''Rossie'' was a

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 schoon ...

launched at Baltimore in 1807. At the outbreak of 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 bega ...

she became a

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 ...

, operating under a letter of marque. She made two voyages, the first as a privateer, and the less successful second as a letter of marque. The British captured her in January 1813.

Construction

Thomas Kemp of

Fell's Point, Baltimore Fell's Point is a historic waterfront neighborhood in southeastern Baltimore, Maryland. It was established around 1763 along the north shore of the Baltimore Harbor and the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River. The area has many antique, music, ...

, built and launched her. He would go to build several other schooners that would become among the most successful

of the war, such as ''Chasseur''.

First letter of marque

''Rossie'' was commissioned on 11 July 1812, right at the outbreak of the war. Her owners hired

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 o ...

as her captain and Silvanus Long as her

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

.Men of Marque
/ref> She had letter of marque #1. On her first cruise under Barney she captured some 18 vessels in six weeks off Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Barney then put in at

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

on 30 August. He replenished his supplies and then cruised southward. On his cruise, Barney thrice out-sailed British

frigates A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

. He engaged in two actions, the first with the ''Jenny'' (or ''Jeanie''), of 12 guns. He captured her and did not report any casualties. ''Lloyd's List'' reported that ''Rossie''s prize, ''Jane'', of 12 guns, carrying 20,000 bushels of salt, had arrived in Newport on 5 September. ''Rossie'' also captured the brig ''Nymphe'', Patch, master, which had been sailing from the West Indies, and carried her into Boston.''Lloyd's List'', №4715.
/ref> ''Rossie'' captured ''Kitty'', Thompson, master, on 31 July as she was sailing from Greenock to New Brunswick. On 1 August ''Rossie'' captured the brig ''Two Brothers'', and burnt four "Bankers", loaded with fish. Three days later, recaptured ''Kitty'' and sent her into Newfoundland.''Lloyd's List'', №4703.
/ref> It was on the second leg of the cruise that ''Rossie''s most famous action took place. On 16 September 1812 she captured the

Post Office Packet Service The Post Office Packet Service dates to Tudor times and ran until 1823, when the Admiralty assumed control of the service. Originally, the Post Office used packet ships to carry mail packets to and from British embassies, colonies and outposts. Th ...

packet ship Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...

''Princess Amelia''. At the time ''Rossie'' was armed with ten 12-pounder guns and one long 9-pounder on a pivot, and had a crew of 95; ''Princess Amelia'' was armed with four 6-pounders and two 9-pounders, and had a crew of 27 or 28. ''Princess Amelia'' had to

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

after she had lost three men killed, including her captain, Isaac Moorsom, and her sailing master, John Nankevell, and 11 men wounded. (Some of the wounded may have died later as a report on her arrival in Savannah gives her casualties as six dead and six or seven wounded.) American casualties were seven men wounded, one of them, Sylvanus Long, severely. Barney sent ''Princess Amelia'' into Savannah, Georgia, where the US Navy bought her and named her USS ''Troup''. Barney returned to Baltimore on 11 October. ''Merrimack'', Cook, master, which had been sailing from Liverpool when ''Rossie'' captured her, arrived 12 days later.''Lloyd's List'', №4731.
/ref> Barney estimated that on this voyage he had captured 3698 tons of British shipping, worth US$1.5 million. He also had captured 217 prisoners. Of course, it helped that many of the vessels that he captured did not know that the war had begun.

Second letter of marque

''Rossie'' was commissioned on 3 December 1812 with J. D. Daniels as captain and James Stubbs as first lieutenant. The Royal Navy's Rochfort squadron captured her on 6 January 1813 in the

Basque Roads Basque Roads, sometimes referred to as ''Aix Roads'', is a roadstead (a sheltered bay) on the Biscay shore of the Charente-Maritime département of France, bounded by the Île d'Oléron to the west and the Île de Ré to the north. The port of La ...

. She was carrying coffee from Baltimore to Bordeaux, and the announcement of her capture states that she had only one gun. The actual captor appears to have been . ''Rossie'' arrived in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

on 17 January 1813. Eight ships of the Royal Navy were in sight at the capture, as was the British privateer ''Chance''.

Notes, citations, and references

Notes Citations References * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rossie (1807) Privateer ships of the United States Ships built in Baltimore 1807 ships Schooners of the United States Captured ships