HMS Pelorus (1808): Difference between revisions

|Ship country=[[UKGBI|United Kingdom]]

|Ship flag=[[File:Naval Ensign of the {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom.svg|60px|Royal Navy Ensign]]naval}}

|Ship hold depth={{convert|12|ft|9|in|m|1|abbr=on}}

'''HMS ''Pelorus''''' was an 18-gun [[{{sclass|Cruizer class brig-sloop|''Cruizer''-class]] [[brig-sloop]]}} of the British [[Royal Navy]]. She was built in [[Chichester Harbour|Itchenor]], [[England]] and launched on 25{{nbsp}}June 1808. She saw action in the Napoleonic Wars and in the [[War of 1812]]. On anti-slavery patrol off West Africa, she captured four slavers and freed some 1350 slaves. She charted parts of Australia and New Zealand and participated in the [[First Opium War]] (1839{{ndash}}1842) before becoming a merchantman and wrecking in 1844 while transporting [[opium]] to China.

'' Pelorus'' was commissioned in July 1808 under Commander the Honourable [[James William King]], and sailed for the [[Leeward Islands]] on 15{{nbsp}}December.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=299}} In January 1809 Commander [[Thomas Huskisson]] was appointed commander of ''Pelorus'',{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=299}} but did not find out until May. Therefore, he was not her commander at the [[Invasion of Martinique (1809)|capture of Martinique]] in February. (Some accounts have her under the command of Captain [[Francis Augustus Collier]]; however, he was commander of {{HMS|Starr|1805|2}}.) Under HuskinsonHuskisson she then took part in enforcing the blockade of [[Guadeloupe]]. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Martinique" to any surviving crewmen from that campaign that wished to claim it.

On 16 October ''Pelorus'' and {{HMS|Hazard|1794|2}} were in company when they came upon the French privateer schooner [[Général Ernouf (ship)|''Général Ernouf'']],{{sfnp|Demerliac|20042003|p=324, |loc=№2765}} moored under the guns of the battery of St. Marie on the east coast of the southern part of Guadeloupe. ''Hazard'' and ''Pelorus'' attempted to send in a cutting out party during the night, but the boats could not find a channel.<ref name="Marshall4-1">{{sfnp|Marshall (1833), Vol. 4, Part 1, |1833a|pp.380-5.</ref>=380–385}} The British went in again in the daylight despite fire from the battery and the schooner's long 18-pounder pivot-gun and two [[Swivel gun|swivels]].<ref name=LG16339>{{London Gazette|issue=16339|date=3 February 1810|pages=174–175}}</ref> Fire from ''Hazard'' and ''Pelorus'' silenced the batteries but as the British came alongside the French crew, an estimated 80-100 men, fled ashore. There two field guns joined them in firing on the cutting-out party.<ref name=LG16339/> Because the schooner was aground and chained to the shore the boarding party could not bring her out; instead, they set fire to her. However, a premature explosion injured some of them.<ref name{{sfnp|Marshall|1833a|pp="Marshall4380-1"/>385}} In all, ''Hazard'' lost three men killed and four wounded; ''Pelorus'' lost three killed and five wounded.<ref name=LG16339/>

By 1814, her captain was Commander Robert Stow. On 7 March boats from {{HMS|Endymion|1797|2}}, {{HMS|Rattler|17971795|2}}, and a third British vessel, destroyed the American privateer ''Mars'', of 15 guns and 70 men, off Sandy Hook. Some accounts name ''Pelorus'' as the third British vessel, but the prize money notices and most other accounts give the name of the third vessel as {{HMS|Belvidera|1809|2}}.<ref>{{London Gazette|page=1165|issue=17146|date=18 June 1816}}</ref> Then by September, ''Pelorus'' was under the command of Commander John Gourly. A year later she was paid off at Plymouth where she underwent a Middling Repair before she was laid up.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=299}}

She was fitted for sea from April–August 1823, Commander William Hamley having recommissioned her in April. In 1824, she was at Cork on coast guard duties. On 19 May she captured the smuggling vessel ''Good Hope''.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=18075|date=30 OctOctober 1824|pages=1784–1785}}.</ref> On 9{{nbsp}} October, she captured the small smuggling [[lugger]] ''Phoenix'', which was carrying a cargo of tobacco and a small amount of tea.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=18107|date=12 Feb 1825|page=246}}</ref> Over a period of three years, Hamley captured more smuggling-vessels than any other vessel.<ref name=Marshall4>{{sfnp|Marshall (|1833), Vol. 4, Part 1, |pp.=266-7.</ref>}} On 30 October 1823, a ship ran into ''Pelorus'' during the night, and then sailed on. The crash destroyed the bowsprit and sent the foremast over the side; both had to be cut away despite the heavy seas and otherwise bad weather. The crew rigged a jury-mast and bowsprit and ''Pelorus'' was able to get back to Plymouth. Had the ship struck ''Pelorus'' a few inches further aft the sloop would almost certainly have foundered.<ref name{{sfnp|Marshall|1833|pp=Marshall4/>266-7}}

''Pelorus'' was paid off in July 1826. In all, Hamley had seized more than 62,000 weight of tobacco.<ref name{{sfnp|Marshall|1833|pp=Marshall4/>266-7}}

Then in October, Commander Peter Richards recommissioned her. In January 1827, ''Pelorus'' was employed in the Mediterranean protecting British trade in the Archipelago, at [[Alexandria]], and around the coasts of [[Syria]] and Caramania. Commander Michael Quinn took command from September 1828. On 21 December 1829, she struck a rock at the entrance of [[Mahón|Port Mahon]], [[Menorca]], [[Spain]]; she was refloated on 23 December 1829, but subsequently sank.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |articlenametitle=Ship News |day_of_week=Thursday |date=21 January 1830 |page_numberpage=4 |issue=14129 |column=B }}</ref> {{HMS|Isis|1819|2}} came from Gibraltar to retrieve her officers and crew.<ref>''The United service magazine'', Volume 1855, Issue 1, p.370.</ref> ''Pelorus'' was refloated, and by 9 May 1830 she was back in Portsmouth. From December 1830 to December 1831, she underwent repairs and an alteration back to a brig.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=299}}

In 1831, [[William Wilberforce]]'s anti-slavery law was passed. In September, [[Captain (naval)|Captain]] Richard Meredith recommissioned ''Pelorus'' and she joined the [[West Africa Squadron]]. Here she patrolled the west coast of [[Africa]] to suppress the slave trade. On 9{{nbsp}} May 1832, she was at Sierra Leone having brought in the Spanish slaving vessel ''Segunda Theresa'', which was carrying 459 slaves.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=19030|date=15 March 1833|page=532}}</ref>{{refnefn|''Segunda Theresa'' had been built in 1831 at Philadelphia and was flying the Spanish flag when ''Pelorus'' captured her. She was sold and became the yacht ''Xariffa''.{{sfnp|MacGregor|1997|p=60}}|group=Note}}

On 16{{nbsp}} June 1834, [[Lieutenant]] Philip de Sausmarez of ''Pelorus'' came before a court martial. The charge was that on 18 April 1832, while in command of the prize crew on the ''Segunda Theresa'', Sausmarez had the boatswain's mate of {{HMS|Lynx||2}} administer 24 lashes to Francis Brown for neglect of duty. Meredith preferred the charges because he had forbidden the lash in written orders.<ref>{{sfnp|Marshall (|1835), Vol. 4, part 2, p.|pp=132-3.</ref>133}} The court supported Suasmarez, who had been under arrest for 18 months before his exoneration.<ref>''Nautical magazine and journal of the Royal Naval Reserve'', Volume 3, p.443-4.</ref><ref group=Note>{{efn|On 18 June 1834, Sausmarez transferred to {{HMS|Caledonia|1808|2}}. He stayed in the Navy and eventually made Captain while retired.</ref>}}

On 30{{nbsp}}June, boats from ''Pelorus'' captured the Spanish slaver ''Pepita''. At the time of her capture, ''Pepita'' had no slaves aboard. Under the terms of the treaty with Spain, the Royal Navy could only seize vessels actually carrying slaves. The boarding party manufactured evidence by putting three slaves aboard ''Pepita'' after boarding her. They then brought another 176 slaves that were on shore waiting to be loaded. Meredith accepted responsibility for the manufacturing of evidence. The Court in Sierra Leone therefore had to order ''Pepita'' returned to her master.<ref>''Correspondence{{sfnp|Anon...'' (|1836), |pp.=16-30.</ref>}} ''Pepita''{{'}}s master then sued for damages. The Court found against Meredith and charged him £1092 in damages{{sfnp|Anon.<ref>''Correspondence...'' (|1836), |pp. =32-47.</ref>}}

On 17 December, ''Pelorus'' captured the two-gun slaver ''Sutil''. She had 307 slaves aboard, of whom 91 died of dysentery and disease before they could be freed in Sierra Leone.<ref>"Correspondence{{sfnp|Anon..." (|1836), p.|pp=47-9.</ref>49}}<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=19380|date=6 May 1836|page=812}}</ref>

On 5{{nbsp}}January 1835, boats from ''Pelorus'' captured the Spanish [[polacca]]-bark ''Minerva'', which armed with two 18-pounder and two 8-pounder guns. The boats had sailed {{convert|60|mi|km|abbr=on}} up the [[Calabar river]] and laid in ambush. Skillful handling resulted in the capture of the slaver with no casualties to the boarding party although the vessel's guns were double-shotted and the crew and the boarding party exchanged small arms fire. The vessel had a crew of 37 men, two of whom were cut down.{{refnefn|One account has ''Minerva'' armed with 10 guns and carrying a crew of 65 men.{{sfnp|O'Byrne|1849|p=51}}|group=Note}} The boarding party consisted of 22 men. The slaver had some 650 slaves aboard, and after her capture, the master arrived with 25 more. In sum, she had 676 aboard, of whom 206 died of disease before they could be freed in Sierra Leone.<ref>"Correspondence.{{sfnp|Anon.." (|1836), p.|pp=55-8.</ref>58}}

On 26{{nbsp}} September, ''Pelorous'' was paid off at Portsmouth. A bounty was paid on both ''Sutil'' and ''Minerva'' in June 1836.

On 31{{nbsp}} January 1837, ''Pelorus'' was recommissioned under Captain Francis Harding who had taken command on 21{{nbsp}} January. She then sailed for the Cape of Good Hope on 9 April, having received specie from London that she was to take to Mauritius via the Cape. She arrived at the Cape on 1 June.

Next, she sailed for Western Australia and [[Van Diemen's Land]]. On 9{{nbsp}} January 1838, she arrived at [[Fremantle]] from Calcutta, departing on 19 March for [[King George Sound]] carrying a party including [[Governor of Western Australia]] [[James Stirling (Royal Navy officer)|Captain James Stirling]]. While there a boatcrew, under [[master's mate]] Charles Forsyth, surveyed the nearby [[Torbay, Western Australia|Tor Bay]] for a potential new anchorage. She returned Stirling to Fremantle, arriving on 9 April, then departing on 7 May for Adelaide, Launceston and Sydney, arriving on 22{{nbsp}} June. On 5{{nbsp}} July she sailed for New Zealand.<ref>{{cite news | title = The Western Australian Journal | date = 14 April 1838 | url = http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page1168 | work = [[The Perth Gazette and Western Australian Journal]] | pages = 58 | accessdateaccess-date = 10 Dec 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = Her Majesty's Birthday | date = 16 June 1838 | url = http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31749942 | work = [[South Australian Register|South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register]] | pages = 3 | accessdateaccess-date = 10 Dec 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = Shipping Intelligence | date = 25 June 1838 | url = http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32160488 | work = [[The Monitor (Sydney, NSW)|The Sydney Monitor]] | pages = 2 | accessdateaccess-date = 10 Dec 2013}}</ref>

Then in August ''Pelorus'' saildedsailed to New Zealand to conduct a survey of the [[Marlborough Sounds]] region. On 22{{nbsp}} August, ''Pelorus'' sailed into [[Port Underwood]], New Zealand, and cast anchor in Oyster Cove. She was under the temporary command of Lt. Phillip Chetwode while Commander Harding was ill. From here, Chetwode surveyed and named [[Pelorus River]] and [[Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere]] in New Zealand in honour of his ship. He also named the Chetwode Islands, off Pelorus Sound.

Lt.Lieutenant [[Augustus Leopold Kuper]] was nominated [[Brevet (military)|acting]] commander of ''Pelorus'' on 27{{nbsp}} July 1839.<ref name{{sfnp|O'Byrne|1849|p=Marshall>Marshall (1823-35)</ref>623}} On 26 August, ''Pelorus'' and {{HMS|Herald|1824|6}} attempted to scuttle the British merchant ship ''Lucretia'', which had caught fire off Kyardbilly's point, [[Sydney]]. The attempt was unsuccessful and the ship exploded and sank.<ref name=Times191239>{{Cite newspaper The Times |articlenametitle=Fatal Destruction of the Ship Lucretia with Loss of Life |date=19 December 1839 |page_numberpage=6 |issue=17229 |column=C }}</ref>

===Wrecked inat NewPort SouthEssington, WalesCoburg Peninsula, Northern Territory===

On 5{{nbsp}} March 1840, Kuper was promoted to command of ''Alligator'', then on 26{{nbsp}} December, Lieutenant Kuper was promoted to the rank of commander, his commission being back-dated to when he took command of ''Pelorus''.<ref name{{sfnp|O'Byrne|1849|p=Marshall/>623}}

After repairs, in late July 1840, ''Pelorus'' sailed from [[Sydney]] with {{HMS|Herald|1824|2}} to take part in the [[First Opium War]]. On 23{{nbsp}} April 1841, she arrived at Singapore. One month later, Lieutenant W. W. Chambers, of {{HMS|Wellesley|1815|2}}, was appointed and promoted to be acting commander of ''Pelorus''. At the time, ''Wellesley'' was at Canton (now [[Guangzhou]]) in China.

On 6{{nbsp}}July 1841, ''Pelorus'' was laid up at Singapore and Lieutenant Chambers returned to Britain. The officers and crew transferred to the steam paddle and sail survey cutter {{HMS|Bentinck|1842|2}}, which [[Commodore (Royal Navy)|Commodore]] Sir [[JamesGordon Bremer|J.J.G. Bremer]] had just purchased and which went on to operations in China.<ref>[{{Cite web |url=http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/B/00543.html |title=Naval Database] |access-date=30 November 2009 |archive-date=5 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305214411/http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/B/00543.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>''The Nautical magazine'' (1842), Volume 10, (Glasgow: Brown, Son and Ferguson), p.871.</ref> An Admiralty Order of 16 October specified that ''Pelorus'' was to be sold, which took place in 1842.{{sfnp|Winfield|2008|p=299}}

==Notes, citations, and references==

'''==Citations'''==

{{Reflist|30em}}

'''==References'''==

* {{cite book |author=Anon. |title=Correspondence with the British Commissioners, at Sierra Leone, the Havana, Rio de Janeiro, and Surinam: relating to the slave trade, 1835: presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of His Majesty | date=1836 | place=London: William Clowes and Sons }}

* {{cite book | lastlast1=MacGregorHoe | firstfirst1= DavidSusanna R.| first2= Derek | last2=Roebuck | date=19971999 | title=The schooner:Taking itsof designHong andKong: developmentCharles fromand 1600Clara toElliot thein presentChina | url=https://archive.org/details/uboatsdestroyedg0000kemp | url-access=registrationWaters |place=Annapolis, Md.London: NavalTaylor & Francis InstituteGroup Press| isbn= 978-10-557507007-8471145-81 }}

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929223902/http://hmspelorus.com/ HMS ''Pelorus'' website]

* {{cite web|url=http://www.ageofnelson.org/MichaelPhillips/info.php?ref=1677|title=HMS ''Pelorus'' at the Age of Nelson website|accessdateaccess-date=2008-09-08}}