HMS ''St Lawrence'' was a 14-gun

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. She had been built in 1808 in St. Michaels,

Talbot County, Maryland Talbot County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,526. Its county seat is Easton. The county was named for Lady Grace Talbot, the wife of Sir Robert Talbot, an Anglo- Irish statesma ...

for Thomas Tennant and sold to Philadelphians in 1810. During the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

she was the US

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding 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 o ...

''Atlas''. The UK captured her in 1813 and renamed her ''St Lawrence''. The US privateer recaptured her in 1815, and then re-recaptured her.

Privateer

''Atlas'' had a home port of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

and took to sea early in the war under the command of Captain David Maffitt. She was armed with 12 short 9-pounders and one long 9-pounder, and had a crew of 104 men. In July 1812, she cleared the Capes of the Delaware, and when two days out she took the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

''Tulip'', Captain Monk, just out from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. On 3 August ''Atlas'' captured , of 450 tons, carrying 16 guns and a crew of 35 men, and ''Planter'', of 280 tons, carrying twelve 12-pounders and a crew of 15 men. Both ships were thirty days out from Surinam, bound for

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, with a cargo of coffee, cotton, cocoa, and six hundred hogsheads of sugar. ''Atlas'', which had sailed between the two vessels and fired broadsides from both sides, had been damaged in the fighting before the two vessels struck. Still, ''Atlas'' made it safely back to Philadelphia with ''Pursuit''. The British recaptured ''Planter'', off the

Delaware Capes Delaware Bay is the estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the northeast seaboard of the United States, lying between the states of Delaware and New Jersey. It is approximately in area, the bay's freshwater mixes for many miles with the saltwat ...

.Williams (1815), p.143.

Capture

On a cruise early in the summer of 1813, ''Atlas'' took shelter in

Ocracoke Inlet Ocracoke Inlet ()
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, where she found the 18-gun privateer ''Anaconda'', out of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Captain Nathaniel Shaler commanding. Here, on 12 July, a British squadron under Rear Admiral Sir

George Cockburn Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet, (22 April 1772 – 19 August 1853) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. As a captain, he was present at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in February 1797 during the French Revolutionary ...

, that included , herself a former American privateer, captured the two vessels. The British took both vessels into service, ''Anaconda'' as , and ''Atlas'' as HMS ''St Lawrence''.

British service

Her first British commander was Lieutenant David Boyd, and he served on her until 1 October 1814, when he became acting commander of the sloop , which was the former American privateer ''William Bayard''. In June 1814 ''St Lawrence'', was part of a squadron under Captain

Robert Barrie Sir Robert Barrie (5 May 1774 – 7 June 1841) was a British naval officer noted for his service in the War of 1812. He was helped early in his naval career by the patronage of his uncle, Sir Alan Gardner, who arranged for him to take part ...

of the 74-gun

third rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks (thus the related term two-decker). Rating When the rating system was f ...

. The British chased

Joshua Barney Joshua Barney (6 July 1759 – 1 December 1818) was an American naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War and in the French Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars. He later achieved the rank of comm ...

's Chesapeake Bay Flotilla of 18 gunboats, barges and the like up the

Patuxent River The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington, D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeas ...

. On 26 June, the Americans

scuttled Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull, typically by its crew opening holes in its hull. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vesse ...

16 of the remaining vessels of the flotilla, with the British capturing one. ''St Lawrence'' shared with a number of other British warships in the capture, on 2 July 1814, of the schooner ''Little Tom''. Then 12 days later, ''St Lawrence'' shared in the capture of the schooners ''William'', ''Eliza'', ''Union'', and ''Emmeline''. In January 1815 Lieutenant James E. Gordon took command. On 26 February 1815, ''St Lawrence'' was bound for Mobile with dispatches when just off

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Thomas Boyle Thomas Boyle (29 June 1775 – 12 October 1825), an Irish American, as a captain of the schooner ''Comet'' and the clipper ''Chasseur'', was one of the most successful Baltimore privateers during the War of 1812. He briefly served in the United ...

. ''Chasseur'' carried 14 guns and 102 men, while ''St Lawrence'' carried 14 guns and 76 men, though ''St Lawrence''s broadside was much heavier. What would prove decisive though was small arms fire from the American vessel. The intense action lasted only about 15 minutes, during which ''St Lawrence'' suffered six men killed and 18 wounded, several of them mortally. (According to American accounts, the English had 15 killed and 25 wounded.) ''Chasseur'' had five killed and eight wounded, including Boyle. Both vessels were badly damaged. Captain Boyle made a

cartel A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collaborate with each other as well as agreeing not to compete with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. A cartel is an organization formed by producers ...

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

Fate

''Acasta'' recaptured ''St Lawrence'' in March. The British sailed ''St Lawrence'' to

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

where an

Admiralty Court Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all admiralty law, maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offenses. United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest records, ...

ruled that as the capture took place after the treaty of peace, in accordance with the terms of peace she was to be returned to the United States as a legitimate prize of war.Viele (1996), p. 79.

Notes

Citations

References

* * * * * James, William (1859) ''The naval history of Great Britain, from the declaration of war by France in 1793 to the accession of George IV''. (London : Richard Bentley). * * * Viele, John (1996) ''The Florida Keys: True stories of the perilous straits''. (Sarasota, Fla.: Pineapple Press). * Williams, Samuel (1815) ''Sketches of the War Between the United States and the British Isles: Intended as a Faithful History of All the Material Events from the Time of the Declaration in 1812 to ... the Treaty of Peace in 1815; Interspersed with Geographical Descriptions ... and Biographical Notices of Distinguished Military and Naval Commanders ...'' (Fay). * {{DEFAULTSORT:St Lawrence (1813) Schooners of the Royal Navy War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom Privateer ships of the United States Captured ships 1808 ships Ships built in Maryland