Talk:HMS Anaconda (1813)

Military history: Maritime / British / European / Napoleonic era

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Move

Recommend moving the article to Anaconda (1812). Acad Ronin (talk) 13:18, 17 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

unclear

The article currently says:

On 16 January 1812, while Captain Shaler was ashore on business, Anaconda's first lieutenant, George W. Burbank, encountered the American schooner Commodore Hull and fired a broadside into her, seriously wounding her commander, before realizing his mistake. A court martial, however, absolved Burbank from blame.

The War of 1812 didn't start until June of 1812. So, in June of 1812 the Anaconda, a privately owned American vessel, would not have been a privateer. Merchant vessels don't have a "first lieutenant", they have a "first mate". Was the second in command of a privateer ever called the first lieutenant? I dunno, maybe, as an affectation. It is my impression however that they were still called "first mate".

Second, why in the name of heck would she be firing on another vessel, in peacetime?

What I suspect is that whoever first drafted this passage put the wrong date. Maybe the incident was in January 1813?

Some privateers were former fast slave-carrying vessels, converted to privateering. Others were purpose built, as privateers. If RS support that Anaconda was purpose built as a privateer then the article should definitely say so. Geo Swan (talk) 23:51, 5 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]