HMS Belette (1814)
HMS Belette (or Bellette) was an 18-gun Cruizer class brig-sloop, built by Edward Larking and William Spong at Kings Lynn and launched in 1814.[1] She was the second Cruizer class brig-sloop to bear the name. Belette had an uneventful career performing peacetime patrols and was sold in 1828.
Service
With the war with France ending there was no immediate need for her services. She was therefore brought to Sheerness on 13 July and laid up; she was not finished until 1818.[1]
Belette was commissioned in May 1818 under Cmdr. George Pechell for the Halifax station.[1] At Halifax she enforced the obligations under the Treaty of Ghent with respect to revenue and fisheries. In carrying out these duties she took into custody some 20 vessels of varying types that she suspected of violating the Treaty or the revenue laws.
In 1820 Rear Admiral Griffith appointed Pechell to the command of the frigate Tamar, her captain being unwell, but the Admiralty canceled the appointment and Pechell returned to Belette.[2] While in Tamar Pechell, with the authority of the Haitian government, had captured a brigantine purporting to be Haitian.[2]
Belette was paid off in December 1821 and then spent most of 1822 at Plymouth undergoing repairs. She was recommissioned in September under Cmdr. John Leith for the West Indies. She was then paid off in 1827 at Chatham.
Fate
Belette was sold on 26 March 1828 to Adam Gordon for £1,210.[1]
References
- Stephen, Sir Leslie (1908-9) Dictionary of national biography. (London), Vol. 15.
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1861762461.
