HMS Telegraph (1813)
HMS Telegraph was built in 1812 in New York as the American letter of marque Vengeance. The Royal Navy took her into service as the 14-gun schooner or gunbrig Telegraph. Over a period of only about two years she took numerous small prizes and caused the destruction of a French 16-gun brig. A gale caused the wrecking of Telegraph in 1817.
Contents
Capture of Vengeance
Late in 1812 or early in 1813, the 36-gun Fifth Rate 18-pounder frigate Phoebe captured the Vengeance, which was an American letter of marquee schooner from New York, bound to Bordeaux, laden with sugar and coffee. Vengeance arrived in Plymouth on 8 January. She was closely followed by Hunter, another American privateer schooner, of 14 guns and 100 men that Phoebe had also captured.
Prize taking
Lieut. Timothy Scriven commissioned Telegraph at Plymouth. In British service Telegraph was armed with 12 12-pounder carronades and had a crew of 60 men.[1]
On 12 August she captured the American schooner Ellen & Emeline after a chase of 44 hours that brought the vessels to within 10 miles of St Andero. The Ellen & Emeline carried a cargo of silk for New York and was armed with a single long 12-pounder on a swivel. She was only three hours out of Nantes when Telegraph first sighted her. Then on 23 Aug Telegraph detained and sent in the American schooner Allen & Adelaide, Booth, master, also from Nantes.
On 18 September Telegraph arrived at Falmouth with four French chasse-marées laden with brandy, wine and the like. cut out of Bordeaux. Ten days later she sailed with a convoy of transports for St. Sebastian. On 7 October, she arrived with dispatches for Sir George Collier in Surveillante on the north coast of Spain.
Telegraph vs Flibustier
Six days later Telegraph, Challenger, and Constant brought about the destruction of the French 16-gun brig Flibustier (1810) in the mouth of the Adour. Flibustier had been seeking an opportunity to escape from St Jean de Luz which was threatened by the advance of Wellington's army. She started out during a dark and stormy night, but immediately Telegraph gave chase. After an action lasting three-quarters of an hour, the French saw Challenger and Constant coming up to join the engagement. Flibustier's crew set their ship on fire and escaped ashore. Lieut. Scriven sent boats to try and save her, but without success, and she blew up. Papers found on board showed Lieutenant de vaisseau Jean-Jacques-Léonore Daniel had been the commander, and that she was armed with sixteen French 24-pounder carronades, two long 9-pounders, a brass howitzer and four brass 3-pounders. There had been 160 men on board and their losses must have been considerable; Telegraph had no casualties. Both armies witnessed the British success. As a reward for his success Scriven received a promotion to Commander and Telegraph was re-rated as a sloop of war.[2]
She took the French galiot Hercules bound from Oleron to Nantes on 29 December. The next day she took the French chasse-marée Felicitee bound from Bordeaux to Nantes.
Prize taking again
On 4 January 1814, a chasse-marée arrived in Plymouth, and a ketch arrived in Falmouth, both prizes that Telegraph had taken.
On 10 March 1814 she captured the French dogger North Star from Île de Ré, also bound for Nantes. The next day Helicon arrived in the Isles of Scilly towing a chasse-marée that Telegraph had taken. Lastly, on 5 April, she sent in to Plymouth the French galiot Neidsteerm.
Telegraph then sailed to the Halifax station. On 14 November 1814, she was part of the blockading squadron that ran the famous American privateer Syren ashore where her crew destroyed her. Syren, a 7-gun schooner out of Baltimore and under the command of J.D. Daniels, had had a successful cruise in which she captured several prizes, including the Sir John Sherbooke. On 12 July Syren had captured the 4-gun cutter Landrail after a fight of 40 minutes with casualties on both sides.[3][4]
Late in the year Telegraph took the schooner Mary from Philadelphia for Havana and sent her to Bermuda. Bermuda also reported the arrivals of the Amy, with flour from Philadelphia, prize to Telegraph, and Mary, prize to the Spencer and Telegraph.
In January 1815 Telegraph took three prizes. On 4 January she took the merchant vessel Trim. Then on 12 January, near Cape Hatteras, she took two merchant vessels, the Attempt and the William.
In September 1815 Lieut. Richard Crossman took command of Telegraph. In 1816 Lieut. Jonathan Little replaced him.[1]
Loss
During the night of 19-20 January 1817 Telegraph was anchored off the Eastern Hoe in Plymouth Sound. A gale came up that parted her cables and wrecked her on the point of Mount Batten, at the entrance of Catwater. The same gale caused the loss of Jasper. Telegraph's only fatality was a seaman who she crushed to death against her side. Several other men were injured. (Another report gives her losses as two dead out of her 50-man crew.[5]) The court martial (on 28 January 1817), attributed the loss to short cables and insufficiently heavy anchors.[5]
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.. 5. R. Bentley.
- Maclay, Edgar Stanton (1899) History of American Privateers. (Digital Antiquaria [1]).
- Marshall, John (1823-1835) Royal naval biography : or, Memoirs of the services of all the flag-officers, superannuated rear-admirals, retired-captains, post-captains, and commanders, whose names appeared on the Admiralty list of sea officers at the commencement of the present year, or who have since been promoted, illustrated by a series of historical and explanatory notes ... with copious addenda. (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown).
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1861762461.
