USS Royal Savage (1775)
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''Royal Savage'' was a two-masted
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 ...
built by the British in the summer of 1775. She was damaged and sunk by soldiers of the
United Colonies The "United Colonies" was the name used by the Second Continental Congress for the emerging nation comprising the Thirteen Colonies in 1775 and 1776, before and as independence was declared. Continental currency banknotes displayed the name 'The ...
during the
Siege of Fort St. Jean The siege of Fort St. Jean (September 17 – November 3, 1775, also called St. John, St. Johns, or St. John's, french: Siège du Fort Saint-Jean) was conducted by American Brigadier General Richard Montgomery on the town and fort of Saint-Jea ...
and later raised and repaired after the fort was captured. She then participated in General Benedict Arnold's campaign on
Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...
. The British captured and burnt her in October 1776 at Valcour Island.


Design

''Royal Savage'' was estimated to be long and wide and measured 70 tons. In American service she was armed with eight 4-pounder guns, four 6-pounder guns, and ten
swivel gun The term swivel gun (or simply swivel) usually refers to a small cannon, mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun wi ...
s. ''Royal Savage'' had a crew of 40 to 50 men.


British service history

In 1775 arrived at Quebec to take on provisions. There Colonel Guy Carleton, Lieutenant-Governor of the
province of Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen p ...
, prevailed upon her commander, Lieutenant William Hunter, to take some his men to Lake Champlain and there take command of a vessel that Carleton was having built at St Johns (St. Jean-Iberville, Quebec) to oppose advancing American forces under
Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish soldier who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and he is most famous for l ...
. Lieutenant Hunter took command of ''Royal Savage''. In mid-September, the Americans began a siege of Fort St Jean, assisted by gallies and gundalows. On 11 October the Americans established a battery on the river bank opposite the fort and ''Royal Savage''. Fire from a 13" mortar in the battery sank her on 14 October. The British were forced to surrender St Johns on 3 November. Hunter and 14 of his men were among the prisoners-of-war.


American service history

''Royal Savage'' had been sunk in shallow water and the Americans were able to raise her and return her to service. She, with the small schooner and the
sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...
(ex-HMS ''George III''), formed the nucleus of the American Lake Champlain squadron. That squadron, under
Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...
, denied the British the use of the lake during the fall of 1776 and thus contributed to Burgoyne's defeat at Saratoga.


Summer 1776

In June 1776, the American force, pushed from Canada, fell back to Crown Point, Skenesborough, and Fort Ticonderoga. There Arnold pressed his force to complete a shipbuilding program before the British completed their squadron. In late August, 10 of his ships were finished and he moved north with ''Royal Savage'' as his
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
. ''Royal Savage'' was under the command of Captain Jacobus Wynkoop, but a dispute with Arnold led to Wynkoop being cashiered. Captain David Hawley replaced Wynkoop on 18 August. Into September Arnold scouted the lakeshore. On 23 September he moved his fleet into an anchorage at Valcour Island, separated from the western shore by a half-mile channel, to await the remainder of his squadron, and the British. With the arrival of the galley , Arnold shifted his headquarters to that boat, and continued to wait.


Battle of Valcour Island

On 11 October the north wind carried the British past the island. American ships, including ''Royal Savage'', appeared; fired on the enemy, and beat back into the southern entrance to the channel, where the remainder of Arnold's force was positioned to meet the enemy, beat him if possible, but, at all cost, to delay him. Coming in from the south, the British force was handicapped by the wind. Arnold's planning and the British acceptance of the bait had given the Americans a chance to carry out their mission. ''Royal Savage'', however, ran aground on the southwest point of Valcour Island around 11 am when attempting to return to the American line, and, undefendable, was abandoned. Despite attempts to reboard her, she was taken by a British boarding party from ''Loyal Convert'', who captured 20 men in the process. The British turned her guns against the American fleet. The British too, however, soon found themselves under considerable fire and had to abandon ''Royal Savage''. The British didn't want to give the Americans an opportunity to retake ''Royal Savage'' so they set fire to her sometime after dark. This, though, led to unintentionally helping the American fleet escape in the night. With the fire burning all night she provided a magnificent distraction. Combined with a moonless night, the ammunition blowing up, and staring at the fire, the British were unable to see the American fleet slip away.


Preservation

''Royal Savage'' remained in the lake until the marine salvor and amateur archaeologist Lorenzo Hagglund raised her in 1934. According to Art Cohn, Hagglund's family held onto the remains of the ship and associated artifacts until the city of
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...
purchased them in 1995. The remains were sold to Harrisburg for $42,500 with the plan of five museums being created in the city. The ship had no connections to either the city of Harrisburg or the state of Pennsylvania, but with plans of revolving displays that would cover different periods of history the then mayor,
Stephen R. Reed Stephen Russell Reed (August 9, 1949 – January 25, 2020) was the longest-serving mayor of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Dubbed "Mayor-for-Life," he was re-elected to seven four-year terms, serving from 1982 to 2010. After leaving office, Reed fac ...
, was able to rationale the purchase. However, only two of the planned six museums opened and the plans to display ''Royal Savage'' stalled with the remains being piled up in the corner of one of the city garages. In October 2013 the city council tried to recoup some of the city's money by auctioning off the remains of ''Royal Savage''. They had already auctioned off in Dallas, Texas some other artefacts in 2006 that had an American West connection. The pre-auction estimates for ''Royal Savage'' ranged between $20,000 and $30,000. This fell well below the $42,500 that had been paid for her in 1995. The starting bid was set at $10,000 but she was only able to bring $5,000. However, in the end the bidder decided not to take possession of ''Royal Savage'' and Harrisburg retained ownership. In July 2015 the city of Harrisburg was formally presented with the remains of ''Royal Savage''. Mayor
Eric Papenfuse Eric Robert Papenfuse (born September 4, 1971) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 38th Mayor of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Papenfuse is the founder and co-owner with his wife of The Midtown Scholar Bookstore in Harrisburg, ...
presided over the event in which
Naval History and Heritage Command The Naval History and Heritage Command, formerly the Naval Historical Center, is an Echelon II command responsible for the preservation, analysis, and dissemination of U.S. naval history and heritage located at the historic Washington Navy Yard. ...
(NHHC) Director Sam Cox accepted the artefacts on behalf of the Navy:
This ship, and its artifacts are now going to be preserved and cherished for the public for generations to come as they should be. For the last 20 years, the artifacts have stayed in storage, out of public viewing, and we are pleased today to bring them to the light of day and to make sure they are being given the proper care.


Notes


Citations


References

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Further reading

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External links

* Eckstein, Megan
"Navy Accepts Remains of Revolutionary War Schooner"
'' USNI News'', July 3, 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Savage(1775) Schooners of the Royal Navy Captured ships United States Navy ship names Ships of the Continental Navy Ships built in Quebec 1775 ships Maritime incidents in 1776 Lake Champlain Provincial Marine