His Majesty's Hired armed cutter ''Sandwich'' served 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 ...

from 23 May 1798 until the captured her on 14 June 1799. She then served in the French Navy until the Royal Navy recaptured her on 15 October 1803. The Navy purchased her in 1804 and she served for some months in 1805 as HMS ''Sandwich'' before she was sold in Jamaica. During this period she captured three small French privateers in two days.

British service

On 14 October 1798 ''Sandwich'' captured the Dutch

hoy Hoy ( sco, Hoy; from Norse , meaning "high island") is an island in Orkney, Scotland, measuring – the second largest in the archipelago, after Mainland. A natural causeway, ''the Ayre'', links the island to the smaller South Walls; the two ...

''Hoop'' and her cargo. was in sight.

Capture

''Sandwich'' was under the command of Lieutenant George Lempriere and cruising off the coast of Barcelona on 14 June 1799 when she sighted a large fleet. Lempriere believed the vessels to be a British fleet and sailed towards them. When the strange vessels did not reply to the recognition signals, Lempriere realized that they were enemy vessels and attempted to sail away. The French fleet detached a

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 ...

, possibly , to pursue ''Sandwich''. A frigate joined the lugger in pursuit and towards evening the lugger opened fire with her bow chasers. The frigate then too opened fire, with ''Sandwich'' returning fire as best she could. By 1a.m. the frigate was within musket shot of ''Sandwich'' and any further resistance would have been futile. Lempriere then

struck Struck is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Adolf Struck (1877–1911), German author *Hermann Struck (1876–1944), German artist *Karin Struck (1947–2006), German author *Paul Struck (1776-1820), German composer *Peter Struc ...

to ''Créole''.

French service

The French Navy took ''Sandwich'' into service, retaining her existing name. She was stationed at

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 ...

in August 1799. She then served in the French Navy until 1803.

Recapture and Royal Navy service

HMS ''Pique'', Captain William Cumberland, and , Lieutenant Henry Whitby, accepted the capitulation of the French garrison, and eight French brigs and schooners at

Aux Cayes Les Cayes ( , ), often referred to as Aux Cayes (; ht, Okay), is a commune and seaport in the Les Cayes Arrondissement, in the Sud department of Haiti, with a population of 71,236. Due to its isolation from the political turmoil of the capital, ...

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...

on 15 October 1803. Among the French vessels were the French 16-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 ...

''Goéland'', and ''Sandwich''. In 1804 the Royal Navy purchased the cutter ''Sandwich'' at Jamaica. It commissioned her under Lieutenant G. Bernarding in 1805. On 21 April 1805, Captain Charles Dashwood of HMS ''Bacchante'' instructed Bernarding to take ''Sandwich'' out on a cruise. On 6 May ''Sandwich'' was on the

Bahama Banks The Bahama Banks are the submerged carbonate platforms that make up much of the Bahama Archipelago. The term is usually applied in referring to either the Great Bahama Bank around Andros Island, or the Little Bahama Bank of Grand Bahama Island ...

, about eight leagues from

West Caicos West Caicos is an island in the Turks and Caicos Islands southwest of Providenciales. West Caicos has an area of , and has been uninhabited for over a century. Geography The island is home to the Lake Catherine, a protected wildlife reserve, fil ...

. She was in company with the schooner ''Nassau'' when together they encountered the French privateer schooner ''Renomée''. ''Renomée'' was armed with one long 9-pounder gun and two 4-pounders, and had a crew of 56 men. The next day ''Sandwich'' and ''Nassau'' captured the privateer ''Rencontre''. ''Rencontre'' was armed with two 4-pounder guns and had a crew of 42 men. That same day the British vessels captured ''Vénus'', which was armed with one gun and had a crew of 35 men. Bernarding would have liked to continue to cruise but felt obliged to cut his cruise short because of the number of prisoners he had taken.

Fate

The Navy sold ''Sandwich'' in Jamaica in 1805.

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sandwich, Hired armed cutter 1790s ships Hired armed vessels of the Royal Navy Captured ships Cutters of the French Navy Cutters of the Royal Navy