HMS ''Epervier'' was a French 16-gun ''Alcyon''-class brig. HMS ''Egyptienne'' captured her in the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

on 27 July 1803; she was taken into

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

service under her existing name. Before being broken up in 1811 she captured several prizes and was present at the

Battle of San Domingo The Battle of San Domingo was a naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars fought on 6 February 1806 between squadrons of French and British ships of the line off the southern coast of the French-occupied Spanish colonial Captaincy General of Santo ...

. Her crew received a clasp to the Naval General Service Medal for their participation in that battle and another for an action in December 1808. She was laid up in late 1810 and was sold in 1811.

French origins and capture

''Epervier'' was built between 1801 and 1802 by Enterprise Crucy Basse-Indre (near

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

) to a design by François Gréhan. She was launched on 30 June 1802. She was commissioned under Lieutenant de vaisseau

Emmanuel Halgan Emmanuel Halgan (Donges, 31 December 1771 - Paris, 20 April 1852) was a French Navy officer and admiral. Biography Born to the family of a bailiff, Halgan joined the French Royal Navy aged 16. He then served as a lieutenant and first officer ...

. At some point

Jérôme Bonaparte Jérôme-Napoléon Bonaparte (born Girolamo Buonaparte; 15 November 1784 – 24 June 1860) was the youngest brother of Napoleon I and reigned as Jerome Napoleon I (formally Hieronymus Napoleon in German), King of Westphalia, between 1807 and 1 ...

boarded her. On 31 August 1802 she sailed from Nantes for Martinique and Guadeloupe. Captain Charles Fleeming (Fleming) and ''Egyptienne'' captured ''Epervier'' off the coast of France on 27 July 1803 as she was returning to

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

from Guadeloupe. At the time she was armed with 16 guns and had a crew of 90 men.

British service

The British rearmed her, upgrading her battery substantially. Commander James Watson commissioned her in May 1804 and then in August Commander John Impey assumed command and sailed for Jamaica the next month. On 15 January 1805, ''Epervier'' captured ''Sally''. Then eleven days later, ''Epervier'' was in the

Leeward Islands french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent , image_name = , image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis. , image_alt = , locator_map = , location = Caribbean SeaNorth Atlantic Ocean , coor ...

, six miles from Crab Island. For five hours she chased a strange sail before she succeeded in capturing the French privateer schooner ''Elizabeth'' from

Marie Galante Marie-Galante ( gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Mawigalant) is one of the islands that form Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France. Marie-Galante has a land area of . It had 11,528 inhabitants at the start of 2013, but by the start of 2018 th ...

. ''Elizabeth'' was armed with four carriage guns and small arms. One of her crew of 34 was killed during her "obstinate Attempt to escape." She had already taken a sloop from

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

that she had sent into St. Thomas. On 9 May ''Epervier'' and captured ''Charles''. Later that month, on 25 May ''Epervier'' captured the Spanish schooner ''Casualidad''. She was taking a cargo of cocoa from

Puerto Cabello Puerto Cabello () is a city on the north coast of Venezuela. It is located in Carabobo State, about 210 km west of Caracas. As of 2011, the city had a population of around 182,400. The city is home to the largest and busiest port in the coun ...

to Old Spain. Lieutenant James Higginson (acting) assumed command in January 1806. On 6 February ''Epervier'' was with the squadron under Vice Admiral, Sir John Duckworth in , which took or destroyed five sail of the line in the

. ''Epervier'' was too small to take part in the battle but she did share in the prize money. In 1847 Her crew also qualified for the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "St. Domingo". Commander Samuel J. Pechell assumed command of ''Epervier'' in March 1807 until April when John Bowker of was promoted from Lieutenant to the command. Ill health forced Bowker to give up his command to

Thomas Tudor Tucker Thomas Tudor Tucker (June 25, 1745May 2, 1828) was a Bermuda-born American physician and politician representing Charleston, South Carolina. He was elected from South Carolina in both the Continental Congress and the U.S. House. He later was ...

from . On 11 May, while under Tucker's command, ''Epervier'' captured the brig ''Mildred''. Bowker re-assumed command and on 27 October was in command of ''Epevier'' when she captured the Danish

galliot A galiot, galliot or galiote, was a small galley boat propelled by sail or oars. There are three different types of naval galiots that sailed on different seas. A ''galiote'' was a type of French flat-bottom river boat or barge and also a flat- ...

''Active''. However Bowken then had to return home in February 1808. His successor was again Tucker. On 11 November, , ''Epervier'', and captured ''Intrepid''. Nine days later, ''Amaranthe'', ''Circe'', , ''Epervier'' and ''Unique'' captured the American ships and ''Mary and Allen''. Prize money for ''Intrepid'' and ''Bonetta'' was paid in 1814, and 1839. On 12 December ''Epervier'' joined the frigate ''Circe'', the ship-sloop , the schooner , and the advice boat in an action against the French 16-gun schooner ''Cygne'' and two schooners off the Pearl Rock,

Saint-Pierre, Martinique Saint-Pierre (, ; ; Martinican Creole: ) is a town and commune of France's Caribbean overseas department of Martinique, founded in 1635 by Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc. Before the total destruction of Saint-Pierre by a volcanic eruption in 1902, it ...

. The British eventually succeeded in destroying ''Cygne'', but suffered heavy casualties in the process. In all, the British lost some 12 men killed, 31 wounded, and 26 missing (drowned or prisoners) for little gain. ''Epervier'' suffered no losses. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the award of the Naval General Service Medal with the clasp "Off The Pearl Rock 13 Decr. 1808" to the then living survivors of the battle. Later in December Tucker transferred to .

Fate

Commanders Thomas Barclay and James P. Stewart, and possibly Lt. M. de Courcy (acting). commanded her briefly. On 4 September 1810 the Navy Office offered her for sale at

Chatham Dockyard Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham (at its most extensive, in the early 20th century, ...

. ''Epervier'' was scrapped at Chatham in June 1811.

Notes

Citations

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Epervier (1803) Brig-sloops of the Royal Navy 1802 ships Ships built in France Captured ships