|
The hired armed schooner ''Lady Charlotte'' served the British Royal Navy on contract between 28 October 1799 and 28 October 1801. She had a burthen of 120 tons (bm), and was armed with twelve 12-pounder carronades.〔Winfield (2008), p.390.〕 As a hired armed vessel she captured a privateer and recaptured a number of British merchant vessels. After her service with the Royal Navy, she apparently sailed as a letter of marque until the French captured her in 1806. ==Hired armed vessel== She may have been re-rigged as a brig early in her career as most of the mentions of her refer to her as a the "hired brig Lady Charlotte". In 1799 to 1800 she was under the command of Lieutenant S. Halliday.〔''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 2, p. 640.〕 In January 1801, ''Lady Charlotte'' was under the command of Lieutenant Goerge Morris. That month she captured the brig ''D'Eendraght''. On 11 February, ''Lady Charlotte'' was in Plymouth Sound when she sighted a vessel and gave chase. Eventually ''Lady Charlotte'' was able to capture the lugger ''Espoir''. ''Espoir'' was armed with two brass 4-pounder and four iron 2-pounder guns, and had a crew of 23 men. She was two days out of Cherbourg and had not taken any prizes. Because of the strength of the wind, ''Lady Charlotte'' was not able to take prisoners off nor put a prize crew on board so she escorted her prize into port. Around 18 March, HMS ''Scout'' was in company with the hired armed vessels ''Sheerness'' and ''Lady Charlotte'' when they captured a large Dutch East Indiaman off St Alban's Head. She was the ''Crown Prince'', of 1,400 tons and 18 guns, and had been sailing from China to Copenhagen with a cargo of tea.〔''Naval Chronicle'' (Jan-Jun 1801), Vol. 5, p.275.〕 Because ''Sheerness'' and ''Lady Charlotte'' had sailed under Admiral Milbanke's orders, he and Admiral Hollowly were entitled to a share of the cargo, which was of "immense value".〔''Naval Chronicle'' (Jan-Jun 1801), Vol. 5, p.278.〕 On 29 March ''Lady Charlotte'' went in chase of the brig ''Friendship'', which had been sailing from London to Dublin when a French privateer had taken her off Portland. ''Sheerness'' captured the privateer ''Pluton'', the privateer in question, some six leagues north of La Hogue. The hired armed cutter ''Union'' recaptured ''Friendship'' on the night of the 29th. On 20 April, ''Lady Charlotte'' and ''Sheerness'' left Portland roads and after receiving a signal of an enemy off the coast, both vessels sailed southward as ''Lady Charlotte'' had information that a privateer had captured a schooner in the area. As it turned out, ''Sheerness'' sighted an enemy lugger privateer and her prize, and set out in chase. ''Sheerness'' dispatched her gig after the prize, which the gig captured off Alderney the next day. ''Sheerness'' herself captured the privateer, which turned out to be the ''Prefet de la Manche''. She was armed with sixteen 2-pounder guns and had a crew of 49 men under the command of Captain Le Froment. The prize the gig recaptured was the schooner ''Soker'', of Colchester, which had been sailing in ballast. The winds were such that ''Lady Charlotte'' was unable to go to ''Sheerness''s assistance, and instead sent her boats after three brigs and a sloop that ''Prefet de la Mouche'' had captured. At the approach of ''Lady Charlotte''s boats the prize crews took to their boats, abandoning their prizes and enabling ''Princess Charlotte'' to recapture all. The only one Morris was able to identify was the ''Generous Friends'', a brig of about 200 tons carrying a cargo of lead.〔 ''Lloyd's List'' gives the names of the merchant vessels that ''Sheerness'' and ''Lady Charlotte'' captured and sent into Plymouth as: *''Goodwill'', Pycett, master; *''Generous Friends'', Elsay, master; *''Vigilant'', Arters, master, sailing from Liverpool to London; *''Friendship'', Folly, master, sailing from Plymouth to Ipswich; and *''Soskin'', Howard, master, sailing from Falmouth to Swanage.〔''Lloyd's List'', no. 4145, () - accessed 10 July 2015.〕 ''Lloyd's List'' locates all the captures near Lynne, and attributes them to ''Prefet de la Manche''. ''Prefet de la Mouche'' also captured the ''Flora'', Cummings, master, as she was sailing from Dartmouth to Guernsey.〔 Unfortunately, as ''Sheerness'' chased ''Prefet de la Manche'', a spent cannonball that ''Sheerness'' had fired in chase entered ''Prefet de la Manche'' and killed Arters, of ''Vigilant'', and wounded another Englishman, both of whom were having dinner with the captain of the privateer at the time.〔 Around 20 April, the revenue cutter ''Greyhound'', Captain Wilkinson, captured the French privateer lugger ''Petit Pirate'' (or ''Petit Pirrate''), Captain Anselm Septan, and brought her into Weymouth. ''Petite Pirate'' was armed with four carronades (though pierced for 12 guns), and had a crew of 23 or 24 men. She was three days out of Saint-Malo.〔''Lloyd's List'', no.4146,() - accessed 10 July 2015.〕 The ''Naval Chronicle'' credits ''Lady Charlotte'' and Lieutenant Morris with the capture of ''Petite Pirate'', which she brought into Plymouth on 26 April.〔''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 5, p.458.〕〔 It is quite possible that ''Lady Charlotte'' escorted ''Petit Pirate'' from Weymouth to Plymouth, giving rise to an incorrect attribution of capture that persisted into the various biographies of Admiral George Morris.〕 On 2 October Morris sent into Plymouth the Danish brig ''Ammeotta'', Muslion, master. She was sailing from Riga to Ferrol with a cargo of flax. She was set free and proceeded on her voyage.〔''Naval Chronicle'', vol. 6, p.342.〕 ''Lady Charlotte'' came into Plymouth on 4 November and was paid off.〔''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 6, p.429.〕 Lieutenant Morris's received promotion to Commander in April 1802. In October 1803 he commissioned the brig HMS ''Penguin'' for the West Coast of Africa. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hired armed schooner Lady Charlotte」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|
