HM hired armed cutter Flora served the British Royal Navy under contract from 16 August 1794 until a French privateer captured her on 1 December 1798.
Flora was of 15786⁄94 tons (bm), and was armed with fourteen 4-pounder guns.[1]
Flora, Lieutenant James Reddy, and the hired armed cutter Stag captured the French privateer lugger Epervier.[2][Note 1] Flora had been reconnoitering Dunkirk when she captured Epervier, which was armed with two 2-pounder guns and six swivel guns. She had sailed from Havre de Grace on 5 May but had captured nothing. Flora arrived in The Downs on 15 May 1796.[4] Lloyd's List reported on 17 May 1796 that the cutter Flora had captured a French privateer of eight guns and 24 men. The lugger was from Havre and Flora sent her into Dover.[5]
Flora shared with Venerable, Repulse, Tamar, Clyde, and the cutter Princess Royal in the proceeds of the capture on 6 September of Hare.[6]
Flora captured Vriendshaft on the 19 February I797.[7]
On 11 February 1798, Flora, under the command of Lieutenant William Yawkins, captured the Spanish schooner Nuestra Senora del Carmen (alias Nimsa). The schooner had been sold at Lisbon.[8]
At some point Flora recaptured the Swedish brig Dorothea Frederica.[9]
Flora sailed to the Mediterranean where she spent time carrying despatches for Admiral Lord Nelson. On 11 September he sent her to Egypt and she returned on 25 October.[10] On 22 November, Flora was part of a squadron under Nelson that left Naples and sailed to Leghorn, arriving on the 28th. The British took possession of the town, as well as two armed polaccas and a merchant vessel.[11] Consequently, she shared with Vanguard, Culloden, Minotaur, and Terpsichorein the proceeds of the capture on 25 November of the Genoese corvettes Tigre and Eguaglianza off Leghorn.[12] The same vessels shared in the proceeds of the capture three days later of the Genoese polacca Nostra Signora del Carmine.[13]
Flora was under the command of Master William Yawkins on 1 December 1798 and en route to the Cape of Good Hope with mail and despatches when a French privateer captured her.[14] On 15 December Nelson, writing from Naples, mentioned that Flora had been lost.[15]
Notes edit
- ^ Epervier was an 18-ton "of load" privateer commissioned in Dunkirk in 1793 under Captain Charles Sausted, with 24 men and six guns. In 1796, she was under Jacques-François Leclerc with 2 guns and 18 to 26 men. Demerliac states she was captured in March 1796 off Dunkirk, but mistakes her captor for HMS Flora.[3]
Citations edit
- ^ Winfield (2008), p.388.
- ^ Steele (1805), p.18, #215.
- ^ Demerliac (2004), n°1644, p.211.
- ^ "No. 13893". The London Gazette. 17 May 1796. p. 475.
- ^ Lloyd's List №2820.
- ^ "No. 14062". The London Gazette. 4 November 1797. p. 1053.
- ^ "No. 15331". The London Gazette. 24 January 1801. p. 119.
- ^ "No. 15067". The London Gazette. 2 October 1798. p. 938.
- ^ "No. 15125". The London Gazette. 16 April 1799. p. 361.
- ^ Nicolas (1845), Vol. 3, p.164.
- ^ Nicolas (1845), Vol. 3, p.177.
- ^ "No. 15486". The London Gazette. 5 June 1802. p. 584.
- ^ "No. 15754". The London Gazette. 13 November 1804. p. 1400.
- ^ Hepper (1994), p. 89.
- ^ Nicolas (1845), Vol. 3, p.201.
References edit
- Demerliac, Alain (2004). La Marine de la Révolution: Nomenclature des Navires Français de 1792 A 1799 (in French). Éditions Ancre. ISBN 2-906381-24-1.
- Hepper, David J. (1994) British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650–1859. (Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot). ISBN 0-948864-30-3
- Nicolas, Nicholas Harris, sir (1845) The dispatches and letters of vice admiral ... Nelson, with notes by sir N.H. Nicolas, Volume 3.
- Steel, David (1805) Steel's Prize Pay Lists; new series ... Corrected to the first of April, 1805. (P. Steel).
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.