| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | Rover |
| Launched | 1786, Poole |
| Fate | Wrecked in 1795 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 139 (bm) |
Rover was launched in 1786 in Poole. She spent her brief career sailing to Newfoundland from England, and returning via Spain, having delivered fish (probably salt cod). In 1793 a French privateer captured her, but a British letter of marque quickly recaptured her. She was lost in 1795 while delivering fish from Newfoundland to Spain.
Rover first appeared in Lloyd's List (LR) in 1786. [1]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1786 | Thomas Adey | Carter & Co. | Portsmouth–Newfoundland | LR |
Lloyd's List reported in March 1793 that the British privateer Hope, Roscow, master, had captured Generoux, of 200 tons, which had been sailing from Toulon to Brest with a cargo of wine, etc. Hope also recaptured Rover, Adey, master, of Poole, which had been sailing from Malaga to London. [2] After her recapture, Rover went into Lisbon.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1795 | T. Adey | Carter & Co. | London–Newfoundland | LR |
Lloyd's List reported in January 1795 that Rover, Adey, master, had been coming from Newfoundland when she was totally lost in Cadiz Bay. Her crew were saved. She had been carrying a cargo of fish. [3]
| Shipwrecks |
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|---|---|
| Other incidents |
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Alexander was launched in 1800 at Hull, or actually further up the River Ouse at Selby, and probably under another name. From 1807 on she was a West Indiaman. She was wrecked on 19 May 1820 while sailing to Honduras.
Robust was built in France in 1779. The British captured her in 1781 and she was registered at Liverpool in 1783. She first entered Lloyd's Register in 1789 as whaler in the northern whale fishery. Then in December 1788 she left on the first of three voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. On her third voyage as a slave ship Robust captured a French slave ship and recaptured two British slave ships that a French privateer had captured earlier. After her third voyage as a slaver owners shifted her registry to Bristol and she then made two voyages to the southern whale fishery. She returned from the second voyage in 1797 and is last listed in 1798.
Auguste was a French 14-gun privateer commissioned in Saint-Malo in November 1811 under Pierre Jean Marie Lepeltier. She captured numerous British merchant vessels before the Royal Navy forced her in January 1814 to run onshore and wreck.
Général Pérignon was a brig launched at Saint-Malo in February 1804 as a privateer. She captured numerous British merchant vessels over several cruises. In January 1810 the British Royal Navy captured her. She was sold in March 1810 and became a coaster sailing between Plymouth and London under her original name, or as Intention. She was last listed in 1816.
The French brig Gironde was launched at Rochefort in 1793 as a Dédaigneuse-class gun-brig of the French Navy. In 1797 she was struck from the lists and sold. She became a privateer operating out of Bordeaux. The British Royal Navy captured her in 1800 but never commissioned her; it sold her in 1801.
Clermont was launched at in 1786, or 1787 in South Carolina, or New York. She spent almost her entire career sailing between Britain and North America. In 1798 a French privateer captured her but a British slaver homeward-bound recaptured her. She was last listed around 1808, at which time she had been sailing as a London-based coaster
Harriot (or Harriott}was launched in Liverpool in 1786. For many years she was a West Indiaman, sailing between Liverpool and Barbados. In 1796 a French frigate captured her, but the British Royal Navy quickly recaptured her. She became a slave ship. At the beginning of her of her first slave trading voyage a French privateer captured her, and again the Royal Navy quickly recaptured her. She made five slave trading voyages in all. Thereafter she traded with South America. She was last listed in 1814 with stale data.
Agreeable was launched at Bermuda in 1786, probably under a different name. French owners acquired her at some point and sailed her as Agréable. In 1793 the British captured her. Subsequently, between 1793 and 1808, she made six voyages as a slave ship, alternating between the triangular trade in enslaved people, and sailing as a regular West Indiaman. French privateers captured her between the second and third voyages, and the third and fourth voyages, but each time the British Royal Navy recaptured her. In the case of the second capture she was in French hands long enough for them to send her out as a privateer. She herself captured an American vessel in 1808 as she was returning to Liverpool from her last enslaving voyage. After the end of British participation in trans-Atlantic enslaving trade, Agreeable traded more widely, particularly to South America. She was condemned at Buenos Aires in 1814 after running aground in the River Plate. She was repaired and continue to sail to Brazil until she returned to Liverpool in June 1819.
Cadiz Dispatch was launched at Liverpool in 1785. Until 1791 she traded between London and Spain. From 1791 she made two voyages as a slave ship. On the second she was subject first to a maritime incident and then to an unsuccessful slave insurrection. Still, she delivered her cargo of slaves to St Vincent. She was condemned at Tortola on her way home.
Little Joe was launched in 1784 in Liverpool as a slave ship. She made six complete voyages from Liverpool in the Atlantic triangular slave trade. On her seventh voyage a French privateer captured her, but a British letter of marque recaptured her. She did not return to the slave trade and was last listed in 1795.
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.
Hope was launched in 1792 at Plymouth. In 1793 She had a successful cruise as a privateer, capturing or recapturing some five vessels. On her return to England her owners sold her and she became the Spanish packet Esperanza, sailing between England and Spain. With the outbreak of war between Britain and Spain in 1796 Esperanza disappeared from the registers.
Several vessels have been named Rover:
Tartar was built in France in 1779, probably under another name, and taken in prize. She was in 1781 briefly a Bristol-based privateer. A French privateer captured her, but a British privateer recaptured her. She then became the merchantman Friends, and traded between Bristol and North America, primarily Newfoundland. Friends was last listed in 1793.
Biscayneer was a cutter launched in 1779. From at least 1781 on she was a privateer based in Dartmouth, Devon. She captured or recaptured several vessels before her owner-captain sold her in 1783 after the end of the American War of Independence. New owners renamed her Retreat. She was last listed in 1784.
Speights Town, was launched at Liverpool in 1784 as a West Indiaman, sailing between Liverpool an Barbados. She was wrecked in late 1794.
Chaser first appeared under that name in British records in 1786. She had been launched in 1771 at Philadelphia under another name, probably Lord North. Lord North became Cotton Planter, and then Planter, before she became Chaser. Between 1786 and 1790 Chaser made four voyages as a whaler in the British southern whale fishery. She then became a merchantman. In 1794 a privateer captured her but the Spanish recaptured her. She became a Liverpool-based Slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. In 1796 she was condemned in West Africa on her first voyage in the triangular trade before she could embark any enslaved people.
Oiseau was a privateer brig from Nantes, commissioned in May 1797. She had a short, but highly successful career. In her three to four months of cruising, before the Royal Navy captured her, Oiseau's captured eight prizes, seven of which were not recaptured. Her first prize required a single ship action. Her prizes had a cumulative value of Livres 1,168,150.
Three Williams was launched in 1803 at Teignmouth. She traded as a coaster and to Newfoundland. In 1814 a United States privateer captured her, but the Royal Navy recaptured her. She foundered on 8 June 1817.
