USS ''Scorpion'' was a
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
of the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. She was the second USN ship to be named for the
scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
. The British captured her on 6 September 1814 and took her into service as HMS ''Confiance''. She was placed in
Ordinary in 1817 and broken up in 1831.
Career
''Scorpion'' was launched in the spring of 1813 at Presque Isle (now
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...
), probably by Noah Brown of New York, for service on the upper
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
.
''Scorpion'', commanded by Sailing Master
Stephen Champlin, first cousin to
Oliver Hazard Perry
Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an American naval commander, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The best-known and most prominent member
of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace A ...
, operated with Commodore Perry's squadron on
Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...
during the summer and fall of 1813.
On 10 September 1813, she participated in the battle off
Put-in-Bay
Put-in-Bay is a village located on South Bass Island in Put-in-Bay Township, Ottawa County, Ohio, United States, east of Toledo. The population was 154 at the 2020 census.
The village is a popular summer resort and recreational destinati ...
, Lake Erie, which resulted in the defeat and capture of the British fleet (see
Battle of Lake Erie
The Battle of Lake Erie, sometimes called the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, on Lake Erie off the shore of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of the Briti ...
). ''Scorpion'' had the distinction of firing the first and last shot in the battle in which she lost two men. At the close of the action, she and pursued and captured the fleeing British schooners and .
After Perry's victory, ''Scorpion'' assisted General
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...
's forces operating in the
Thames River
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
area, by transporting troops as well as stores and ammunition captured from the enemy.
During the winter of 1813 and 1814, she was laid up at Erie, Pennsylvania. From May 1814 to September 1814, ''Scorpion'' cruised on Lake Erie and
Lake Huron
Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...
, cooperating with the army in the Detroit area by transporting troops, staking out the flats through the
St. Clair River
The St. Clair River (french: Rivière Sainte-Claire) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 7, 2011 river in central North America which flows from Lake Huron int ...
, and blockading the enemy at the
Nottawasaga River
The Nottawasaga River is a river in Simcoe County and Dufferin County in Central Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, and is a tributary of Lake Huron. The river flows from the Orangeville Reservoir in the town of Orangeville, ...
and
Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called ''Ouentironk' ...
.
Capture and fate
On 6 September 1814, while on blockade duty on Lake Huron, ''Scorpion'', under command of
Daniel Turner, was
surprised and captured by the former American schooner, , which also had been taken by the British a few days earlier. Both vessels and prisoners were taken to
Fort Mackinac
Fort Mackinac ( ) is a former British and American military outpost garrisoned from the late 18th century to the late 19th century in the city of Mackinac Island, Michigan, on Mackinac Island. The British built the fort during the American Re ...
.
''Scorpion'' was subsequently taken into the British Navy as the four-gun schooner ''Confiance'', which along with ''Tigress'', according to local legend, was later sunk in
Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay (french: Baie Georgienne) is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To ...
, Lake Huron, off
Penetanguishene
Penetanguishene , sometimes shortened to Penetang, is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southeasterly tip of Georgian Bay. Incorporated on February 22, 1882, this bilingual (French and English) community has a populati ...
, Ontario. In fact both vessels were laid up and dismantled at Colborne Basin, Ontario.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Scorpion (1813)
Schooners of the United States Navy
War of 1812 ships of the United States
Great Lakes ships
War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom
Ships built in Erie, Pennsylvania
Vessels captured from the United States Navy
1813 ships