| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Neptune |
| Builder | Patrick Beatson, Quebec [1] |
| Launched | 1797 |
| Captured | May 1809 |
| General characteristics [2] | |
| Tons burthen | 363, [1] or 364 [3] (bm) |
| Length | 117 ft (36 m), or 111 ft (34 m) [1] |
| Beam | 27 ft (8 m) [1] |
Neptune, launched in 1797, was the first ship built in Quebec after the British occupation. She sailed to England where she became a West Indiaman. A French privateer captured her in 1809.
Neptune was the first ship built in Quebec after the British occupation. [4] [2] She sailed to England where she became a West Indiaman. She first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1798. [3]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1798 | Patterson | Davidson | London–Quebec | LR |
| 1800 | J.Mason | Thelluson | London–Martinique | LR |
| 1806 | J.Mason Brown | Thelluson Brown & Co. | London–Martinique London–Jamaica | LR |
| 1807 | Brown A.J.Wilson | Brown W.Forbes | London–Jamaica Liverpool–St Thomas | LR |
| 1809 | A.Wilson | W.Forbes | Liverpool–St Thomas | LR |
Prior to 17 May 1809, the French corvette Mouche, of 16 guns and 150 men, was cruising some 100 miles from Scilly . Mouche captured:
Mouche put the captured crews aboard Betsey and let them leave. [5]
LR for 1809 carried the annotation "captured" by Neptune's name. [6] The Register of Shipping for 1809 carried Neptune, Wilson, master, built in Quebec; she was no longer listed in 1810.
Mouche appears to have captured two vessels named Neptune, both with Wilson, master. The second Neptune, of 300 tons, Thomas Wilson, master, was sailing from Lancaster to St Thomas when Mouche captured her on 22 April. The passengers who were left on board and some Spaniards of the prize crew recaptured her and took her into Madeira on 5 May. She continued to appear in subsequent issues of LR and the Register of Shipping.
USS Herald was a full-rigged ship of about 270 tons burthen built in 1797 at Newburyport, Massachusetts. The US Navy purchased her on 15 June 1798, and sold her in 1801. She became the French 20-gun privateer corvette Africaine. In 1804 a British privateer seized her on 4 May 1804 off the coast, near Charleston, South Carolina. The seizure gave rise to a case in the U.S. courts that defined the limits of U.S. territorial waters. The U.S. courts ruled that the privateer had seized Africaine outside U.S. jurisdiction. Africaine then became a Liverpool-based slave ship that made two voyages carrying slaves from West Africa to the West Indies. After the abolition of the slave trade in 1807 she became a West Indiaman that two French privateers captured in late 1807 or early 1808.
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.
Betsy was launched at Lancaster in 1793 as a West Indiaman. In 1801 she made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) to bring back rice at the behest of the British government. On her return she became a Baltic trader. She was lost in 1803.
Monarch was built at Quebec in 1800. She sailed to England, being captured and recaptured shortly before arriving. In England, under new ownership, she proceeded to make five voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) as an "extra ship", that is, under voyage charter. In 1813 she became a transport, and then in 1818 or so a regular merchantman. She was broken up in 1820.
Several ships have borne the name Caledonia for Caledonia:
Irlam was launched in 1800 at Liverpool as a West Indiaman, sailing between Liverpool and Barbados. Although a merchantman and not a privateer, she made an unusually aggressive use of her letter of marque, capturing or recapturing four vessels. She wrecked on Tuskar Rock in 1812.
Skene, was built at Leith in 1816. She made several voyages carrying emigrants from Scotland, twice to Canada and once for the Poyais scheme. She was wrecked immediately thereafter while sailing back to England from Saint Petersburg.
Andersons was launched at Poole in 1798. She then made seven voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. After the end of the British slave trade in 1807 her owners sold her to new owners who employed her as a West Indiaman. By 1810 she was registered in Whitby. She then served as a general merchant vessel until she was wrecked in 1823.
City of Edinburgh was built at Quebec in 1803. She sailed to England and from 1804 to 1820 was a West Indiaman and general trader. She sustained damages in maritime incidents in 1805 and 1820, and was last listed in 1821.
Sir James Henry Craig was launched at Quebec in 1811. She sailed to England and made three voyages as a West Indiaman. The British East India Company (EIC), in 1813 lost its monopoly on the trade between Britain and India. In 1817 she sailed for India but was condemned at Calcutta after she sustained extensive storm-damage at the start of her homeward-bound voyage.
Stirling was built in 1812 at Montreal, Quebec. She apparently traded out of Liverpool as a West Indiaman. There is little evidence that she traded as an East Indiaman. She was last listed in 1821 and a vessel named Sterling, sailing out of Quebec, was wrecked in November 1821.
Christopher was launched in Quebec in 1811. She transferred her registry to Britain, and then sailed between Quebec and Britain. She made one voyage to India under license from the British East India Company (EIC). She was last listed in 1820.
Blenheim was launched in 1790 as West Indiaman, and spent almost all of her career as a West Indiaman. In 1818 she made one voyage to Bengal under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). On her return from Bengal she reverted to the West Indies trade. Later she traded between London and Quebec. She was wrecked in November 1836 and refloated. She was last listed in 1837.
Sir James Henry Craig was launched in Quebec in 1811. She first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1813 and then spent much of her career sailing between Britain and Canada. She was lost on 4 December 1829.
Lord Wellington was launched in 1811 in Montreal. She became a London-based transport that made one voyage to India in 1819 under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). Afterwards she continued to sail to the Baltic and North America. She was last listed in 1829.
Several ships have been named John:
Neptune, was launched in 1805 as a West Indiaman. A French privateer captured her in 1809 but passengers and some disaffected members of the prize crew recaptured her. She returned to the West Indies trade and foundered on 4 February 1825 while returning to Liverpool from New Orleans.
Harriet was launched at Pictou, Nova Scotia, in 1798. She was the first large ship built in Nova Scotia and was sold in London. She traded widely from London, primarily to North America. She foundered on 3 November 1818.
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.
Dochfour was launched in March 1810 at Bristol. She sent much of her career as a West Indiaman, sailing between Bristol and Grenada. She was wrecked in October 1846.
Historic Tales of Old Quebec Front Cover George Gale Telegraph printing Company, 1920