HMS ''Busy'' was launched in 1797 as the only member of her class of brig-sloops. She captured one French privateer and numerous small merchantmen, but spent most of her career escorting convoys to and from the West Indies. She foundered in 1806 while serving on the
Halifax, Nova Scotia, station.
Design
''Busy'' was the sole vessel of her class. Her designer was
John Henslow, and she was identical with his contemporaneous except that ''Busy'' was a
brig-sloop and ''Echo'' was a
ship-sloop
In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...
. Henslow's designs were in competition with Sir William Rule's designs for a brig-sloop () and a ship-sloop (). Rule's brig-sloop design won as the Admiralty ultimately ordered 106
''Cruizer''-class brig-sloops.
Career
In December 1797 Commander John Ackworth Ommanney (or Ommaney) commissioned ''Busy'' for the North Sea.
On 7 August 1798 and ''Busy'' intercepted off
Goree in the North Sea a Swedish convoy under the escort of . The British vessels demanded that the Swedes come into port to have their cargo inspected for enemy (French) cargo. Although Sweden was neutral, ''Ulla Fersen''s captain acceded to this demand as the two British vessels out-gunned ''Ulla Fersen'' and he wanted to avoid loss of life. As ''Busy'' was escorting the Swedish vessels into
The Downs they encountered a British squadron that had been searching for the Swedes. Ommanney then turned the convoy over to the British squadron. The Swedish merchant vessels were inspected, one was seized, and the rest departed. The vessel that was seized was ''Adelarde'', and ''Busy'' ended up sharing the prize money with at least ten other vessels.
On 29 July 1799 ''Busy'' was in company with the
hired armed lugger ''Fox'' when they captured ''Der Winter''. Then on 2 August they captured ''Vrow Rica'' and ''Neutralitrie'' and two days later ''Elizabeth''. On 10 August they detained ''Maximilan Fredericks''.
On 16 September 1799 ''Busy'' captured the French privateer
lugger ''Dragon'', of Dunkirk, as ''Dragon'' was coming from Norway. After a short chase along the Dutch coast, Ommaney drove her to anchor in heavy surf about five miles from Egmont.
[ Ten men of her crew that were British subjects tried to escape in one of her boats but eight of the men drowned when the boat upset in the surf. ''Dragon'', Citizen Liard, master, was armed with two with two 12-pounder carronades and fourteen 4-pounder guns, eight of which she had thrown overboard during the chase. Ommaney sent ''Dragon'' into Yarmouth.][''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 3, p.67.]
Then ''Busy'' took part in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland
The Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland (or Anglo-Russian expedition to Holland, or Helder Expedition) was a military campaign from 27 August to 19 November 1799 during the War of the Second Coalition, in which an expeditionary force of British and ...
in 1799. On 28 August 1799, the fleet captured several Dutch hulks and ships in the New Diep, in Holland. ''Babet'' was listed among the vessels qualifying to share in the prize money. Similarly, ''Busy'' was present at the subsequent Vlieter Incident on 30 August.
Between November and December ''Busy'' was back with her builders who were making good defects in her construction that had been discovered.
On 7 February 1800 ''Busy'' arrived at Portsmouth with a large convoy from The Downs. Then on 13 February ''Busy'' sailed for the Leeward Islands as one of the escorts for a fleet of 150 merchantmen.
While Ommanney was on the Leeward Island's Station, ''Busy'' captured or recaptured five vessels:
*26 April: sloop ''Lover'', of 98 tons (bm) and 7 men. She was of Saint croix and was sailing from Guadeluope to saint Croix with sugar and wine when ''busy'' captured her.
*10 May: schooner ''Wheel of Fortune'', of 34 tons (bm) and 6 men. She was sailing from Saint Bartholomew to Sandy Point, st Kitts, with a cargo of sundries.
*12 May: schooner ''Confiance'', of 52 tons and 11 men. She was of and from Saint Bartholomew and was sailing to Cayenne with naval stores.
*26 May: ship ''Britannia'', of 220 tons (bm) and 11 men. She was of and from New Brunswick and before ''Busy'' recaptured her she had been captured while sailing to Jamaica with lumber.
*19 June: schooner ''Industry'', of 69 tons (bm) and 6 men. She was of Middleton, North America, and before ''Busy'' recaptured her she had been sailing from New London to Martinique with a cargo of cattle when she had been captured.
By July Ommanney's health had deteriorated and he returned to England. The homeward fleet of 170 merchant vessels sailed from Jamaica on 1 August under escort by , ''Busy'', and two frigates.[Naval Database: ''Busy'', 1797.]
/ref> Lieutenant Viscount Falkland assumed command of ''Busy'' in September. He received promotion to Commander in January 1801. He captured ''San Telmo'', which was condemned at Martinique and sold at Trinidad on 21 September.
Circa 25 May 1802 Lieutenant G. Chamberlayne of , was appointed to command ''Busy'' ''pro tempore''. However, Chamberlyne died. A letter from Antigua dated 21 November reported that he had succumbed to yellow fever and that Lieutenant Thomas Church, of had replaced him in command of ''Busy''.[
Following the Peace of Amiens in March 1802, there was an announcement on 21 July that when they arrived from Jamaica, eight sail of the line, four frigates, and five sloops, including ''Busy'', would be laid up at Plymouth Dockyard.
On 22 March 1803 Lieutenant Timothy Clinch was promoted to Commander. He assumed command of ''Busy'', either in conjunction with his promotion or not long thereafter. Her role was the protection of the trade to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland.
Still, on 4 May 1803 ''Busy'' arrived at Barbados from Antigua. She sailed from there on 1 August as escort for the Leeward Islands convoy. On the way the convoy encountered a gale.][ The ships ''Eagle'' and ''Stanley'' were lost, though their crews were saved. ''Busy'' parted from the convoy and there were reports that she too had been lost. However, on 4 October ''The Times of London'' reported that ''Busy'' had arrived at ]Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
.
On 24 October ''Busy'', with the convoy for Newfoundland and Halifax, got under weigh at Portsmouth but brought to again when the wind dropped. They all sailed the following day with in company.
''Busy'' returned to Portsmouth on 28 November. She sailed for a cruise off Cherbourg with and on 27 January 1804 and returned on 12 February.
Captain Clinch sailed from Portsmouth for West Indies station on 13 April 1804. On 10 June he arrived at Barbados from Falmouth, having escorted about 46 vessels. On the 25th of June ''Busy'' recaptured an English ship with a cargo of sundries.
Fate
''Busy'', Lieutenant Richard Keilly, parted from a convoy on 4 December 1806, having left Halifax the previous day. She was not seen again and was presumed to have foundered with all hands.
Notes
Citations
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Busy (1797)
1797 ships
Sloops of the Royal Navy
Maritime incidents in 1807
Missing ships
Warships lost with all hands