HMS Herring (1804)
| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Name: | HMS Herring |
| Ordered: | 23 June 1803 |
| Builder: | Goodrich & Co. (prime contractor), Bermuda |
| Laid down: | 1803 |
| Launched: | 1804 |
| Fate: | Lost, presumed foundered, July 1813 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Ballahoo-class schooner |
| Tonnage: | 70 41/94 bm |
| Length: |
55 ft 2 in (16.81 m) (overall) 40 ft 10.5 in (12.5 m) (keel) |
| Beam: | 18 ft 0 in (5.49 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 9 ft 0 in (2.74 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Schooner |
| Complement: | 20 |
| Armament: | 4 x 12-pounder carronades |
HMS Herring (1804) was a Royal Navy Ballahoo-class schooner of 4 12-pounder carronades and a crew of 20. The prime contractor for the vessel was Goodrich & Co., in Bermuda, and she was launched in 1804.[1] She spent most of her career in North American waters though she did spend two years sailing between Britain and Spain before returning to North America where she foundered in 1813.
Service
She was commissioned under Lieut. Isaac Morrison for the Leeward Islands or Newfoundland. In 1804 she was temporarily under Lieut. John G. M'B. MacKillop. He would write the following letter:[2]
His Maj. Schooner Herring, Bermuda October 1804
Sir,
I have the honor to acquaint your excellency that since my letter of the19 ..... the Herring and Pilchard have been launched, the former coppered and the inside work nearly compleat, the latter not yet coppered. The ship with spars for the several vessels arrived the day before yesterday which will enable the above vessels to be completed and ready for sea by the last of this month. The Capelin and Mackeral will not be launched until the middle of next month and I fear will not be ready to proceed to Newfoundland this winter. There being no iron ballast sent out for the schooners is of great inconvenience and the Navy Board have positively forbid any being purchased. The schooners being very buoyant obliges us to fill the hold with stone and carry all the water and provisions between decks so that the men have very little room. They are fine vessels of the kind and have the appearance of fast sailors. I beg leave to observe to your excellency that there being no establishment for the supply of necessaries, we are supplying them on the most reasonable terms possible and mean to forward the vouchers to the victualling board. The Officers and men are all in perfect health. I have the honor to remain &&&
John McKillop Lieut.
To: His Excellency Sir Erasmus Gower.
In 1808 and 1809, while under the command of Lieut. James Sprott, on the Newfoundland station, she sailed twice for the Bay of Exploits in two unsuccessful attempts to make contact with the Beothuk people.[3] She then sailed for Portugal on 5 March 1810.[1] Herring underwent repairs at Portsmouth from 2 November until 16 January 1811. She spent that year and early 1812 sailing between Lisbon or Cadiz and Falmouth.
In 1812 Lieut. John Murray took command, sailing her for North America on 3 July.
Fate
She was lost in July 1813, presumed foundered with all hands off the Halifax station.[1][4]
References
- Gossett, William Patrick (1986) The lost ships of the Royal Navy, 1793-1900. (London:Mansell).ISBN 0-7201-1816-6
- Marshall, Ingeborg (1998) History and ethnography of the beothuk. (Montreal: Mcgill-Queens Univ Press).
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1861762461.
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