Minerva (1805 Whaler)

''Minerva'' was the French letter of marque ''Minerve'', a former privateer from Bordeaux, that the Royal Navy captured in September 1804. Samuel Enderby & Sons purchased her c.1805 for use as a whaler. She was taken off the coast of Peru circa August 1805 after a crewman had killed her captain and her crew had mutinied.

Origins and capture

''Minerve'' appears to have been a privateer from Bordeaux. Her first cruise took place in 1800 under Captain Eugène Langlois.

On 31 March 1800, ''Minerve'' captured the United States letter of marque ''Minerva'' after a single ship action. ''Minerve'' was armed with eighteen 12 and 9-pounder guns, and had a crew of 155 men. ''Minerva'', of 317 tons (bm), was armed with 14 guns,and had a crew of 30 men under Captain Wilkes Barber. ''Minerva'' had one man mortally wounded and one seriously wounded before Barber struck. Langlois put a prize crew of 21 men aboard ''Minerva'', and took off most of her crew and two passengers; four crew and the other nine passengers (including four women and two children), remained on ''Minerva''. ''Minerve'' and ''Minerva'' and sailed for Bordeaux. On 3 April a British frigate approached. She recaptured ''Minerva'', but ''Minerve'' escaped by throwing gun, spare spars, and water casks overboard, and reached Bordeaux. The British figure turned out to be HMS ''Fisgard''.

In early July recaptured ''Amelia'', late Donaldson, master, which the French privateer ''Minerve'' had captured. ''Amelia'' had been on her way from Savannah to London when she was captured. ''Amazon'' sent ''Amelia'' into Plymouth.''Lloyd's List''
№4067.
/ref> recaptured ''William'', LeQuesne, master, which had been sailing from the West Indies to Guernsey when ''Minerve'' captured her. ''William'' arrived at Cork.

On 3 July recaptured the brig ''Cultivator''. ''Indefatigable'' and were in company at the time of the capture. ''Cultivator'', Smith, master, had been sailing from Demerara to London when ''Minerve'', of Bordeaux, had captured her.

In 1804 ''Minerve'' was serving as an armed merchantman with an 85-man crew. On 25 September encountered and captured the French letter of marque ship ''Minerve'', of Bordeaux, which was sailing to Martinique. She was pierced for 18 guns, but carried only fourteen 9-pounders, and had a crew of 111 men. ''Topaze'' captured ''Minerve'' at after a chase of 12 hours and took her into Cork on 3 October.

Whaler

Samuel Enderby & Sons acquired ''Minerve'' for use as a whaler.

Captain Obed (or Obediah) Cottle acquired a letter of marque on 3 May 1805. He sailed ''Minerva'' from London on 25 May 1805, bound for Peru.

''Lloyd's List'' (''LL'') reported on 25 May 1806 that the crew of ''Minerva'', Cottle, master, had killed Cottle and taken the vessel. A second report, a month later, stated that ''Minerva'' had been taken near Lima. The crew had already put the first and second mates in a boat. Seven days later ''Maria'', avidCoffin, master, had rescued the two. ''Maria'' took them to New Bedford, Massachusetts, where she arrived in April,''LL'', №4060.
/ref> or on 9 May.

The mutiny took place around the middle of August 1805. The mutineers also put into two boats ten of the crew who refused to join the mutiny. After 10 days at sea, one of the boats, with four men on board, reached land. Two weeks after the mutiny rescued the men in the other boat.

It is not clear whether ''Minerva'' was wrecked or captured, and if captured, by whom.

The ''Register of Shipping'' (''RS'') for 1806 showed ''Minerva'' with O. Cotle, master, Enderby, owner, and trade London–Southern Fishery. The entry for her carried the annotation "LOST".''RS'' (1806), Seq.№M855.
/ref>

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{{italic title
Ships built in France
Privateer ships of France
1800 ships
Age of Sail merchant ships of England
Whaling ships
Maritime incidents in 1805
Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean