HMS Reindeer (1804)
| 300px Woodblock of the action between the USS Wasp and HMS Reindeer | |
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Reindeer |
| Ordered: | 23 May 1804 |
| Builder: | S(amuel) & D(aniel) Brent, Rotherhithe |
| Laid down: | June 1804 |
| Launched: | 15 August 1804 |
| Commissioned: | September 1804 |
| Fate: | Captured and burnt by USS Wasp on 28 June 1814 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Cruizer-class brig-sloop |
| Tons burthen: | 385 bm |
| Length: | 100 ft 0 in (30.48 m) |
| Beam: | 30 ft 7.5 in (9.335 m) |
| Draught: | 5 ft 3 in (1.60 m) forward; 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m)aft |
| Depth of hold: | 12 ft 10 in (3.91 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | two-masted brig-sloop |
| Armament: |
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HMS Reindeer was a Royal Navy 18-gun Cruizer class brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, built by Samuel & Daniel Brent at Rotherhithe and was launched in 1804.[1] She was built of fir,[2] which made for more rapid construction at the expense of durability. Reindeer fought in the Napoleonic Wars before succumbing in 1814 to the guns of the USS Wasp during the War of 1812.
Contents
Caribbean
In September 1804 Cmdr. John Fyffe commissioned Reindeer and on 21 November sailed for the Jamaica station,[1] of which Rear-Admiral Dacres was the C-in-C. On 7 March 1805 she and Hunter captured the Spanish privateer schooner Santa Rosalia Galundrina after a chase of over five hours during which she threw her three guns − one 8-pounder and two 4-pounders - overboard. She was under the command of Francisco de Naras and had a crew of 57 men. The privateer had left Caliodam in Cuba the previous day for a fourteen day cruise but had taken no prizes. Fyffe sent her in to Port Royal with Hunter.
Then, on 15 September Reindeer's crew were at the sweeps under a hot sun for over six hours before she was able to catch and capture the French privateer Renomee, of two 6-pounder guns.
On the 26 March 1806 Pique captured two French brigs of war that had earlier encountered Reindeer. She had damaged them badly before they succeeded in escaping her.
Then on 21 April, off Cape St. Nicholas in San Domingo, Reindeer captured the French privateer schooner Creole.[1] She was pierced for 14 guns but only mounted six; she had a crew of 59, 16 being absent on prizes. Creole had a reputation for of being the fastest vessel in those waters; Fyffe believed that he would not have caught her if Creole's captain had not been so confident of her speed as to try and pass under Reindeer's bow to gain the wind. She also captured another small privateer that same day.
In February 1807 Cmdr. Peter John Douglas took command of Reindeer.[1] On 21 December, after a 10-hour chase, Reindeer captured the French schooner privateer Experiment, under Capt. Antoine Corocco, off Tiberon in the extreme south-west of Haiti. She was armed with two guns and carrying 40 men and had made no captures in the three weeks since she had left Baracoa in Cuba. Then on 25 January 1808, off Point Picolet in San Domingo, Reindeer chased and captured the French 5-gun privateer schooner Lyonnaise, under Jean Tessier. Lyonnaise had a crew of 85 men and was eight days out of Baracoa. Two days later, Douglas, learning of a privateer rendezvous, managed to run one of them ashore where her crew abandoned her. Reindeer brought the 3-gun vessel off the shore without much trouble and brought her into Port Royal. When Reindeer arrived there she had 90 prisoners on board and had 30 men away in prizes.
On 10 November 1808, Reindeer, Franchise, Aurora, Daedalus, and Pert met accidentally. Together their captains conceived the idea of taking the town and port of Samana to help the Spanish patriots blockading the city of San Domingo. The town was also was the last port of refuge for privateers to the windward of San Domingo and the enemy were in the act of erecting batteries for its protection. The British entered the following day and took possession of the harbour.
During the following week they captured two French 5-gun privateer schooners.[1] One was the Guerrière, Louis Telin, master, with a crew of 110 men; the other was the Exchange with a crew of 110. The British also took three merchant vessels, the schooner Diana and a brig, both laden with fish, and the sloop Brutus, laden with coffee. Capt. Charles Dashwood of Franchise handed Samana over to a Spanish officer Don Diego de Lira, who guaranteed the safety of the French inhabitants on their plantations.
On the morning of 16 November Reindeer and Pert re-captured the English ship Jeannet, R. Bradshaw, master, which had been bound from London to Havana with bale goods and was running for Samana harbour with a prize crew after being taken by a privateer. The two British sloops also captured another prize, the Spanish St. Erasmo, sailing from Malaga to Havana with wine.
In 1809 Reindeer was in the North Sea, but on 4 November she sailed for Jamaica again under Cmdr. Christopher Askew.[1]
Channel
In 1812 Reindeer was in Plymouth, under Cmdr. Daniel Ross, who took command in August. His successor, in 1813, was Cmdr. William Manners.[1]
On 2 February Reindeer and Iris captured the American 6-gun letter of marque schooner Cashier. The capture followed a chase during which the American vessel lost one man killed and several wounded out of her crew of 40.
On 22 November, Reindeer captured the French 14-gun privateer lugger Spéculation.[1] She was 5 days out of St Malo.
On 28 June 1814 Reindeer encountered the American sloop Wasp, under the command of Johnston Blakely about 500 miles west of Ushant. In the resulting action Reindeer suffered 25 killed, including her commander, and 42 men wounded, out of a total of 98 men and 20 boys, and she was forced to surrender. Key factors in the fight were that Wasp's crew greatly outnumbered Reindeer's, and Wasp's broadside was much heavier than Reindeer's.[2] At the time of the battle, Reindeer had exchanged 24-pounder carronades for her original 32-pounder carronades because of her age and weakness.[2]
Fate
The following day Blakely decided Reindeer was too badly damaged and set her afire.[3]
References
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: the complete record of all fighting ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham. ISBN 9781861762818. OCLC 67375475.
- Gossett, William Patrick (1986) The lost ships of the Royal Navy, 1793-1900. (London:Mansell). ISBN 0-7201-1816-6
- James, William (1837), The Naval History of Great Britain, from the Declaration of War by France in 1793, to the Accession of George IV., 6, R. Bentley
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1861762461.
