HMS Columbia (1812)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Commissioned | 16 July 1812 |
| Captured | 24 July 1812 |
 United Kingdom | |
| Acquired | 1812 by purchase of a prize |
| Fate | Sold 1820 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Tons burthen | 278,[2] or 29412⁄94 (bm) |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 26 ft 3 in (8.0 m) |
| Depth of hold | 13 ft 0 in (4.0 m) |
| Complement |
|
| Armament |
|
HMS Columbia was the United States privateer brig Curlew, which the British Royal Navy captured in 1812 and took into service as HMS Columbia. The Navy sold her in 1820.
Capture
[edit]On 24 July 1812 HMS Acasta captured the privateer Curlew 44°15′N 62°30′W / 44.250°N 62.500°W.[3] Curlew, of 240 tons, was pierced for 18 guns but carried only sixteen, and had a complement of 172 men;[4][a] She was under the command of Captain William Wyer.[6]
Curlew arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia at the end of July.[7]
Royal Navy
[edit]The Royal Navy took Curlew into service as HMS Columbia. In March 1813 she was under the command of Lieutenant John Kinsman.[1] On 28 May Commander Henry Chads replaced Kinsman. Columbia then brought home a number of invalids from Halifax.[8]
Columbia underwent fitting at Portsmouth between 19 November 1813 and 18 April 1814.[1] She then sailed for the Leeward Islands.
On 4 December 1814 Columbia captured the United States schooner Dolphin, of 62 tons, one gun, and 20 men.[9] Dolphin, under the command of Captain A. Johnson, of Massachusetts, apparently had accomplished little.[10]
Columbia participated in the Invasion of Guadeloupe (1815). On 8 August 1815 Columbia, under the command of Captain Fleming, was part of the British force that captured Guadeloupe from Bonaparte loyalists. French Royalist troops from Martinique, two corvettes, and a schooner assisted the British. Columbia, Fairy, and Barbadoes covered the landing of the troops; they helped silence a shore battery and drive the defenders back from the beach. Columbia, Chanticleer, and Muros then supported a third landing on a different part of the island.[11][b]
Fate
[edit]Columbia was paid off and went into Ordinary in November 1815. The Navy sold her there on 13 January 1820.[1]
Notes
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ a b c d Winfield (2008), p. 322.
- ^ Kert (2015), Appendix 2.
- ^ "No. 16647". The London Gazette. 19 September 1812. p. 1907.
- ^ "No. 16644". The London Gazette. 8 September 1812. p. 1837.
- ^ "No. 17411". The London Gazette. 24 October 1818. p. 1901.
- ^ Vice-Admiralty Court (1911), p. 108.
- ^ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 4702. 15 September 1812. hdl:2027/hvd.32044105232920.
- ^ Marshall (1831), pp. 254–254.
- ^ "No. 17003". The London Gazette. 15 April 1815. p. 701.
- ^ Maclay (2004), p. 469, fn.
- ^ "No. 17062". The London Gazette. 18 September 1815. pp. 1913–1914.
- ^ "No. 17183". The London Gazette. 19 October 1816. p. 1997.
References
[edit]- Kert, Faye M. (2015). Privateering: Patriots and Profits in the War of 1812. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 72. ISBN 9781421417479.
- Maclay, Edgar Stanton (2004) [1899]. A History of American Privateers. New York: D. Appleton.
- Marshall, John (1831). . Royal Naval Biography. Vol. 3, part 1. London: Longman and company. pp. 237–255.
- Vice-Admiralty Court, Halifax (1911). American vessels captured by the British during the revolution and war of 1812. Salem, Mass.: Essex Institute.
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.