Hired Armed Cutter Courier
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His Majesty's hired armed cutter ''Courier'' appears twice in the records of 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 ...
. The size and armament suggests that both contracts could represent the same vessel, but other information indicates that the second ''Courier'' had been captured from the French in the West Indies. On the first contract the captain and crew were awarded clasps to the Naval General Service Medal, one for a boat action and one for a
single ship action A single-ship action is a naval engagement fought between two warships of opposing sides, excluding submarine engagements; called so because there is a single ship on each side. The following is a list of notable single-ship actions. Single-shi ...
in which they distinguished themselves.


First contract

The first contract for ''Courier'' was from 6 June 1798 to 1 November 1801.Winfield (2008), p.389. She was of 116 tons ( bm) and carried an armament of twelve 4-pounder guns. She had a crew of 40 men. In 1799 she was under the command of Lieutenant Thomas Searle, in the North Sea. On 15 April he recaptured the ''Nelly'' from the French privateer ''Vengeur''.Ralfe (1972), pp.318-20. On 16 April, ''Courier'' was in company with , and when they captured the Prussian
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 tw ...
''Dolphin''. Then on 2 May, , with ''Courier'' in company, captured ''Vreeda''. On 12 May, while off Winterton on the coast of Norfolk, ''Courier'' engaged a French 16-gun privateer. The French brig was attacking a British merchant sloop when ''Courier'' intervened. The brig was armed with 16 guns, mixed 6 and 9-pounders. After an hour and forty minutes of fighting, the privateer chose to take advantage of the wind and her better sailing qualities and escaped in the darkness and thick weather. ''Courier'' tried to chase her but lost her after midnight. ''Courier'' had five men wounded in the action. ''Latona'' and ''Ranger'' assisted in the action. The next day ''Courier'' captured the French brig's consort, the privateer schooner ''Ribotteur'', off the
Texel Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of Den ...
. ''Ribotteur'' had a crew of 26 men and was pierced for six guns but carried four 3-pounders, having thrown two overboard during the chase. ''Ribotteur'' did not resist. During the action ''Courier'' observed another privateer, a lugger, in the distance, that remained aloof from the action. On 26 June ''Courier'' and captured ''Twee Gesisters''. On 1 July, ''Courier'' 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 ...
''Frederick''. Then on 10 July ''Courier'' was a part of a small squadron consisting of ''Circe'', , , and the hired armed cutter ''Nancy'', all under the command of Captain R. Winthrop of ''Circe''. The boats of the squadron rowed for 15 or 16 hours into the Watt at the back of
Ameland Ameland (; West Frisian: It Amelân) is a municipality and one of the West Frisian Islands off the north coast of the Netherlands. It consists mostly of sand dunes. It is the third major island of the West Frisians. It neighbours islands Ter ...
. There they captured three merchant vessels carrying sugar, wine, and brandy, and destroyed a
galliot A galiot, galliot or galiote, was a small galley boat propelled by sail or oars. There are three different types of naval galiots that sailed on different seas. A ''galiote'' was a type of French flat-bottom river boat or barge and also a flat- ...
loaded with ordnance and stores. Between 18 July and 1 August, ''Courier'', ''Circe'', ''Pylades'', ''Espiegle'', and ''Nancy'' captured ''Marguerita Sophia'', ''Twee Gesister'', ''Twee Gebroders'' (Master, Vink) ''Twee Gebroders'' (Master, Nolholt), ''Jussrow Maria Christina'', ''Vrow Henterje Marguaritha'', ''Stadt Oldenburg'', ''Vrow Antje'', ''Vrow Gesina'', ''Endraght'', and ''Frederick''. Between 11 and 12 August, ''Pylades'', a 16-gun sloop under the command of
Adam Mackenzie Captain Adam Mackenzie (died 13 November 1823) was an officer of the British Royal Navy who served during the American, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, being present at numerous fleet actions, as well as serving as successful ship capta ...
, accompanied by the 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 ...
''Espiegle'', and ''Courier'', attacked the former British gun-brig , moored between the island of Schiermonnikoog and
Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...
.Long (2010), p.100. ''Courier'' started the action, which resulted in ''Crash'' surrendering after the two sloops joined in. ''Pylades'' lost one man killed and two wounded. ''Crash'' had a crew of 60 men and was armed with 12
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. The British also captured a schooner, which MacKenzie armed with two carronades and named ''Undaunted''. The boats of the squadron, now including boats and men from ''Latona'' and , then attacked the 6-gun Dutch schooner ''Vengeance'' and a battery on Schiermonnikoog. The British were able to burn the schooner on the second attempt and to spike the guns of the battery. The squadron's boats also captured a number of Dutch
schuyt A Dutch barge is a traditional flat-bottomed shoal-draught barge, originally used to carry cargo in the shallow '' Zuyder Zee'' and the waterways of Netherlands. There are very many types of Dutch barge, with characteristics determined by regio ...
s. During the attack ''Courier'' grounded and was only saved with some difficulty. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issue to the surviving claimants of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Schiermonnikoog 12 Augt. 1799".United Kingdom: Naval General Service Medal 1793-1840
/ref>''The United service magazine'' (1854), Issue 3, p.461. ''Latona'', ''Astrea'', ''Cruizer'', ''Pylades'', ''Ranger'', , ''Courier'', hired armed lugger ''Speculator'', and the hired armed cutters ''Fox'' and ''Diligent'' captured ''Aeolus'', ''Jonge Picter '', ''Vrow Alyda'', ''Verwagting'', ''Vinnern'', and ''Almindeligheden''. The same British vessels were also involved in the capture of ''Neptunus'', ''Sen Soskende'', ''Bornholm'', ''Fabius'', ''Zee Star'', and ''Frou Eagle''. On 21 November, ''Courier'' sailed from Yarmouth and on the afternoon of the following day saw a suspicious sail stopping a bark. Searle passed the bark, which reported that the other vessel was an enemy. ''Courier'' gave chase and came up with her the next morning 10 or 12 leagues off Lowestoft. After a close action of 50 minutes ''Courier'' captured the French privateer cutter ''Guerrier''. ''Guerrier'' carried fourteen 4-pounder guns, had a crew of 44 men, and was commanded by Citizen Felix L. Sallemand. During her five days out of Dunkirk she had captured ''Nile'', a brig from London carrying coal. ''Courier'' lost her master, Mr Stephen Marsh, who was killed at the start of the action, and also had two seamen wounded. The French had four killed and six wounded. Searle later received a promotion to Commander dated 23 November. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Courier 23 Novr. 1799" for this action. In December 1800 ''Courier'' was obliged to quit her station between the Humber and Flamborough Head after an action with a French privateer a few days earlier.


Second contract

The contract for this ''Courier'' was from 23 July 1804 to 18 August 1806.Winfield (2008), p. 394. She was a cutter of 114 tons burthen and carried twelve 4-pounder guns. Her commander throughout the contract was Lieutenant James Boxer. ''Courier'' served off Boulogne, Ushant and Rochester. At the end of her contract she was returned to her owners. On 12 December 1804 ''Courier'' was with the hired armed cutter ''Countess of Elgin'' and the hired armed schooner ''Charlotte'', when they recaptured the ship ''New Concord''. Then on 2 September 1805, ''Courier'' alone captured the French schooner ''Angelique''. During the second half of 1805, ''Courier'' returned to the Downs in a battered state after having engaged a shore battery. While on patrol, she had recovered a warship's boat, together with a lieutenant and 16 men. Shortly thereafter she spotted a French privateer lugger sheltering under the protection of a shore battery. ''Courier'' attempted to cut out the lugger but came under fire from the battery's 24-pounders and a 12-pounder field piece on shore. Because of the shallowness of the water and the lack of wind, ''Courier'' was unable to proceed further. Having sustained serious damage she gave up the attempt. During the action Lieutenant Nainby from the sloop was killed, as were two other men, and one man was wounded. (Presumably the men that ''Courier'' had earlier recovered were from ''Megaera'').''Naval Chronicle'', Vol. 14, p.102.


Letters of marque

Three letters of marque were issued to a ship or ships named ''Courier''. The first may have been the same vessel as the first contract hired armed cutter ''Courier''. The second and third letters of marque appear to have been issued to the same vessel, which however was neither the first letter of marque nor the hired armed cutter of the second contract above. For all three letters below, the vessel is described as being armed with twelve 3-pounders. *Of 12 guns and 122 tons burthen, Arthur Threlful, master; letter of marque dated 22 November 1798. *Of 12 guns and 106 tons burthen, William Adamson, master; letter of marque dated 3 November 1804. *Of 12 guns and 106 tons burthen, Thomas Pratt, master; letter of marque dated 22 February 1805.


Notes, citations, and references

Notes Citations References * Cust, Edward (1858) ''Annals of the wars of the eighteenth century, compiled from the most authentic histories of the period II 1739-1759''. (London: Mitchell's Military Library). * Hill, Richard (1998) ''The Prizes of War: The Naval Prize System in the Napoleonic Wars, 1793-1815''> ( Sutton Publishing & Royal Naval Museum Publications). * * * Ralfe, James (1972) ''The naval biography of Great Britain: consisting of historical memoirs of those officers of the British Navy who distinguished themselves during the reign of His Majesty George III.'' (Boston: Gregg Press). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Courier, Hired Armed Cutter Hired armed vessels of the Royal Navy