Rambler was launched at Medford, Massachusetts, in 1813. She may have engaged in one voyage as a privateer, but then made a voyage to China as a letter of marque. On that voyage she captured several British merchantmen, at least two of which she released. She captured one that gave rise to an incident between the British East India Company (EIC), Royal Navy, and the Chinese government. Rambler returned to the United States in 1815 and her subsequent history is currently obscure.
Captain Benjamin Rich had sold a brig named Rambler to Amos Binney, the agent for the United States Navy on 3 July 1813, for $18,000, exclusive of armament. This vessel became USSRattlesnake.[5]
He then had a Medford shipbuilder, Calvin Turner, build him a new Rambler, in a process that took only 36 days.[2]
HMSCurlew recaptured Union off Cape Sable. Unfortunately, Union was lost off Sambro Island Light during the night of 31 March. Only a few bags of cotton and some rigging were saved.[7][lower-alpha 1]
On 30 April 1814 Captain Nathaniel Snow and others brought libel for condemnation in the United States court at Boston for one case of goods taken from Union ‘which she did seize, take and capture, mounting ten carriage guns, and about 280 tons burthen with a cargo of cotton, coffee and various other articles of merchandise. The case of goods in question contained lace shawls, dresses and handkerchiefs which brought $1800 at auction.’
Shortly thereafter, a group of Boston merchants, headed by J. & T.H. Perkins and Bryant & Sturgis, dispatched three letters-of-marque to Canton: Rambler, ship Jacob Jones, and schooner Tamaamaah (contemporary spelling of Kamehameha).[9] The three carried instructions to the American vessels blockaded at Whampoa.[4]
Rambler, S.B. Edes, master, encountered Madeira, Roberts, master, on 7 June. Madeira had been sailing from Madeira to Nova Scotia when she encountered Rambler at 14°N75°W / 14°N 75°W / 14; -75. Edes plundered Madeira of between 70 and 90 casks of wine (accounts differ), and some other goods and then let her proceed; Madeira reached Liverpool, Nova Scotia, on 13 July.[10]Rambler had not had enough men to send her to the United States.[11]
As Rambler was coming towards Canton she captured Arabella. Edes wrote from Canton on 6 December, 'Our prize (the ship "Arabella") arrived at Macao the same day we arrived at Canton and was taken possession of by the Portuguese government and given up to the British Admiral on this station. I have protested against this proceeding, and hope a proper representation will be made to the Portuguese government, who ought in justice to pay us the amount she was insured for (60,000 rupees eighteen days out).'
The Arabella incident: The situation was a little more complex than Edes's quote might suggest. On the way to Canton, on 24 August, Rambler encountered the British brig Arabella, Captain Price, which was sailing from Bengal to Sumatra. Rambler captured Arabella, put a prize crew of some five men on board, and took Price and most of his men onto Rambler. Edes also removed five chests of opium, 16 bales of Madras goods, and 25 boxes of medicines, etc.[12]
The two vessels then sailed in company to Canton. As they approached Canton they noticed that the British frigate HMSDoris was there. Edes sent Arabella to Macao to take shelter under the Portuguese guns. The Portuguese governor ordered Arabella out of Portuguese waters and put a pilot on board and some armed men for her protection. The American told the pilot that Arabella was an American ship that had been sailing between Bengal and Batavia but that adverse weather had sent her north to shelter at Canton. When Arabella anchored outside Portuguese waters, Doris sent a boarding party to examine her; as they approached, the American prize crew left in a boat and reached Rambler at Whampoa. The Chinese government took Doris's seizure of Arabella as an attack by the British on an American vessel and remonstrated with the EIC. When the EIC officials pointed out that they had no control over the actions of the Royal Navy. The Chinese government then forbade Chinese to work for the EIC. The issue escalated with Chinese batteries firing some pro forma shots at Doris, and Doris firing one gun, but without shot. The English withdrew from Canton, stopping trade.[13] Eventually the Chinese and the British came to agreement that henceforth American vessels would not be permitted sell at Canton prize goods from British vessels. Jacob Jones had on board 40 chests of opium, $10,000 in specie, and some other goods.[14]
Captain O'Brien found he could not sell his prize, Arabella, on the China coast. He received orders to proceed to Malacca after his replacement had arrived. He wanted to take Arabella with him to try to sell her in Malaya but the night before they were to leave a severe gale caused Arabella to break her cables. She then broke up on nearby rocks.[15]
Return to the United States:Rambler, Jacob Jones, and Tamaamaah, having delivered their orders to the merchant vessels to remain until peace was declared, then loaded cargoes. On the night of 17 January 1815, they moved down river from Whampoa. As they did so, they passed two British men-of-war and about twenty armed East Indiamen that fired on them.[4][16]
On 19 March, on her way home, Rambler captured "the Morley transport", which was coming from Algoa Bay. Edes plundered Morley and then gave her up.[17] One account (incorrectly) names the transport Mosely, and describes her as of sixteen 18-pounder carronades and 20 or 30 men, and sailing in ballast. Rambler plundered her of articles of not much value before releasing her.[18]
A contemporary account from Boston, dated 8 May stated, “Arrived the elegant letter-of-marque brig Rambler, Samuel B. Edes, Esq. commander, 108 days from Canton . . . . The Rambler has not seen a cruizer of any kind since she left Canton! . . . . The Rambler has performed her voyage in 11 months and 20 days. She has 10 guns & 40 men.”–Essex Register, May 10, 1815.[19]
A second contemporary account from Boston, dated 13 May, stated, “Three vessels which sailed from Canton in company, all bound for Boston, have arrived there within a few hours of each other, after a passage of 9,000 miles. The following is the order in which they came in; the brig Rambler on Monday, the ship Jacob Jones on Tuesday, and the brig Tamaamaah on Wednesday–“–Baltimore Patriot, May 15, 1815.[19]
Rambler, Jacob Jones, and Tamaamaah arrived at Boston on 3 & 4 May, after peace had been declared. They sold their cargoes at high prices.[4][lower-alpha 2]
Notes
↑ Union was probably the vessel of 292 tons (bm), launched at Shields in 1800. Her master was listed as Rennison, changing to Whittaker, and her owner was Wilson & Co. She was a Cowes transport and was armed with six 18-pounder carronades.[8]
↑ On the way to Canton Jacob Jones, John Roberts, master, captured two vessels off the coast of Borneo that were carrying Bengal opium. Jacob Jones took the opium on board and let her prey go. At Canton she could have sold it, but to avoid suit in American courts brought the opium back with her to Boston. There the opium was condemned as a lawful prize to Jacob Jones's owners; they sold the opium to be smuggled back to China.[9] The two British vessels, both coming from Penang, were the ship Adele and the brig Bourwan. Adele was carrying gold dust and Bourwan opium. Jacob Jones captured Adele in Pontianak harbour. The cargoes sold for $90,000 on Jacob Jones's return to Boston and represented "one of the greatest voyages ever made from the United States."[20]
The Old China Trade refers to the early commerce between the Qing Empire and the United States under the Canton System, spanning from shortly after the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 to the Treaty of Wanghia in 1844. The Old China Trade represented the beginning of relations between the United States and East Asia, including eventually U.S.–China relations. The maritime fur trade was a major aspect of the Old China Trade, as was illegal trafficking in opium. The trade era overlapped the First Opium War, which resulted from an attempt by China to enforce its prohibition on opium smuggling by Western traders and blockade-runners.
Chasseur was a Baltimore Clipper commanded by Captains Pearl Durkee, William Wade (1813) and Thomas Boyle (1814-1815). She was one of the best equipped and crewed American privateers during the War of 1812.
HMS Doris was a 36-gun Perseverance-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy that served between 1808 and 1829.
USS Rattlesnake was the brig Rambler built in Medford, Massachusetts, in 1812 that the United States Navy purchased in July 1813. Rattlesnake captured numerous British merchant vessels before HMS Leander captured her in mid-1814. The Royal Navy apparently purchased her at Nova Scotia, but there is no record of her subsequent career.
HMS Curlew (1812) was a Royal Navy Cruizer class brig-sloop built by (William) Good & Co., at Bridport and launched in 1812. She served with the Navy for only 10 years. During the War of 1812 she sailed from Halifax and captured several American privateers. Her greatest moment was her role in the 1819 British occupation of Ras Al Khaimah, leading to the signature of the General Maritime Treaty of 1820, which established the Trucial States, today the United Arab Emirates. Curlew was sold in 1822 in Bombay. She then had a 13 or so year career as an opium runner for James Matheson, one of the founders of the firm Jardine Matheson.
When HMS Maidstone and HMS Spartan captured the American privateer Rapid in 1812, the Royal Navy took her into service as the 14-gun gun-brig HMS Nova Scotia. She was renamed HMS Ferret in 1813 and sold in 1820.
The Dutch corvette Scipio was launched in 1784. She convoyed Dutch East Indiamen between the Cape of Good Hope and Europe until HMS Psyche captured her at Samarang in 1807. The British Royal Navy initially referred to her as HMS Scipio, but then renamed her to HMS Samarang in 1808. She was not commissioned in the Royal Navy. She was instrumental in the capture of Amboyna and especially Pulo Ay, and participated in the invasion of Java (1811). She was sold at Bombay in 1814. She then entered mercantile service, sailing between Liverpool and India until 1827. She became an opium trader sailing between India and Canton, and was broken up near Hong Kong in August 1833.
Carron was launched at Bombay Dockyard in July 1792. She was a country ship that made several voyages for the British East India Company (EIC) before the Royal Navy purchased her in 1804 to use as a fifth-rate frigate, and renamed Duncan. In 1807 the Navy renamed her Dover. She was wrecked off Madras on 2 May 1811.
HMS Cruizer was a Snake-class ship-sloop launched in 1828 for the British Royal Navy. The ship was built as a revival of the retired Snake-class ship-sloops. The Navy converted her to a brig in 1831, back to a ship in 1840, and sold her at Bombay in 1849.
Porcher was launched in 1799 at Calcutta. She made one voyage for the British East India Company (EIC) from Bengal to England. A French privateer captured her in 1802, which gave rise to a case in French courts about the validity of the capture given the impending Treaty of Amiens. The French courts condemned her in prize and new owners in Bordeaux named her Ville de Bordeaux. The British recaptured her in 1804. Thereafter she traded between England and India as a licensed ship. In 1809 she sailed to England where in 1810 new owners renamed her Cambridge. As Cambridge she made three voyages for the EIC as an extra ship. In 1818 she was again sold with her new owners continuing to sail her to the Far East as a licensed ship. She then made two more voyages to India for the EIC. In 1840 she was sold to an American trading house at Canton, and then to the Qing Dynasty, which purchased her for the Imperial Chinese Navy. The British Royal Navy destroyed her on 27 February 1841 during the Battle of First Bar at the onset of the First Opium War.
Hebe, built in Hull in 1810, made two notable voyages, one voyage as an extra ship for the British East India Company (EIC), and one voyage transporting convicts to New South Wales. In between, an American privateer captured Hebe, but the British Royal Navy recaptured her. Hebe was wrecked in 1833.
Houghton was launched in 1782 and made six voyages as an East Indiaman for the British East India Company (EIC). In 1794 she was part of an EIC squadron that had some success against French privateers and naval vessels in the Sunda Strait, and then in 1796 she participated as a transport in the British capture of St Lucia. She was sold in 1799 and her owner took her out to India to work in the tea trade between India and China. She foundered in 1803.
Nonsuch was launched at Calcutta in 1781 as the first large vessel built there. She was designed to serve as either a merchantman or a man-of-war. She spent the first 12 years of her career as a merchant vessel, carrying opium to China amongst other cargoes. After the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793 her owner frequently hired her out as an armed ship to the British East India Company (EIC). She participated in an engagement with a French naval squadron and recaptured an East Indiaman. She also made two voyages for the EIC. After the Peace of Amiens in 1802 the EIC paid her off; as she was being hauled into a dockyard for repairs she was damaged and the decision was taken to break her up.
Morley was a merchantman launched in 1811 at Deptford as a West Indiaman. In 1813 she was under contract to the Transport Board when she captured an American vessel, which capture gave rise to an interesting court case. In early 1815 an American letter of marque captured, plundered, and released her. She then made six voyages to Australia transporting convicts. On her fifth voyage she introduced whooping-cough to Australia. After her sixth voyage she sailed to China and then brought a cargo back to England for the British East India Company (EIC). She continued to sail to Australia and elsewhere and is last listed in 1855.
Several ships have been named Swallow for the bird Swallow:
Star was launched in New York in 1812. She was captured in 1813 and first appears in the Register of Shipping (RS) in 1814. In 1815 she sailed to Batavia under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). On her way back a privateer from the United States captured her in a notable single-ship action and then sent her into New York.
HMS Esk was a Cyrus-class ship-sloop launched at Ipswich in 1813. During the War of 1812 she captured one United States privateer, and fought an inconclusive action with another. Between 1825 and 1827 Esk was part of the West Africa Squadron, engaged in suppressing the trans-Atlantic slave trade, during which period she captured a number of slave ships. A prize she had taken also engaged in a notable single ship action. The Royal Navy sold Esk in 1829. Green, Wigram, and Green purchased her and between 1829 and 1845 she made four voyages in the British southern whale fishery as the whaler Matilda.
References
Binney, Amos (1822) Documents Relative to the Investigation, by Order of the Secretary of the Navy, of the Official Conduct of Amos Binney, United States Navy Agent at Boston: Upon the Charges Made by Lieutenant Joel Abbot and Others. (Phelps and Farnham).
Brooks, Charles, & William Henry Whitmore (1855) History of the Town of Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts: From Its First Settlement, in 1630, to the Present Time, 1855. (J.M. Usher)
Coggeshall, George (1856). History of the American Privateers, and Letters-Of-Marque. New York.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Dennett, Tyler (1921) Americans in Eastern Asia: A Critical Study of the Policy of the United States with Reference to China, Japan and Korea in the 19th Century. (Macmillan)
Emmons, George Foster (1853). The navy of the United States, from the commencement, 1775 to 1853; with a brief history of each vessel's service and fate ... Comp. by Lieut. George F. Emmons ... under the authority of the Navy Dept. To which is added a list of private armed vessels, fitted out under the American flag ... also a list of the revenue and coast survey vessels, and principal ocean steamers, belonging to citizens of the United States in 1850. Washington: Gideon & Co.
Gleason, Hall (1929). "Old ships and ship building days of Medford". Medford Historical Register. 32 (1): 10–16.
Gleason, Hall (1938) Old Ships and Ship-building Days of Medford, 1630-1873. (J.C. Miller, Jr.).
Morrison, Samuel Eliot (1822) The Maritime History of Massachusetts, 1783-1860. (Houghton Mifflin)
Report from the Select Committee Appointed to Consider of the Means of Maintaining and Improving the Foreign Trade of the Country, Volume 3. (1821).
Stelle, Charles C. (1940), "American Trade in Opium to China, Prior to 1820", in Pacific Historical Review, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp.425–444.
Sweetman, Jack (1993) New Interpretations in Naval History: Selected Papers from the Tenth Naval History Symposium Held at the United States Naval Academy, 11–13 September 1991. (Naval Institute Press).
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