A number of sailing ships have been named ''Herald'', for the

Herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen to ...

: * was launched at

Newburyport, Massachusetts Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mo ...

in 1797. The

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

purchased her from Edward Davis in 1798 and sold her in 1801. She became the French 20-gun privateer

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

''Africaine''. In 1804 a British privateer seized her on 4 May 1804 at

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. The seizure gave rise to a case in the U.S. courts that defined the limits of U.S. territorial waters. The U.S. courts ruled that the privateer had seized ''Africaine'' outside U.S. jurisdiction. ''Africaine'' then became a Liverpool-based

slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast ...

that made two voyages carrying slaves from West Africa to 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 ...

. After the abolition of the slave trade in 1807 she became a

West Indiaman West Indiaman was a general name for any merchantman sailing ship making runs from the Old World to the West Indies and the east coast of the Americas. These ships were generally strong ocean-going ships capable of handling storms in the Atlantic ...

that two French privateers captured in late 1807 or early 1808. * acquired a letter of marque on 15 January 1798. On 24 February as she was entering the Bay of Naples, three French privateers attacked her; in a three-hour action she repelled the attack. In August she captured a Spanish ship, but in December 1798 or January 1799 five Spanish frigates captured ''Herald''. *''Herald'' was a ship launched in 1799 at

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

that the British

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 ...

purchased in 1803 and renamed . The Navy sold her in 1816 and she returned to mercantile service under her original name. She was lost in 1835. *, was a 55-ton (bm) schooner, the first vessel built in New Zealand. Missionaries launched her in 1826, and she was wrecked in 1828.

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herald

See also

Citations