to the Royal Navy, she captured eight French privateers as well as many merchant vessels.
On 5 August 1796 she was under the command of Lieutenant John Crispo when off The Needles she sailed in pursuit of a sloop and a cutter, which fled to the east. At 11am, Telemachus caught up with the sloop, recapturing John. John, William Ayles, master, was of Weymouth and had been sailing with a cargo of coal when the enemy cutter had captured her. Crispo quickly took charge of John and then sailed in the pursuit of the enemy cutter. Telemachus caught up with the cutter off the Owers Bank at half-past two in the afternoon, and fired a shot, at which point the cutter struck. She proved to be the French privateer Marguarita, armed with four guns and four swivels, and had a crew of 40 men. She was three days out of Cherbourg, but her only capture was the John. Crispo stated that by taking Marguarita he had saved five other vessels from being captured. [2] Lloyd's Marine List gave the privateer's name as Margaretta, and described her as being armed with six guns. [3]
On 14 August, Telemachus captured Pomona. [4] Pomona, Robinson, master, was an American ship that had been sailing from Bermuda to London when a French privateer lugger captured her off St Albans. Telemachus sent Pomona into Portsmouth. [5]
Then, on 27 August, behind the Isle of Wight, Telemachus captured a small French privateer armed with four swivels and carrying a crew of 22 men. The privateer turned out to be Requin. [6] Telemachus also captured a smuggling vessel there that same day. [7]
Telemachus captured the Spanish ship Gertruda on 6 October 1796. [8] This may have been the Spanish ship from "the Carracas" carrying cotton, cocoa, coffee, and indigo that Telemachus was reported later that month as having sent into Gibraltar. [9]
In early 1797 Crispo received promotion to the rank of Commander. [10]
Telemachus was under the command of Lieutenant Thomas Newton when she and the hired armed cutter Hind captured the privateer Mandarin on 24 February 1797. [11] Then on 7 March, the cutter Nimble captured the privateer Bonheur. Telemachus shared in the capture. [11]
Telemachus recaptured the brig Prince William on 17 May 1797. [12] Next, Telemachus captured the French privateer lugger Succès some five leagues from Needle Point. Succès had been armed with six carriage guns but had thrown two overboard during the chase. She had a crew of 42 men and had sailed from La Hogue the night before. She had not taken any prizes. [13] Telemachus sent her into Portsmouth. [14]
On 24 July Telemachus captured the French privateer lugger Hardi. Hardi was armed with four carriage guns and had a crew of 30 men. She had been out of Cherbourg only about five hours and had not captured anything. [lower-alpha 1]
Also on 24 July Telemachus recaptured two merchant brigs that had been captured by a French privateer. [16] The day before, Telemachus had recaptured the brig Neptune and Donor. [11]
On 6 August John, Hales, master, which Telemachus had recaptured, came into Portsmouth. The next day the French privateer Margaretta, which Telemachus had also captured, too came into Portsmouth. [17]
On 29 September 1797, Telemachus captured the French privateer lugger Jean Bart off Portland after a chase of five hours. She was armed with eight swivel guns, had a crew of 24 men, and was three days out of Cherbourg without having captured anything. [18]
At some point Telemachus, under the command of Lieutenant John Crup, was in company with the hired armed cutters Lion and Peggy when they captured Ledia. [19]
On 16 March 1798, Telemachus sighted the French privateer Sophie three miles from the Berry Head. Telemachus gave chase and after six hours caught up with her some two or three leagues north of the Casquets Light. Sophie was armed with four guns and had a crew of 20 men. She was two days out of Saint Malo but had taken nothing. Crispo further reported that when the chase started, Sophie was close to three British merchant brigs. Seagull joined the chase and was in sight when Telemachus made the capture. [20]
On 30 April 1798, Telemachus, under the command of Lieutenant Thomas Newton, was near the Bill of Portland when she encountered and captured the French privateer lugger San Souci after a twelve-hour chase. San Souci was armed with a 12-pounder carronade and two brass 4-pounder guns, and had a crew of 27 men. She had only sailed from La Hogue the night before, had not yet captured anything. [21]
In late 1799 and early 1800, Telemachus was among the seven vessels of a squadron that shared in the capture of four vessels: [22]
Telemachus was among the vessels of a squadron that shared the proceeds of the recapture on 28 June 1800 of Lancaster. She was also part of Sir Edward Pellew's squadron, which shared in the proceeds of the capture of Vigilant, Menais, Insolent, Ann, and the wreck of a vessel that was sold, and the recapture of Industry. [23]
Telemachus was among the innumerable vessels of Sir John Borlase Warrens squadron that shared in the capture on 30 August 1800 of the French privateer sloop of war Guêpe. [24] She was armed with 18 guns and had a crew of 161 men. British casualties amounted to four men killed, one drowned and 20 wounded; French casualties were 65 men killed and wounded. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "29 Aug. Boat Service 1800" to all surviving claimants from the action. [25] The award did not include Telemachus, or most of the other vessels in the squadron. However, Telemachus did share in the prize money and head money. [lower-alpha 2]
On 21 July 1801, Telemachus supported the boats of Doris, Beaulieu, Uranie and Robust when they succeeded in boarding and cutting out the French naval vessel Chevrette, which was armed with 20 guns and had a crew of 350 men. Chevrette was under the batteries of Bay of Cameret. Telemachus placed herself in the Goulet and thereby prevented the French from bringing reinforcements by boat to Chevrette. The action was a sanguinary one. The British lost 11 men killed, 57 wounded, and one missing; Chevrette lost 92 officers, seamen and troops killed, including her first captain, and 62 seamen and troops wounded. [26] In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "21 July Boat Service 1801" to surviving claimants from the action. The award did not include Telemachus. [25]
The National Maritime Museum has a record that a hired cutter Telemachus served from 1803 to 1804. [27] However, no other record of this vessel is readily available.
HMS Galatea was a fifth-rate 32-gun sailing frigate of the British Royal Navy that George Parsons built at Bursledon and launched in 1794. Before she was broken up in 1809 she captured numerous prizes and participated in a number of actions, first in the Channel and off Ireland (1794–1803), and then in the Caribbean (1802–1809), including one that earned her crew the Naval General Service Medal.
HMS Indefatigable was one of the Ardent-class 64-gun third-rate ships-of-the-line designed by Sir Thomas Slade in 1761 for the Royal Navy. She was built as a ship-of-the-line, but most of her active service took place after her conversion to a 44-gun razee frigate. She had a long career under several distinguished commanders, serving throughout the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. She took some 27 prizes, alone or in company, and the Admiralty authorised the issue of four clasps to the Naval General Service Medal in 1847 to any surviving members of her crews from the respective actions. She was broken up in 1816.
HMS Doris was a 36-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy, launched on 31 August 1795. which saw service in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Doris was built by Cleveley, of Gravesend.
The hired armed cutter Black Joke was a cutter that served the Royal Navy from 12 January 1795 to 19 October 1801. In 1799 she was renamed Suworow, and under that name she captured numerous prizes before she was paid off after the Treaty of Amiens.
The Royal Navy used several vessels that were described as His Majesty's hired armed cutter King George. Some of these may have been the same vessel on repeat contract.
His Majesty's Hired armed lugger Duke of York served the Royal Navy from 14 October 1794 to 2 January 1799 when she foundered in the North Sea.
HMS Cruizer was a Royal Navy Cruizer-class brig-sloop built by Stephen Teague of Ipswich and launched in 1797. She was the first ship of the class, but there was a gap of 5 years between her launch and the ordering of the next batch in October 1803; by 1815 a total of 105 other vessels had been ordered to her design. She had an eventful wartime career, mostly in the North Sea, English Channel and the Baltic, and captured some 15 privateers and warships, and many merchant vessels. She also participated in several actions. She was laid up in 1813 and the Commissioners of the Navy sold her for breaking in 1819.
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Royal Navy made use of a considerable number of hired armed vessels. These were generally smaller vessels, often cutters and luggers, that the Navy used for duties ranging from carrying despatches and passengers to convoy escort, particularly in British coastal waters, and reconnaissance.
During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, British vessels captured at least 12 French warships and privateers named Espoir, which means “Hope” in French. In only one case was there mention of an exchange of fire or casualties. In general, the privateers tried to escape, and failing that surrendered.
HMS Racoon was a brig-sloop built and launched in 1795. She served during the French Revolutionary Wars and in the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars. She had an active career under several captains, working essentially independently while capturing or destroying some 20 enemy privateers and naval vessels. Several of the captures involved engagements that resulted in casualties on Racoon as well as on her opponents. She was broken up early in 1806.
Poisson Volant, was a popular name for French vessels, including naval vessels and privateers. Between 1760 and 1814, warships of the Royal Navy captured numerous privateers named Poisson Volant.
HMS Kangaroo was British Royal Navy 18-gun brig-sloop of the Diligence class, launched in 1795 at Deptford, England. She served in Home Waters and the Mediterranean Sea until she was sold in 1802.
Two vessels have borne the designation, His Majesty's hired armed cutter Lion. The first served during the French Revolutionary Wars, capturing five privateers and several merchant vessels. The second served briefly at the start of the Napoleonic Wars. Both vessels operated in the Channel. The two cutters may have been the same vessel; at this juncture it is impossible to know. French records report that the French captured the second Lion in 1808 and that she served in the French Navy until 1809.
HMS Dolphin was 10-gun cutter that served the Royal Navy from 1793 to 1802, first as a hired armed cutter, and then after the Navy purchased her, as HMS Dolphin. During her almost decade of service Dolphin patrolled the English Channel protecting British trade by capturing French privateers and recapturing their prizes.
HMS Seagull, was a Royal Navy Diligence-class brig-sloop, launched in 1795. During the French Revolutionary Wars she shared in the capture of a number of small French and Dutch privateers. Then early in the Napoleonic Wars she participated in a notable single-ship action before she disappeared without a trace in 1805.
HMS Harpy was a Royal Navy Diligence-class brig-sloop, launched in 1796 and sold in 1817. She was the longest lived vessel of her class, and the most widely travelled. She served in both the battle of Copenhagen and the British invasion of Java, took part in several actions, one of which won for her crew a clasp to the Naval General Service Medal, and captured numerous privateers. The Navy sold her in 1817.
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 lugger Speedwell served the Royal Navy on contract between 11 June 1796 and 31 October 1801. She had a burthen of 15215⁄94 tons (bm), and was armed with fourteen 4-pounder guns.
His Majesty's hired armed vessel Marechal de Cobourg served the British Royal Navy under contract during the French Revolutionary Wars. Contemporary records also referred to her as Marshall de Cobourg, Marshall Cobourg, Marshall Cobourg, Marquis Cobourg, Marquis de Cobourg, Cobourg, Coborg, and Saxe Cobourg. Further adding to the difficulty in tracking her through the records, is that although she was originally a cutter, later the Navy converted her to a brig.
Numerous French privateers have borne the name Vengeur ("Avenger"):
This article includes data released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported UK: England & Wales Licence, by the National Maritime Museum, as part of the Warship Histories project.
