London Packet (1791 ship)

Last updated

History
British-Red-Ensign-1707.svgGreat Britain
NameLondon Packet
Launched1791 [1]
Captured19 May 1814
General characteristics
Tons burthen183, [1] or 189, [2] or 191, or 200 (bm)
Complement
Armament
  • Hired armed ship:10 × 4-pounder guns [3] [4]
  • 1803:10 × 4-pounder guns [2]
  • 1805:10 × 4-pounder guns [2]
  • 1811:6 × 4-pounder guns [2]

London Packet was a merchant vessel launched on the Thames in 1791. She served the Royal Navy as a hired armed ship from 31 March 1793, to at least 30 September 1800, and despite some records, apparently for a year or more beyond that. She then returned to sailing as a merchant man until an American privateer captured her in May 1814.

Contents

Merchantman

London Packet entered Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1791. [1]

YearMasterOwnerTradeSource
1791Jn. TooneJn. TooneLondon–CadizLR
1794EdwardsEdwardsLondon–CadizLR

Hired armed ship

London Packet was commissioned in April 1793 under Lieutenant J.E. Douglas. [5] Then from May 1794 or so, Lieutenant James Fegan (or Fogan) was captain, [5] with A. Hill as master, at least in 1799. [3]

On 27 February 1795 Lloyd's List (LL) reported that the armed ship London Packet had recaptured Monmouth, Blackburn, master. Monmouth had been sailing from Jamaica to London when the French had captured her. Unfortunately, Monmouth was then lost on the rocks at the Isles of Scilly with two of her crew members being drowned. [6]

London Packet otherwise appears to have had a relatively uneventful career on the Liverpool to Channel station, [3] escorting convoys until at least late 1801. In October 1801 she had left Plymouth for Liverpool with 100 French prisoners. Although, or despite having heard in Falmouth of the pending peace treaty with France the prisoners attempted to take over the ship. Lieutenant Fegan and the officers were able to suppress the uprising within minutes without injury to officers or crew, but with some injuries among the prisoners. The news of the treaty had caused the British to relax their precautions and the prisoners had decided to take advantage of this. [7]

Merchantman

At the resumption of war with France in 1803 the Royal Navy did not rehire London Packet. Instead she returned to mercantile service. The Register of Shipping for 1804 showed her with J.Toone, master and owner, and trade London–Cadiz. [8] In 1803 she took on Guernsey registry. [9]

Captain Thomas Quertis (or Quertier), acquired a letter of marque on 29 October 1803. [2] She had a crew of 22 men, and her owners were Daniel Moullin, Abraham Simon, Hilary Boucaut. and John Brehaut. [9]

In 1804, London Packet sailed from Guernsey to New York to Guernsey to Virginia to Guernsey. [9]

Captain Richard Rabey acquired a letter of marque on 30 April 1805. [2] On 18 May 1805, London Packet received a pass to Newfoundland. On 25 June 1806, she received a protection for a voyage to Newfoundland. Her master was sill Richard Rabey. Daniel Moullin, Abraham Simon, Hilary Boucaut. and John Brehaut. [9]

London Packet reappeared in LR in 1807 with R.Raby, master, Moulen, owner, and trade Hull-Guernsey. [10]

On 4 April 1810, she received a protection for a voyage to Rio de Janeiro, with Thomas Domaille, master. [9]

The Register of Shipping (RS) for 1811 showed London Packet with R. Raby, master, Moulden, owner, and trade Hull–Baltic. [11] This entry continued unchanged through the 1813 volume.

Captain Thomas Domaille acquired a letter of marque on 5 April 1811. [2] LR for 1811 showed her trade as London–Guernsey. LR for 1813 showed her master as Raby, changing to Domville. On 13 April 1811, London Packet received a pass to Newfoundland and the Mediterranean. [9] Between 1811 and 1814, London Packet sailed between Newfoundland and Mediterranean, with Domaille, master. [9]

Fate

An American privateer captured London Packet, of Guernsey, Domaille, master, on 19 April 1814, as she was sailing from Valencia to Rio de Janeiro. [12] [lower-alpha 1] The captor may have been Chasseur. [13] Part of her crew and of Melpomene of Guernesy, which had also been taken, landed near Faro on 21 and 23 May. [9]

Notes

  1. ↑ Another source gives the date of capture as 8 May 1814. [9]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 LR (1791), "L" supple. pages, Seq.№L357.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Letter of Marque, p.73 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Naval Chronicle, Vol. 1, p.301.
  4. ↑ Winfield (2008), p. 387.
  5. 1 2 "NMM, vessel ID 370474" (PDF). Warship Histories, vol vii. National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  6. ↑ LL №2694.
  7. ↑ The Times, 21 October 1801, p.2.
  8. ↑ RS (1804), Seq.№L353.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Sarre (2007), p. 169.
  10. ↑ LR (1807), Seq.№340.
  11. ↑ RS (1805), Seq.№373.
  12. ↑ Lloyd's List, 13 May 1814.
  13. ↑ Good (2012), p. 25.

Related Research Articles

Swiftsure was built in 1811 in France as Inconstant. In 1813 British owners purchased her and renamed her. An American privateer captured her in 1814 but she was quickly recaptured. Swiftsure was wrecked off the coast of Queensland in 1831.

HMS Nimrod was a brig-sloop of the British Royal Navy, launched in 1812. She spent her war years in north American waters where she captured one small privateer, assisted in the capture of another, and captured or destroyed some 50 American vessels. After the war she captured smugglers and assisted the civil authorities in maintaining order in Tyne. She was wrecked in 1827 and so damaged that the Navy decided she was not worth repairing. A private ship-owner purchased Nimrod and repaired her. She then went on to spend some 20 years trading between Britain and Charleston, the Mediterranean, Australia, and India. She was last listed in 1851.

<i>Hibernia</i> (1810 ship)

Hibernia, of 435 tons, was launched at Cowes in 1810. She operated as a letter of marque West Indiaman and in 1814 engaged in a noteworthy single-ship action with the American privateer Comet during which she repelled her more heavily-armed attacker. In 1819 she transported convicts to Van Diemen's Land. She was last listed in 1840.

HMS <i>Wanderer</i> (1806) Sloop of the Royal Navy

HMS Wanderer was a Cormorant-class ship-sloop launched in 1806 for the Royal Navy. The Royal Navy sold her in 1817. She made one voyage between 1817 and 1820 as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. She then sailed between Plymouth and North America until October 1827 when her crew had to abandon her at sea because she was waterlogged.

Georgiana was launched in 1791. She served as a merchantman, packet ship for the British East India Company (EIC), a whaler, a warship of the navy of the United States of America, and a merchant vessel again. She was sold after being condemned in 1818 as leaky.

Antelope was launched at Nantes in 1804 under another name. The British captured her and the High Court of Admiralty condemned her on 1 June 1807. She sailed to the Pacific, possibly as a whaler, where she captured a Spanish vessels. In 1811 she made one voyage to India for the British East India Company. She next traded with South America and the Mediterranean. A United States privateer captured her in 1814, but the Royal Navy quickly recaptured her. She was probably broken up circa 1824.

Manchester was originally built at Falmouth in 1805, and served the Post Office Packet Service. Hence, she was generally referred to as a packet ship, and often as a Falmouth packet. In 1813 an American privateer captured her after a single-ship action, but the British Royal Navy recaptured her quickly. She returned to the packet trade until 1831 when she became a whaler, making one whaling voyage to the Seychelles. From 1835 she was a merchantman, trading between London and Mauritius. She was last listed in 1841.

Recovery was built at Liverpool in 1793. She was a West Indiaman that sailed under a letter of marque. The French privateer Courageaux captured her in 1799. She returned to British ownership by 1800 and continued to trade until she foundered in June 1818 on her way from Hull to Miramichi Bay.

<i>Babiole</i> (1811 ship)

Babiole was a French privateer launched at La Ciotat in 1811. She made four cruises between 1811 and 1813 in the Mediterranean as a privateer, capturing a number of prizes. The British Royal Navy captured her in 1815. She might have been a balaou, a type of schooner.

Gallant Schemer was launched in 1799 at Falmouth. A French privateer captured her in 1805, but she was back in British hands by 1808. She then traded with South America and the Mediterranean. A French privateer captured her in 1813.

Young William was launched at Whitby in 1779. Initially, she was a West Indiaman. Later she traded more widely, particularly to Russia and the Baltic. She was captured and recaptured in 1814 and was lost on Nargon Island in 1815.

Goodrich was a brig launched in Bermuda in 1793. She made three voyages between 1795 and 1799as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She then became a general merchantman and was wrecked in 1808.

HMS <i>Albacore</i> (1804) Sloop of the Royal Navy

HMS Albacore was launched in 1804 in Bristol. She participated in two notable actions. The British Royal Navy sold her in 1815 and she became a merchantman, sailing out of Guernsey. She was lost on 12 October 1821 while sailing from Buenos Aires to Barbados.

Duck was launched in Boston in 1804, presumably under another name. She was taken in prize in 1812 and became a British merchantman. She spent much of her career sailing between Britain and Newfoundland. In 1813, an American privateer captured her, but then a Royal Navy brig recaptured her. At the end of the year, French frigates captured Duck, but released her. She was wrecked on 15 October 1829.

Westmoreland was launched on the Thames in 1791. She made two voyages as a slave ship, and between them cruized as a privateer for some months. She then traded between Britain and the Mediterranean until he was last listed in 1814.

Hart was a brig, possibly launched in America in 1809, and taken in prize. From 1809 on she sailed to the Mediterranean, particularly Malta. A privateer captured her in 1810, but she was recaptured. She burnt in 1811.

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.

Dover was a French vessel launched in 1807 under another name and taken in prize that year. She sailed between Britain and North America until 1814 when a United States privateer captured and burnt her.

Mary Ann was launched in 1807 at Liverpool. She made one voyage as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. She then became a West Indiaman. From 1811 she became a Falmouth packet. In 1813 a United States privateer captured her.

General Doyle was launched at Looe in 1803, and registered in Guernsey later that year. Between January 1805 and September 1806 she sailed as a privateer. Between October 1806 to November 1809 she became a packet boat in the Post Office Packet Service, sailing between Weymouth and the Channel Islands. From 1810 she became a merchant ship. In August 1813, she survived a maritime incident. An American privateer captured and burnt her in 1814.

References

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.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.