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 ...

employed two vessels described as His Majesty's hired armed cutter ''Kent'', the first during the

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, and the second during the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

First Hired armed cutter ''Kent''

The first ''Kent'' served the Royal Navy from 22 December 1798 until 19 October 1801 when she was returned to her owners. ''Kent'' had a

burthen Burden or burthen may refer to: People * Burden (surname), people with the surname Burden Places * Burden, Kansas, United States * Burden, Luxembourg Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Burden'' (2018 film), an American drama film * ''T ...

of 131 tons, and carried twelve 12-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. In 1799 ''Kent'' recaptured two colliers, the brig ''Autumn'' and the schooner ''Zephyr''. Between April and July 1799, ''Kent'' sailed in company with the 28-gun sloop and the 14-gun

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 ...

. Together, these three vessels captured a number of prizes. On 23 April they captured ''Blenie Rosetta''. On 29 May they took ''Active'' and ''Providence''. One month later, on 28 June, they captured five fishing boats. Then on 13 July they captured ''Altona''. Three days later they captured ''Antony Wilhelm''. Lastly, on 29 July, they captured ''Nancy''. (On 20 January 1803 prize money resulting from the capture of ''Blenie Rosetta'', ''Active'', ''Providence'', five fishing boats, ''Altona'', ''Antony Wilhelm'', and ''Nancy'' was due for payment.) ''Kent'', under Lieutenant William Lanyon, also captured ''Vrouw Saakje'' on 17 June 1799. On 27 November 1799, ''Kent'' captured the French

lugger A lugger is a sailing vessel defined by its rig, using the lug sail on all of its one or several masts. They were widely used as working craft, particularly off the coasts of France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Luggers varied extensively i ...

privateer ''Quatre Freres'' (''Four Brothers'') five leagues off the North Foreland. ''Four Brothers'' was under the command of Citizen Charles Desobier and carried four 4-pounders,

swivel gun The term swivel gun (or simply swivel) usually refers to a small cannon, mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun wi ...

s, small arms, and a crew of 24. She was one day out of

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and had yet to take any prizes. Lanyon sent her into

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...

. ''Kent'' shared the capture with . In July 1800, ''Kent'', under Lieutenant Robert Baron Cooban, participated in the raid on Dunkirk that resulted in the cutting out of the French frigate ''Désirée''. During the action on 8 July, ''Kent'', together with the gun-brig and the hired armed cutter ''Ann'', engaged some French gunboats and prevented them from intervening. ''Biter'' had three officers and men wounded and each of the cutters suffered one man wounded. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded all surviving claimants from the action the Naval General Service Medal with a clasp that acknowledged the capture of the ''Desiree''.

Second Hired armed cutter ''Kent''

The second ''Kent'' served from 23 to 29 September 1804 when she was returned to her owners. She had a burthen of 121 tons. On 9 March 1805, a ''Kent'', under the command of Robert Hosier and of 121 tons (bm) and twelve 12-pounder cannon, received a letter of marque.

Citations and references

Citations References * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, Hired armed cutter Hired armed vessels of the Royal Navy 1790s ships