HMS ''Mermaid'' was a gunvessel purchased in Honduras in 1798 for local use. She was sloop-rigged, armed with one long 9-pounder gun and had a crew of 25 men from the "Colonial Troops".James (1837), Vol. 2, p.249. She served in defense of the British colonists at Honduras and participated in the repulse of the Spanish expedition at the

Battle of St. George's Caye The Battle of St. George's Caye was a military engagement that lasted from 3 to 10 September 1798, off the coast of British Honduras (present-day Belize). However, the name is typically reserved for the final battle that occurred on 10 Septemb ...

in September 1798. In 1800, after the Spanish threat had passed, she was sold. It is arguable that she deserves the designation "HMS" as ''Mermaid'' was never commissioned into 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 ...

, and her officers and crew were civilians. Even in the case of "His Majesty's

hired armed vessels During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Royal Navy made use of a considerable number of hired armed vessels. These were generally smaller vessels, often cutters and luggers, that the Navy used for duties ranging from carrying and pa ...

", the Navy provided the captain.

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References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mermaid (1798) Gunvessels of the Royal Navy 1790s ships