''Countess of Scarborough'' was launched at Whitby in 1777. 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 ...

hired her as a hired armed ship in 1777. She participated in the capture of two privateers before she and succumbed to a small American flotilla off Flamborough Head in 1779. She briefly became a French privateer. Her subsequent fate is unknown.

Hired armed ship

''Countess of Scarborough'' first appeared in ''

Lloyd's Register Lloyd's Register Group Limited (LR) is a technical and professional services organisation and a maritime classification society, wholly owned by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and ...

'' (''LR'')) in 1778 with Hammond, master, Hammond, Sr., owner, and trade Whitby.''LR'' (1977), Seq.№C383.
/REF> The Royal Navy commissioned ''Countess of Scarborough'' in November 1777 under the command of Captain Thomas Piercy. ''Countess of Scarborough'' and shared in the capture, on 17 June 1779, of the French

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 ...

s ''Duc de la Vauguyon'' and . ''Medea'' captured ''Duc de la Vauguyon'' (or ''Duc de Lavaugnon'') of Dunkirk, a cutter of 14 guns and 98 men, after a fight of an hour. The fight cost the French four men killed and ten wounded; ''Medea'' had no casualties. ''Duc de la Vauguyon'' had been launched in 1779 and was under the command of Commandante Marin Le Page. The British took her into service as . ''Duc de la Vauguyon'' had captured and ransomed a lobster smack sailing from Norway to Britain. The master of the smack informed Captain James Montague of ''Medea'' that the privateer had had a consort. ''Medea''s rigging was too cut up for her to pursue the consort, so Montague sent Piercy after her. Piercy caught up with ''Compte de Maurepas'' after a few hours and the privateer struck without resistance. She was armed with fourteen 4-pounder guns and had a crew of 87 men.

Battle

On 23 September 1779 and ''Countess of Scarborough'' were escorting the Baltic fleet home when they encountered a small Franco-American squadron under the command

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

in , and including the frigates and . ''Bonhomme Richard'', and sporadically ''Alliance'', engaged ''Serapis'', ultimately capturing her. ''Countess of Scarborough'' sailed to engage ''Pallas'', which was armed with 32 guns. The battle with ''Pallas'' lasted some two hours. After ''Countess of Scarborough'' had sustained much damage and suffered heavy casualties, Piercy observed another frigate coming up on her larboard quarter; Piercy then surrendered. In the battle, ''Countess of Scarborough'' lost four men killed and 20 men wounded, three of whom later died. All her braces, the great part of the running rigging, and her main and mizen top-sail sheets were shot away. Also, enemy fire had dismounted seven of her guns. At the onset of the action the merchant vessels separated. Most took shelter near Scarborough. Two went to Hull. By their resistance, ''Serapis'' and ''Countess of Scarborough'' saved the Baltic fleet from capture.

Aftermath

The court martial on 10 March 1780 for the loss of his ship acquitted Piercy, his officers and men, stating they "have in the execution of such duty done infinite credit to themselves by a very obstinate defence against a superior force." Piercy soon after received a promotion to

post-captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) addressed as captain ...

. The Court of Directors of the Royal Exchange Assurance Company voted to present him with a piece of plate worth 50

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

, "as a testimony of their approbation of his bravery and conduct in protecting the valuable fleet from the Baltic under his care."''Annual Register'' (1779), Vol. 22, p. 232. The Scarborough Borough Council on 25 October 1779 presented Piercy with the "Freedom of the Borough" and a silver casket lined with heart of oak made by James Phipps of London (c. 1779–1783). Piercy died on 1 October 1793 and was interred in the cloisters of Canterbury Cathedral. Casket
Since his death the casket has accompanied every . In 1972, after the decommissioning of the last , Captain W.J. Graham, her last commander, handed the casket to the Scarborough Borough Council, requesting that the Council retain the casket until such time as there was a new HMS ''Scarborough''; the casket then rested at Scarborough's town hall until the town transferred it to the Hull Maritime Museum where it is currently on display.

French privateer

Her prize crew brought ''Countess of Scarborough'' first to Holland, and then to Dunkirk, where she was sold. She became a French privateer, while initially retaining her name. Her ultimate fate is unknown, suggesting that she may have been renamed later.

Notes, citations, and references

Notes Citations References * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Countess of Scarborough (1777) Hired armed vessels of the Royal Navy Captured ships 1770s ships Privateer ships of France