''Chasseur'' was a

Baltimore Clipper A Baltimore Clipper is a fast sailing ship historically built on the mid-Atlantic seaboard of the United States of America, especially at the port of Baltimore, Maryland. An early form of clipper, the name is most commonly applied to two-maste ...

commanded by Captains Pearl Durkee (February 1813), William Wade (1813) and Thomas Boyle (1814-1815). She was one of the best equipped and crewed American

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 during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

Merchant Vessel Career

Thomas Kemp built ''Chasseur'' at Fell's Point in

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as a

topsail 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 schoo ...

. He built her a merchant vessel for William Hollins, but also owned a share in her. Kemp launched her on 12 December 1812. The British blockade of the

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during the War of 1812 impeded her merchant career. The Royal Navy had placed Chesapeake Bay under a strict blockade in March 1813, though that declaration became known as a "paper blockade" as some 50 to 60 American privateers were rather freely cruising the coast and the waters of the West Indies. Her owners decided to enter the popular business of privateering instead. She was granted a letter of marque on 23 February 1813 and started her career of a privateer.

Career as Privateer during the War of 1812

First West Indies Cruise

''Chasseur'', under Captain William Wade's command, evaded the blockade and cruised the West Indies from July until the Christmas of 1813, harassing the British merchant fleet. ''Chasseur'' captured at least six British vessels and burned five of them after divesting them of their valuables. Some sources record the capture of as many as eleven prizes during this cruise.

1814 European cruise

In July 1814, Captain Thomas Boyle took command of ''Chasseur.'' He sailed across the Atlantic ocean and harassed British merchant shipping from the coasts of Portugal and Spain to the English and Irish channels. Most famously, while cruising the English channel, Boyle had proclaimed a blockade on the entire United Kingdom to show the absurdity of "paper blockades". On 27 August 1814, Boyle captured the merchantman , made a

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of her, and by her sent a daring message to King George. Boyle's proclamation was posted in

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in London:

''PROCLAMATION:'' ''Whereas, It has become customary with the admirals of Great Britain, commanding small forces on the coast of the United States, particularly with Sir
John Borlase Warren Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet (2 September 1753 – 27 February 1822) was a British Royal Navy officer, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1774 and 1807. Naval career Born in Stapleford, Nottinghams ...
and Sir
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, to declare all the coast of the said United States in a state of strict and rigorous blockade without possessing the power to justify such a declaration or stationing an adequate force to maintain said blockade;'' ''I do therefore, by virtue of the power and authority in me vested (possessing sufficient force), declare all the ports, harbors, bays, creeks, rivers, inlets, outlets, islands, and seacoast of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in a state of strict and rigorous blockade.'' ''And I do further declare that I consider the force under my command adequate to maintain strictly, rigorously, and effectually the said blockade.'' ''And I do hereby require the respective officers, whether captains, commanders, or commanding officers, under my command, employed or to be employed, on the coasts of England, Ireland, and Scotland, to pay strict attention to the execution of this my proclamation.'' ''And I do hereby caution and forbid the ships and vessels of all and every nation in amity and peace with the United States from entering or attempting to enter, or from coming or attempting to come out of, any of the said ports, harbors, bays, creeks, rivers, inlets, outlets, islands, or seacoast under any pretense whatsoever. And that no person may plead ignorance of this, my proclamation, I have ordered the same to be made public in England.'' ''Given under my hand on board the Chasseur.'' ''THOMAS BOYLE'' ''By command of the commanding officer.'' ''J. J. STANBURY, Secretary''.

This affront and five days of actual blockage of St. Vincent sent the shipping community into panic and caused them to send a letter to Admiral Durham, who dispatched the frigate to chase ''Chasseur''. Later the

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called vessels home from the American war to guard merchant ships, which had to sail in convoys. ''Chasseur'' returned from her famous 3-month European cruise to New York on 24 or 29 October 1814. George R. Roberts was a gunner of the schooner.

Second West Indies Cruise and Capture of HMS ''St Lawrence''

In the winter of 1814 and 1815 ''Chasseur'' returned to the West Indies. On February 26, 1815, just off

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, ''Chasseur'' met an unidentified ship, which was the English, but American-built, schooner . ''Chasseur'' fired a gun and showed her colors while still about three miles away; when the other ship did not show her colours ''Chasseur'' started the chase. She carried 14 guns and 102 men, while ''St Lawrence'' carried 13 guns and 75 men, including officers, soldiers, and civilians bound to the British squadron off New Orleans. At about 1:26pm, when the schooners were close to each other, ''St Lawrence'' revealed her armament and uniformed sailors and opened fire, catching ''Chasseur'' off guard. ''Chasseur'' was able to close ''St Lawrence'' and a number of Americans, led by the prize master N. W. Christie, jumped aboard ''St Lawrence''. The intense action that followed lasted only about 15 minutes during which ''St Lawrence'' suffered six men killed and 17 wounded, several of them mortally. (According to American accounts, the English had 15 killed and 25 wounded.) ''Chasseur'' had five killed and eight wounded; Boyle was among the wounded. Both vessels were badly damaged. Captain Boyle made a

of ''St Lawrence'' and sent her and her crew into Havana as his prize.

Impact

During the cruise to the British Isles and the winter of 1814/1815 ''Chasseur'' captured eighteen valuable merchant ships, carrying wine, brandy, dry goods, cotton, cocoa, etc. Nine of those ships were sent to the United States. One source estimated a total damage to the Royal Navy from ''Chasseur''s 1813-1815 activities at one and a half million dollars. The captured goods from alone were valued at $50,000. However, it is important to notice that the Royal Navy recaptured many of the ''Chasseur's'' prizes, making it harder to estimate the actual loss to British commerce.

Prizes

List of some of the prizes that ''Chasseur'' captured during the War of 1812: * ''

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'', ship, divested off cargo, sent to Charleston, South Carolina, but recaptured there * ''Alert'', brig, divested and burned * ''American'', schooner, divested and burned * ''Ann Maria'', schooner, divested and burned * ''Britannia'', brig, sent to Beaufort * ''Carlebury'', ship, valued at $50,000, ordered in * ''Christianna'' of Scotland, sloop * ''Commerce'', brig, sent to Charleston, South Carolina * ''Eclipse,'' brig, bound to Liverpool from Buenos Aires, captured and sent it to New York. * ''Favorite'', sloop, divested and burned * ''Joanna'' of Malta, divested and burned * ''Harmony'', brig, converted into a cartel * ''Martha'', sloop, converted into a cartel * , brig, converted into a cartel * ''Melpomene'', brig, six guns, sent to Newport * ''Miranda'', schooner, divested and burned * ''Prudence'', brig, converted into a cartel * ''HMS St. Lawrence'', schooner, see above

Career after the War of 1812

On ''Chasseur''s return to Baltimore on 15 April 1815, '' Niles' Register'' called the ship the "Pride of Baltimore". She resumed her merchant career in the China trade. In 1816, she was sold to foreign investors and thereafter disappears from records.

"Pride of Baltimore"

Two

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were modeled after ''Chasseur'' and both were named '' Pride of Baltimore''.

Paintings

Not many paintings of the ''Chasseur'' exist. One of them is "''Chasseur'' capturing HMS ''St Lawrence''" by Adam Weingartner of unknown date. The other is a painting of her by Danish-American artist Torsten Kruse that appeared in a book about Fell's Point.