| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | Queen Charlotte |
| Namesake: | Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz |
| Builder: | Falmouth [1] |
| Launched: | 1807 [1] |
| Fate: | Wrecked 16 January 1814 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 180 [1] (bm) |
| Armament: | 12 × 6-pounder guns [1] |
Queen Charlotte was a Falmouth packet boat, launched in 1807 at Falmouth. She was wrecked at Lisbon in 1814.
Queen Charlotte made only one voyage across the Atlantic. Queen Charlotte, Mudge, master, left Falmouth on 11 March 1808. She was at Halifax between 21 and 30 April. She was then at New York between 7 May and 10 June. On her return voyage she was at Halifax again between 16 and 23 June, and she arrived back at Falmouth on 13 July. [2]
She apparently also made several transits to and from Cadiz, Gibraltar, and Lisbon.
A Queen Charlotte, packet (there were two at the time), sailed from Falmouth on 15 October, bound for New York. She lost her mast and was towed back into Falmouth on 27 October. [2] [3]
On 27 October 1811 Queen Charlotte, Quarme, master, sailed from Falmouth, bound for New York. She was at Halifax between 3 and 10 December. She was then at New York from 3 to 25 January 1813. She arrived back at Falmouth on 18 February. [2]
On 7 December 1812 Queen Charlotte arrived at Passages with the loss of her head and much damage to her sails and rigging. There had been a gale on 3 and 4 December between England and Passages. [4]
On 16 January 1814 Queen Charlotte was at San Sebastián when a gale drove her on the rocks, wrecking her completely. Mr. Sebastian, the agent for packets at Passages, tried to organize a rescue, but Captain Mudge (her master and owner), and 16 of his crew died. [5] Her mail and passengers were saved. [6] Apparently, she had landed her mail and passengers before wrecking. Also 15 crew-members were saved; they were on shore too, having been given permission to go on shore the previous day. [5] [Note 1]
Notes
Citations
References
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Duke of York was a three-masted brig launched in 1817 at Bideford as a Falmouth packet, sailing between Falmouth, Cornwall, and Jamaica. In 1836 she brought settlers to South Australia for the South Australia Company. She was wrecked in 1837.
Lady Mary Pelham was a brig launched in 1816 that initially worked as a Falmouth packet. After her modification to a barque she became part of the South Australia Company's fleet of 1836. She later served as a whaler and transport between Van Diemen's Land and Portland, Victoria. She was wrecked in 1849.
A number of sailing ships have been named Queen Charlotte.
HMS Indian was a Bermuda-built sloop launched in 1805. She captured several small privateers while on the West Indies and Halifax stations before the Royal Navy sold her in 1817. Her main claim to fame, however, is that she was the first command of future Rear-Admiral Charles Austen, who was also the brother of the famed novelist Jane Austen. After the Navy sold her she became a whaler for Samuel Enderby & Sons. She apparently sailed for them until the mid-1830s; she then sailed for other owners until mid-1847, for a total of nine whaling voyages since leaving naval service.
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.
Cecilia was launched in 1790, possibly at Pegu, Surat, Bombay, or Calcutta. She transferred to British registry in 1797 after sailing there under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). She made one more voyage for the EIC and was wrecked in January 1804.
Peggy was built at Calcutta in 1793 and initially sailed in the Indian coastal and Far East trade. In 1801 she assumed British registry and her name was changed to Juliana. Her owners sold her to the Transport Board but in 1804 the government resold her and she was sailing as a West Indiaman between London and Antigua. She then made two voyages for the British East India Company (EIC), and one voyage to Hobart, Van Dieman's Land, transporting convicts. On her return from this voyage she wrecked in 1821 on the English coast.
Snake was a prize that came into British hands in 1808. Her first owner employed her a privateer, but in 1810 sold her. Thereafter she sailed between London or Plymouth and the Cape of Good Hope (CGH), or from Falmouth in the packet trade. She may have spent her last years sailing between London and South America. She was last listed in 1824.
Monmouth was launched at Shields in 1803 as a West Indiaman. Between 1818 and 1821 she made two voyages as a whaler. Afterwards, she started sailing to India. She was wrecked in December 1826 on her way to Calcutta.
Anna Augusta was a Spanish prize that John St Barbe purchased. In 1802-3 he sold her. Her captain sailed her on a whaling voyage but she was wrecked in 1803 off Brazil on the outward leg.
Little Catherine was launched in 1801 at Bermuda and entered British registry in 1809. At that time she traded between Liverpool and Africa. In 1814 she became a Falmouth packet. In 1814 an American privateer captured her but the Royal Navy recaptured her within two weeks. The Government Post Office purchased her to return her to use as a Falmouth packet but renamed her Blucher, in honour of Prince Blucher who had helped defeat Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813. The government sold Blucher in 1823.
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.
Windsor Castle was launched at Yarmouth in 1804. She spent her entire 11-year career as a Falmouth packet, primarily on the Falmouth–Halifax–New York–Halifax–Falmouth route and the Falmouth–Leeward Islands–Falmouth route. She also sailed on some other voyages. She was involved in two notable single-ship actions. In the first, in 1807, she captured her attacker, a French privateer schooner in a sanguinary encounter. In the second, in 1815, an American privateer captured her. A prize crew took her into Norfolk, Virginia, where she was sold at auction.
Several ships have been named Hinchinbrooke or Hinchinbrook.
Duke of Montrose was a Falmouth packet launched in 1804. She participated in six single-ship actions. During the Napoleonic Wars she captured a French naval schooner but a year or so later a French privateer captured her. She returned to British hands, but how is not clear. During the War of 1812 she was able to drive off American privateers twice. An American frigate captured her in 1813 but gave her up to her crew and the crews of other vessels the frigate had captured. A French frigate also captured her and gave her up after disarming her. She was wrecked at Barbados in 1815.
Hinchinbrook was built in America in 1812 or Falmouth in 1813. By 1814 she was carrying mails for the Post Office Packet Service from Falmouth, Cornwall. In May 1814 she repelled an attack by an American privateer in a single-ship action. She was wrecked in May 1816.
Grace was launched in New York in 1812. She was taken in prize circa 1814. She then became a Falmouth, Cornwall, packet, sailing for the Post Office. She primarily sailed to New York via Halifax and Bermuda, but also sailed to the Mediterranean and Brazil. She twice encountered American privateers, repelling one and outpacing the other. In 1821 she sailed on a seal and whale hunting voyage to the South Shetland Islands and the coast of Chile. She foundered in the South Atlantic circa May 1823 while homeward bound.
Queen Charlotte was built on the Thames in 1790. She made eight voyages for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) before it sold her in 1800. She then traded to South America and the Mediterranean. In 1803 her crew mutinied and turned her over to the French, who promptly handed her and them back to the British authorities, despite the two countries being at war. She then spent much of her career sailing between London and the Cape of Good Hope. She was sailing for the Cape in October 1813 when a collision with another vessel resulted in Queen Charlotte being wrecked shortly thereafter.
Queen Charlotte was built in Emsworth in 1801. She was a regular packet ship for the Post Office Packet Service, sailing out of Falmouth. She made several voyages across the Atlantic between late 1802 and 16 May 1805 when she was captured. She came back into British hands around 1806. The Post Office took her into temporary service between 1812 and 1817. She then became a whaler off Peru in 1818. She remained in the Pacific Coast of South America until she was condemned there in 1820 as unseaworthy; she was last listed that same year. She may have been repaired and have continued to trade on the coast until 1822.
Townshend Packet was launched at Falmouth in 1800 as a packet for the Post Office Packet Service. She made numerous voyages between Falmouth and Lisbon and also sailed to the West Indies, Brazil, and the Mediterranean. She had two engagements with American privateers. In the first the Americans captured her, but then released. In the second she repelled her attacker. A French frigate captured her in 1814 and then sank her.
