HMS ''Barbuda'' was commissioned into the
Royal Navy in 1780 after having briefly served as an American privateer. ''Barbuda'' was one of the two sloops that captured
Demerara and
Essequibo Essequibo is the largest traditional region of Guyana but not an administrative region of Guyana today. It may also refer to:
* Essequibo River, the largest river in Guyana
* Essequibo (colony), a former Dutch colony in what is now Guyana;
* Esseq ...
in 1781, but the
French Navy captured her there in 1782 and took her into service as ''Barboude''. The French Navy sold her to private owners in 1786, and she served briefly as a privateer in early 1793 before the French Navy purchased her again and named her ''Légère''. She served them until mid-1796 when the
Royal Navy captured her and took her into service as HMS ''Legere''. She was wrecked off the coast of Colombia, without loss of life, in February 1801.
''Charming Sally''
British records state that HMS ''Barbuda'' was the Massachusetts vessel ''Charming Sally''. HMS ''Boreas'' sent ''Charming Sally'' into English Harbour, Antigua in November 1780. ''Charming Sally'' does not appear to have belonged to the
Massachusetts Naval Militia. Nor was she the Massachusetts privateer
''Charming Sally'' that participated in the disastrous, for the Americans,
Penobscot Expedition and whose crew had to scuttle her on 14 August 1779 to prevent the British capturing her. The name ''Barbuda'' suggests that the vessel was captured in the West Indies. It is also suggestive of a name other than ''Charming Sally'', one that was either that of an existing British warship, or one honouring an American leader or battle victory.
HMS ''Barbuda''
The Royal Navy commissioned ''Barbuda'' on 11 December 1780 under Commander Francis Pender.
On 27 February 1781 ''Barbuda'' and
HMS ', which
Admiral Lord Rodney had sent from
St Eustatius, appeared at
Demerara. In March, the sloops accepted the surrender of "Colony of Demarary and the River Essequebo". Shortly before they arrived,
six British privateers had raided Essequibo Essequibo is the largest traditional region of Guyana but not an administrative region of Guyana today. It may also refer to:
* Essequibo River, the largest river in Guyana
* Essequibo (colony), a former Dutch colony in what is now Guyana;
* Esseq ...
and Demerara, captured sixteen Dutch ships, and forced the ''de facto'' surrender of the colonies. When ''Barbuda'' and ' arrived there were still four vessels (two Dutch and two American) at Demerara, and 11 vessels (Dutch and Spanish) at
Essequibo Essequibo is the largest traditional region of Guyana but not an administrative region of Guyana today. It may also refer to:
* Essequibo River, the largest river in Guyana
* Essequibo (colony), a former Dutch colony in what is now Guyana;
* Esseq ...
.
On 3 February 1782 a squadron of five French ships led by the frigate
''Iphigénie'' captured Demerara and Essequibo. The French were sighted on 30 January and Commander William Tarhoudin, the senior naval officer, moved his squadron downriver. However, the French landed troops and as these moved towards Demerara, the British forces facing them retreated, forcing Tarhoudin to pull back his vessels also. On 1 February the British asked for terms of capitulation, with the actual capitulation taking place on 3 February. The French seized six vessels of the Royal Navy: the 20-gun ''
Orinoque'' (Commander William Tahourdin), 16-gun ''Barbuda'', 18-gun ''Sylph'' (Commander Lawrence Graeme), 16-gun (Commander Christmas Paul), and 16-gun brig ''Rodney'' (Lieutenant John Douglas Brisbane).
Rodney was furious that six British "frigates" and a fort had surrendered to five French ships. The subsequent court martial of the captains exonerated all, and Tahourdin, Pender, and Paul went on to achieve
post rank.
French peacetime service
The French Navy took ''Barbuda'' into service as ''Barboude''. The Navy then sold her in 1786 at
Brest, where she became the merchantman ''Inabordable''; at the start of the
French Revolutionary Wars she served for a few months as a privateer. In May 1793 the Navy re-acquired her at Havre and in June named her ''Légère''.
French corvette
Between 22 September and 8 January 1794 she was under the command of ''lieutenant de vaisseau'' Carpentier jr. She sailed between
Hougue roads and Cherbourg, Brest and Cherbourg, and escorted a convoy from Cherbourg to
Saint Malo. apparently, in December 1793 she was caught in a storm off Cherbourg and grounded on the
Contentin peninsula in Normandy. Still, clearly the French Navy refloated her.
Between 13 January 1794 and 18 November, Carpentier remained in command and between 14 January and 20 August ''Légère'' escorted convoys between
Barfleur and
Brest.
Between 29 December and 29 May 1795 ''Légère'' was initially at Brest. She then participated in the
Croisière du Grand Hiver. She returned to Brest, and then cruised off
Cap Ortegal. Carpentier then sailed her to
Groix, and back to Brest.
''Légère'' left Brest on 4 June 1796 in company with three frigates. During her cruise she had captured six prizes.
[ She was still under Carpentier's command.
On 23 June, and captured ''Légère'', of twenty-two 9-pounder guns and 168 men. The two British frigates encountered her at . After a 10-hour chase the British frigates finally caught up with her; a few shots were exchanged and then ''Légère'', outnumbered and outgunned, struck.]
HMS ''Legere''
The Royal Navy commissioned ''Legere'' in November 1797 under Commander Joshua Watson. Commander Cornelius Quinton replaced Watson in March 1798 and next month sailed for Jamaica.
On 13 December 1799 ''Legere'' recaptured the brig ''Mercury''.
In January or February 1800, ''Legere'' captured the 2-gun privateer ''Petite Victoire''. She had a crew of 52 men and was sailing in ballast. ''Legere'' shared the proceeds of the capture with . She also shared in the proceeds of ''Pelican''s capture of the privateer ''Actif''.
Between 1 March 1800 and 19 May, ''Legere'' captured three vessels:
*a Spanish schooner, which was sailing from Maracaibo to Curacoa with a cargo of fustic
Fustic is a common name for several plants and a dye produced from these plants:
* A dye made from ''Maclura tinctoria
''Maclura tinctoria'', known as old fustic and dyer's mulberry, is a medium to large tree of the Neotropics, from Mexico to ...
;
*a Dutch schooner sailing from "Acquin" to Curacoa with coffee; and,
*a Spanish felucca carrying cocoa.
''Legere'' captured two more schooners after that. On 20 May she captured the ''Aurora''. Then on 19 August ''Leger'' captured a schooner of unknown name.
Fate
''Legere'' was wrecked near Cartagena, Colombia
Cartagena ( , also ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, bordering the Caribbean sea. Cartagena's past role as a link ...
, on 2 February 1801. She had been cruising off the coast when the weather worsened and the waves broke over her. Her pumps kept up until about 2a.m. when a wave loosened a plank and she started to fill with water. Quinton sailed towards land as the crew threw guns, stores, and an anchor overboard to lighten her. At 3p.m. she anchored in "Samba Bay" (or "Jamba Bay"), east of Cartagena. She was clearly sinking so her crew set fire to her and took to her boats. After six days the boats reached Cartagena. There the British became prisoners of war.
On 8 July 1801 at Jamaica the customary court martial acquitted Captain Quinton, his officers, and crew of the loss of ''Legere''.
Notes, citations and references
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbuda (1780)
1770s ships
American Revolutionary War ships of the United States
Privateer ships of the United States
Captured ships
Corvettes of the French Navy
Sloops of the Royal Navy
Maritime incidents in 1801
Shipwrecks in the Caribbean Sea