HMS Algerine (1810)
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Algerine |
| Ordered: | 2 October 1809 |
| Builder: | John King, Upnor |
| Laid down: | November 1809 |
| Launched: | 3 March 1810 |
| Completed: | By 20 June 1810 |
| Fate: | Wrecked on 20 May 1813 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Pigmy-class 10-gun schooner |
| Tons burthen: | 196 73/94 bm |
| Length: |
82 ft 10 in (25.2 m) (overall) 70 ft 8 in (21.5 m) (keel) |
| Beam: | 22 ft 10.5 in (7.0 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 10 ft 1 in (3.1 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Complement: | 60 |
HMS Algerine was a Pigmy-class 10-gun schooner of the Royal Navy. She had a crew of 50 men and mounted 10 12-pounder carronades. She was ordered from the yards of John King, Upnor on 2 October 1809, laid down in November that year and launched on 3 March 1810. She was fitted out and completed for service at Chatham.
Service
Algerine was commissioned in April 1810 under Lieutenant John Aitken Blow. She served initially in the Downs.
On 13 July 1811, Algerine and the 12-gun brig-sloop Brev Drageren, under Thomas Barker Devon, engaged three Danish brigs in Long Sound, Norway, the 20-gun Langeland, the 18-gun Lügum, and the 16-gun Kiel. Outnumbered and outgunned the British vessels took flight. The next day Brev Drageren unsuccessfully re-engaged first one and then two of the brigs. Algerine sent a boat with ten men and sweeps to assist Brev Drageren which extricated herself after her boats towed her for 30 hours. In the inconclusive engagement each British vessel sustained one man killed, and Brev Drageren also had three wounded.
In October, a court martial dismissed Blow from Algerine after he challenged a Capt. Campbell of the Marine to a duel. Brenton[1] suggests that this saved Blow from a serious investigation for his lack of aggressiveness in the action. However, Clowes et al.[2] dispute this. Admiral Sir James Saumarez had transmitted to Blow the acknowledgments of the Board of Admiralty for his skillful manoeuvres, which detached the remainder of the enemy's force, and for his exertions in facilitating the subsequent escape of himself and consort. On 19 Feb. 1813, Blow received an appointment to the Impress service at Folkestone, where he remained until August 1813. He then resumed his Naval career, reaching the rank of Captain in 1842.
Fate
Blow's successor was Lieutenant Daniel Carpenter, who took command in November 1811. He sailed Algerine to the West Indies in May 1812. She remained there until she wrecked on the Little Bahama Bank on 20 May 1813.
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.
- Brenton, Edward Pelham (1823-5) The naval history of Great Britain, from the year MDCCLXXXIII to MDCCCXXII. (London: C. Rice).
- Clowes, W. Laird, Sir; Clements R Markham, Sir, et al. (1997) The Royal Navy : a history from the earliest times to the present. (Chatham).
- Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1861762461.
