HMS ''Highflyer'' was originally an American

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

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 ...

built in 1811. As a privateer she took several British vessels as

prizes A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

. The

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 ...

captured her in 1813. She then participated in several raids on the Chesapeake and coastal

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

before the Americans recaptured her later in 1813.

As a privateer

''Highflyer'' was built in Dorchester County,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in 1811, and operated out of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. She was originally set up for six long nine-pounder cannon. She apparently sailed with one long 12-pounder and four 9-pounder

carronade A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron cannon which was used by the Royal Navy. It was first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, and was used from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century. Its main func ...

s. Under Captain John Gavet, on 21 July 1812 she captured the British merchantman ''Jamaica'', with seven guns and 21 men, and ''Diana''. The next day, she captured ''Mary Ann'', with 12 guns and 18 men. On 26 August, she sent into Baltimore the schooner ''Harriet'', of four guns, which had been sailing from

New Providence New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It is the location of the national capital city of Nassau, whose boundaries are coincident with the island; it had a population of 246 ...

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

. On her second cruise, under Captain Jeremiah Grant, she captured the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

''Porgie'', sailing from

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

, and the brig ''Burchall'', traveling from

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

Demerara Demerara ( nl, Demerary, ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state fro ...

, plus a number of coasting vessels operating among islands of the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. She also took the brig ''Fernando'', which was, however, retaken. Lastly, she sent into

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

the ten-gun brig ''Active''.

Capture

On 9 January 1813 , under Captain John Beresford, with assisting, captured ''Highflyer''. She was armed with five guns and had a crew of 72 men when the British captured her on her way back from the West Indies. The

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

took ''Highflyer'' into service with the

as an eight-gun

, still under her original name.

Royal Navy service

The Royal Navy commissioned her under Lieutenant Theophilus Lewis, and initially employed ''Highflyer'' in the Chesapeake as a tender to Sir

John Borlase Warren Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet (2 September 1753 – 27 February 1822) was a British Royal Navy officer, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1807. Naval career Born in Stapleford, Nottinghamsh ...

's . On 13 April 1813, Warren's squadron, consisting of ''Highflyer'', and more importantly ''San Domingo'', , , , , and ''Mohawk'', pursued four schooners into the

Rappahannock River The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the entir ...

. The British sent boats upriver before capturing their prey. The British took three of the schooners into service. The six-gun Chesapeake schooner ''Lynx'' became . Of the three Baltimore schooners, ''Racer'' became ; retained her name; lastly, it is not clear what became of ''Arab'', which with ''Dolphin'', put up some resistance. ''Dolphin'' had been on a privateering cruise; consequently she carried 100 men and 12 guns. On 29 April, boats from ''Dolphin'', ''Dragon'', ''Fantome'', ''Highflyer'', ''Maidstone'', ''Marlborough'', ''Mohawk'', ''Racer'' and ''Statira'' went up the Elk River in Chesapeake Bay under the personal command of Rear-Admiral Sir

George Cockburn Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, (22 April 1772 – 19 August 1853) was a British Royal Navy officer. As a captain he was present at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 during the French Revolutionary Wars an ...

. Their objective was to destroy five American ships and stores, and by some accounts, a cannon foundry at French Town. This took until 3 May 1813 to complete. On the way, after a battery at Havre de Grace fired on them from the shore, a landing party destroyed the battery and burned much of the town. In 1847 the Admiralty issued 48 clasps marked "April & May Boat Service 1813" to the Naval General Service Medal for the action. On 30 April ''Highflyer'' supported ''Fantome'' and ''Mohawk''s boats when the vessels gathered cattle for the fleet's use, paying with bills on the Victualling Office. The next day, the vessels secured more cattle from Spesutie (Spesucie) Island just south of Havre de Grace at the mouth of the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River (; Lenape: Siskëwahane) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, overlapping between the lower Northeast and the Upland South. At long, it is the longest river on the East Coast of the ...

. At some point in May, ''Highflyer'' captured the American lookout boat ''Betsey'', under the command of Captain Smith. ''Highflyer'' burnt her capture and took her crew aboard. On 23 May 1813, the Virginia privateer schooner ''Roger'' departed

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

under Captain Roger Quarles, an experienced merchant seaman. The 188-ton vessel carried 14 guns and 120 men. Some days after leaving Norfolk, ''Roger'' and ''Highflyer'' encountered each other and an indecisive, though prolonged, fight ensued. At the time of this encounter, ''Highflyer'' carried five guns and a crew of 50. After suffering the death of Lieutenant Lewis, and two other men, as well as twelve men wounded (two of whom would die later), as well as damage to her sails, ''Highflyer'' was unable to pursue ''Roger'' as she sailed off. During the fight, two men from ''Betsey'' were able to escape in a boat and get to land. After the fight, the British gave Smith and the remainder of his crew a boat in which they were able to get to Norfolk. Lieutenant William Hutchinson replaced Lewis as commander of ''Highflyer''. On 11 July, a squadron under the command of Rear-Admiral

in , and comprising , , , and and ''Highflyer'', "tenders", anchored off

Ocracoke Island Ocracoke
, from the North Carolina Collection website at the

, on the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

coast. The next day they landed troops under Lieutenant Colonel Napier of the

102nd Regiment of Foot The 102nd Regiment of Foot (Royal Madras Fusiliers) was a regiment of the British Army raised by the Honourable East India Company in 1742. It transferred to the command of the British Army in 1862. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with t ...

. The two tenders and number of smaller vessels were in the third division. The squadron faced resistance from a brig and a schooner, the only American armed vessels. The first division, under Lieutenant Westphall, came in under covering fire from

Congreve rocket The Congreve rocket was a type of rocket artillery designed by British inventor Sir William Congreve in 1808. The design was based upon the rockets deployed by the Kingdom of Mysore against the East India Company during the Second, Third, an ...

s and captured the two American vessels. These two were ''Atlas'' and ''Anaconda'', both letters of marque. ''Anaconda'' was a

brig-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 ...

of 18 long 9-pounder guns and a crew of 160, with a home port of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. ''Atlas'', of 10 guns and 240 tons, had a home port of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Both subsequently entered the Royal Navy. retained her own name; ''Atlas'' became the 14-gun schooner . While the navy was capturing the American vessels, the troops captured

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

and Ocracoke islands.

Return to US control

recaptured ''Highflyer'' on 23 September 1813 off

Nantucket Sound Nantucket Sound_(geography), Sound is a roughly triangular area of the Atlantic Ocean offshore from the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is long and wide, and is enclosed by Cape Cod on the north, Nantucket on the south, and Martha's Vineyard on ...

. ''President''s captain,

John Rodgers John Rodgers may refer to: Military * John Rodgers (1728–1791), colonel during the Revolutionary War and owner of Rodgers Tavern, Perryville, Maryland * John Rodgers (naval officer, born 1772), U.S. naval officer during the War of 1812, first na ...

, had captured British recognition signals and so was able to decoy ''Highflyer'' alongside. He then captured her without firing a shot, together with a number of despatches and more British signals. A prize crew took ''Highflyer'' to

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

; Hutchinson remained a prisoner on board ''President''. The Americans did not take ''Highflyer'' into service.

Citations

References

* * * * * *

External links

* Phillips, Michael. ''Ships of the Old Navy''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Highflyer (1813) Schooners of the Royal Navy Privateer ships of the United States 1811 ships Captured ships Ships built in Maryland