HMS ''St Lawrence'' was a 14-gun

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 schoo ...

of 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 Fr ...

. She had been built in 1808 in St. Michaels,

Talbot County, Maryland Talbot County is located in the heart of the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,526. Its county seat is Easton. The county was named for Lady Grace Talbot, the wife of Sir Rob ...

for Thomas Tennant and sold to Philadelphians in 1810. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

she was the US

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 ...

''Atlas''. The UK captured her in 1813 and renamed her ''St Lawrence''. The US privateer recaptured her in 1815, and then re-recaptured her.

Privateer

''Atlas'' 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. Since ...

and took to sea early in the war under the command of Captain David Maffitt. She was armed with 12 short 9-pounders and one long 9-pounder, and had a crew of 104 men. In July 1812, she cleared the Capes of the Delaware, and when two days out she took the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both 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 latter part ...

''Tulip'', Captain Monk, just out from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. On 3 August ''Atlas'' captured , of 450 tons, carrying 16 guns and a crew of 35 men, and ''Planter'', of 280 tons, carrying twelve 12-pounders and a crew of 15 men. Both ships were thirty days out from Surinam, bound for

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, with a cargo of coffee, cotton, cocoa, and six hundred hogsheads of sugar. ''Atlas'', which had sailed between the two vessels and fired broadsides from both sides, had been damaged in the fighting before the two vessels struck. Still, ''Atlas'' made it safely back to Philadelphia with ''Pursuit''. The British recaptured ''Planter'', off the Delaware Capes.Williams (1815), p.143. On a cruise early in the summer of 1813, ''Atlas'' took shelter in

Ocracoke Inlet Ocracoke Inlet ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

, where she found the 18-gun privateer ''Anaconda'', out 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 ...

, Captain Nathaniel Shaler commanding. Here, on 12 July, a British squadron under Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn, that included , herself a former American privateer, captured the two vessels. The British took both vessels into service, ''Anaconda'' as , and ''Atlas'' as HMS ''St Lawrence''.

British service

Her first British commander was Lieutenant David Boyd, and he served on her until 1 October 1814, when he became acting commander of the

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

, which was the former American privateer ''William Bayard''. In June 1814 ''St Lawrence'', was part of a squadron under Captain

Robert Barrie Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Barrie KCB, KCH (5 May 1774 – 7 June 1841) was a British officer of the Royal Navy noted for his service in the War of 1812. He was helped early in his naval career by the patronage of his uncle, Sir Alan Gardn ...

of the 74-gun third rate . The British chased

Joshua Barney Joshua Barney (6 July 1759 – 1 December 1818) was an American Navy officer who served in the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War and as a captain in the French Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars. He later achieved the rank ...

Chesapeake Bay Flotilla The Chesapeake Bay Flotilla was a motley collection of barges and gunboats that the United States assembled under the command of Joshua Barney, an 1812 privateer captain, to stall British attacks in the Chesapeake Bay which came to be known as ...

of 18 gunboats, barges and the like up the

Patuxent River The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington, D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeast ...

. On 26 June, the Americans

scuttled Scuttling is the deliberate sinking of a ship. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vessel from becoming a navigation hazard; as an act of self-destruction to prevent the ship from being ...

16 of the remaining vessels of the flotilla, with the British capturing one. ''St Lawrence'' shared with a number of other British warships in the capture, on 2 July 1814, of the schooner ''Little Tom''. Then 12 days later, ''St Lawrence'' shared in the capture of the schooners ''William'', ''Eliza'', ''Union'', and ''Emmeline''. In January 1815 Lieutenant James E. Gordon took command. On 26 February 1815, ''St Lawrence'' was bound for Mobile with dispatches when just off

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.

, she encountered the privateer brig ''Chasseur'', out of Baltimore and under the command of Captain Thomas Boyle. ''Chasseur'' carried 14 guns and 102 men, while ''St Lawrence'' carried 14 guns and 76 men, though ''St Lawrence''s broadside was much heavier. What would prove decisive though was small arms fire from the American vessel. The intense action lasted only about 15 minutes, during which ''St Lawrence'' suffered six men killed and 18 wounded, several of them mortally. (According to American accounts, the English had 15 killed and 25 wounded.) ''Chasseur'' had five killed and eight wounded, including Boyle. Both vessels were badly damaged. Captain Boyle made a

cartel A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mos ...

of ''St Lawrence'' and sent her and her crew into Havana as his prize.

Fate

''Acasta'' recaptured ''St Lawrence'' in March. The British sailed ''St Lawrence'' to

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

where an

Admiralty Court Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offences. Admiralty courts in the United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest ...

ruled that as the capture took place after the treaty of peace, in accordance with the terms of peace she was to be returned to the United States as a legitimate prize of war.Viele (1996), p. 79.

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * James, William (1859) ''The naval history of Great Britain, from the declaration of war by France in 1793 to the accession of George IV''. (London : Richard Bentley). * * * Viele, John (1996) ''The Florida Keys: True stories of the perilous straits''. (Sarasota, Fla.: Pineapple Press). * Williams, Samuel (1815) ''Sketches of the War Between the United States and the British Isles: Intended as a Faithful History of All the Material Events from the Time of the Declaration in 1812 to ... the Treaty of Peace in 1815; Interspersed with Geographical Descriptions ... and Biographical Notices of Distinguished Military and Naval Commanders ...'' (Fay). * {{DEFAULTSORT:St Lawrence (1813) Schooners of the Royal Navy War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom Privateer ships of the United States Captured ships 1808 ships Ships built in Maryland