USS Sea Horse (1812)

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History
US flag 15 stars.svgUnited States
NameUSS Sea Horse
Acquired1812 by purchase
Homeport New Orleans
FateScuttled; December 13, 1814
General characteristics
Type Schooner
Complement14 officers and crew
Armament1 × 6-pounder gun [1]

The first USS Sea Horse was a one-gun schooner that the Navy purchased in 1812 for service on Lake Borgne, near New Orleans, Louisiana. It is claimed she was one of 15 vessels[ citation needed ] available to Commodore Daniel Todd Patterson in New Orleans at the outbreak of war with Britain in 1812. The Sea Horse and USS Alligator accompanied a squadron of five gunboats at the end of 1814. In addition to these vessels, there was also a further gunboat at Fort St. Philip, as well as the USS Carolina (1812) and USS Louisiana (1812). [2]

Contents

She saw action as a tender to a squadron of gunboats, under the command of Lieutenant Thomas ap Catesby Jones, that in December 1814 opposed the British advance on New Orleans. [3] [ self-published source ] On the afternoon of December 13, 1814, at 2:00pm Jones dispatched Sea Horse to a store house, to remove its contents, to prevent capture by the British. [4]

At 3:45pm, Sea Horse was moored at Bay St Louis next to a store house and a battery of two 6–pounder cannons. The schooner, with assisted by the battery, [5] fired on three approaching launches with grapeshot, forcing them to retire out of range. Sea Horse faced a subsequent attack by four more launches as reinforcements, commanded by Captain Samuel Roberts of HMS Meteor. [6] This renewed attack was "repulsed after sustaining for nearly half an hour a very destructive fire." [7] In the face of superior numbers, Sea Horse was scuttled and the store was set alight, an explosion occurring at 7:30pm with a large fire being visible thereafter. [5] [8] Jones subsequently confirmed that he had permitted Sailing Master William Johnson, her commanding officer, to destroy Sea Horse to prevent her being captured. [9]

See also

Citations

  1. "U. S. Naval Squadron—New Orleans, 1814".
  2. Daughan (2011), p. 377.
  3. Carstens, Patrick (2011). Searching For the Forgotten War - 1812: United States of America. Xlibris. ISBN   978-1456867539.
  4. Roosevelt (1900), p. 74.
  5. 1 2 Letter from Jones to Patterson dated 12 March 1815, within Brannan (ed). pp.487-490
  6. Reilly (1974), p. 224.
  7. Roosevelt (1900), p. 77.
  8. Daughan (2011), p. 379.
  9. Brown (1969), p. 78.

References