HMS Colibri (1809)

HMS ''Colibri'' was the French naval ''Curieux''-class brig ''Colibri'', launched in 1808, that the British captured in 1809 and took into the Royal Navy under her existing name. She spent her time in British service on the North American station based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. During the War of 1812, ''Colibri'' served mostly in blockading the American coast and capturing privateers and merchant ships. She foundered in 1813 in Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, but without loss of life.

French service

Between 1 October and 14 December 1808, ''Colibri'' was under the command of ''lieutenant de vaisseau'' Deslandes, who sailed her from Havre to Cherbourg. In December or January he then left Cherbourg for San Domingo.

Capture

On 16 January 1809 '' Melampus'', under Captain Edward Hawker, captured ''Colibri'' off Barbuda, after her captain had the "temerity" to put up a fight as ''Melampus'' was sailing alongside. ''Colibri'' was armed with fourteen 24-pounder carronades and two 8-pounder guns, and had a crew of 92 men. In the engagement, ''Colibri'' had three men killed and 11 wounded before she struck. She was sailing from Cherbourg with a cargo of 570 barrels of flour and a great quantity of gunpowder intended for the relief of San Domingo. On her way she had captured and sunk two British brigs that had been sailing from Newfoundland to Lisbon, the ''Hannibal'' and the ''Priscilla'', both of Dartmouth. The Royal Navy took ''Colibri'' into service under her existing name.

British service

The British commissioned ''Colibri'' in October under Lieutenant Henry Jane. He received his promotion to Commander, a rank more in keeping with the size of his vessel, on 10 May 1810. In October 1809, Commander John Thomson replaced Jane. He remained in command until her loss in August 1813 apart from a short period between December 1812 and February 1813 when he acted as Port Captain in Halifax and George Brooke-Pechell held acting command.

''Colibri'' was in company with on 9 October 1810 when she captured ''Fortuna''.

On 15 March 1811, ''Colibri'' captured the American slaver ''Carolina'' (alias ''Atrevido'') off Amelia Island with some 200 slaves. ''Atrevido'', Ponce de Leon, master, was sailing from Loanga to Amelia Island; ''Colibri'' sent her into Nassau. Later, the Vice Admiralty Court in Bermuda appears to have decided that the vessel's putative Spanish nationality was fraudulent and that she was, in fact, American. The number of slaves freed at Nassau turned out to be 204.

On 25 March 1811, captured the Spanish vessel ''Empressa''. ''Colibri'' was either accompanying ''Little Belt'' or in sight of the capture and so shared in the prize money.

On 28 June 1812 ''Colibri'' was despatched from Halifax under a flag of truce to New York, carrying news that the Orders in Council had been repealed. On 9 July she anchored off Sandy-Hook, and three days later sailed on her return with a copy of the declaration of war, the British ambassador, Mr. Foster, and consul, Colonel Barclay. She then arrived in Halifax eight days later.

On 19 July ''Colibrie'' recaptured ''Fanny'', Colleton, master, which had been sailing from Port Glasgow to St Johns when originally captured. Her cargo was valued at £7,800.

On 23 July ''Colibri'' captured the U.S. privateer sloop'' Gleaner'', of Kennebunk, Maine, off Cape Sable. ''Gleaner'' was armed with six guns and had a crew of 40 men under the command of Captain N. Lord. She was on her first cruise.

On 24 July 1812, ''Colibri'' sighted three vessels off Cape Sable and gave chase to one, a schooner. When ''Colibri'' got close she exchanged signals with the schooner, which turned to be . ''Colibri'' then chased and took two other vessels, which turned out to be an American privateer and a bark, her prize. The privateer was ''Catherine''; eight days out of Boston; she had taken only the bark. ''Catherine'', under the command of Francis A. Burnham, was pierced for 16 guns but mounted fourteen 6-pounder guns and had a crew of 88 men. She had suffered one man killed and one wounded before she surrendered after a 15-minute action. Her casualties were low as the crew had taken refuge below decks. In contrast to Thomson's official report, one American newspaper reported that the action had lasted one and a half hours and that ''Colibri'' had six men killed and several wounded.

On 2 August 1812 ''Colibri'' met up with and reported that an American privateer was said to be sheltering nearby. The two set out together and as they approached the coast ''Emulous'' suddenly grounded. During the efforts to get her off, ''Colibri'' took off all non-essential crew and the prisoners she had on board. Shortly thereafter ''Emulous'' fell over onto her beam-ends and became unsalvageable. Her position was some 19 miles from Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia. This incident coincidentally foreshadowed ''Colibris own fate the following year.

On 11 August 1812 ''Colibri'' captured the American privateer schooner ''Polly'' in the Bay of Fundy. ''Polly'' was armed with four guns and had a crew of 35 men. That same day, ''Colibri'' was in company with for the capture of the American privateer ''Buckskin''.

The next day ''Colibri'' captured two more small American privateers, both off Cape Sable. One was the schooner ''Regulator''. She was armed with just one gun and had a crew of 40 men. The second was the ''Dolphin'', for which ''Colibri'' shared the capture with . ''Dolphin'' had two guns and a crew of 48 men. On 13 August ''Colibri'' shared with ''Maidstone'', and in the capture of the American vessel ''John''.

Ten days later, ''Colibri'' captured the ship ''Monk'', of 253 tons. She was sailing from Rio de Janeiro to Salem with a cargo of sugar, hides, and horns.

''San Domingo'', ''Dragon'', ''Statira'' and ''Colibri'' shared the capture of three vessels at the beginning of 1813. These were the American schooners ''Scyron'' (16 January) and ''American Eagle'' (18 January), and the Swedish brig ''Hanosand'' (13 February).

On 10 February ''Statira'' shared with five other warships in the capture of the ''St. Michael''. However, ''Statira'' had to divide up her portion because she was in a prize-money sharing agreement with ''Colibri'', , and . Then ''Colibri'' captured 10 small merchantmen, most of them American.
*Brig ''Commerce'', of 120 tons and 11 men, carrying lumber, from Rhode Island to Havana, captured on 14 March and burnt.
*Schooner ''Female'', of 95 tons and six men, carrying flour, butter, and lard, from Baltimore to La Guira, captured 27 March and sent to Bermuda.
*Swedish schooner ''Minerva'', of 130 tons and 13 men, carrying molasses and sugar from Charleston to St. Bartholomew, captured on 29 March and sent to Providence.
*Schooner ''Portsmouth'', carrying lumber, from Cuba to Rhode Island, captured on 16 April and sent to Providence.
*Schooner ''Eliza'', of 95 tons, carrying sundries from Wilmington to Savannah,' captured 1 May and sent to Bermuda.
*Schooner ''Nancy'' carrying sundries from Georgetown to Savannah, captured 1 May, burnt after the transfer of her cargo to the ''Eliza.''
*Schooner ''Sampit'', carrying sundries from Georgetown to Savannah, captured 1 May and burnt after the transfer of her cargo to the ''Eliza.''
*Schooner ''Wingaw'', carrying sundries from Georgtown to Savannah, captured 1 May, burnt after the transfer of her cargo to the ''Eliza''.
*Spanish ship ''El de Padato in Cortes'', of 160 tons and 14 men, carrying molasses, sugar, etc. from New York to Matanza's, captured 27 May and sent to Providence.
*Swedish schooner ''Gustava'', of 140 tons and 8 men, carrying flour, meal, &c. from Carthagena to Savannah, captured 17 June and sent to Providence.

''Colibri'' shared with in the capture of the American vessel ''Minerva'' on 2 April.

Fate

In August 1813, ''Colibri'' and were blockading the U.S. coast between Charleston and Georgetown. There was little shipping so the pair conducted a number of boat raids along the coast. They then decided to sail south of Charleston and on August they entered Port Royal Sound, South Carolina (not Port Royal, Jamaica as stated in some sources),. They anchored, but resistance by the local militia, which had erected shore batteries, forestalled any raids. ''Colibri'' and ''Moselle'' then decided to return to sea on August 23. However, the weather was poor and ''Colibri'' grounded on a sandbar as she led ''Moselle'' out. Attempts to lighten her and get her off were unsuccessful and as the tide went out she fell over to larboard. Her crew cut away her masts, but she was stuck fast. ''Moselle'' then rescued ''Colibri''s crew, who abandoned the wreck. A hurricane on 27 August 1813 destroyed ''Colibri'' and her boats. ''Moselle'' was able to find a passage and navigate across the bar to the open sea on 29 August. Thomson and his officers and crew were subsequently acquitted of any wrongdoing at the court martial into the loss of ''Colibri''.

Notes

Citations

References

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* Fonds Marine. Campagnes (opérations ; divisions et stations navales; missions diverses). Inventaire de la sous-série Marine BB4. Tome premier: BB4 210 à 482 (1805-1826

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Colibri (1809)
1808 ships
Maritime incidents in 1813
Brig-sloops of the Royal Navy
Captured ships
War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom