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.
| 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 |
|
Capture
editOn 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
editThe 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
editColumbia was paid off and went into Ordinary in November 1815. The Navy sold her there on 13 January 1820.[1]
Notes
editCitations
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.