English ship Squirrel (1570s)
| History | |
|---|---|
| Great Britain | |
| Name | Squirrel |
| Fate | Lost with all hands on 9 September 1583[1] in a storm near the Azores |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 10[2] |
| Complement | 10[1] |
Squirrel was an exploration vessel launched in the 1570s and lost with all hands in 1583.
In the 1570s Squirrel made a return voyage from England to Narragansett Bay, piloted by Simon Fernandes.[1][3] The voyage was considered remarkable given her small size and the dangers of sailing in largely uncharted waters.[2]
She was one of a small fleet of vessels under the command of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, commissioned in 1579 by the lord deputy of Ireland, William Drury, to attack James FitzMaurice FitzGerald by sea and to intercept a fleet expected to arrive from Spain. The expedition was a failure with the fleet dispersed by heavy seas and forced to seek shelter at Land's End.
Squirrel was again under Gilbert's command in 1583 for a voyage to
The frigate [Squirrel] was near cast away, oppressed by waves, yet at that time recovered: and giving forth signs of joy the General, sitting abaft with a book in his hand, cried out unto us in the Hind, so oft as we did approach within hearing, "We are as near to Heaven by sea as by land."
At twelve o'clock that night the Squirrel's lights suddenly disappeared, and she was seen no more.
Captain Edward Hayes, Golden Hind
9 September 1583.[6]
On 9 September Squirrel had reached the Azores off the European coast when she ran into a storm and was lost with all hands.[7] News of her fate was carried to England by the crew of Golden Hind, another vessel in Gilbert's fleet and the only one to survive the return voyage.[6]
References
- ^ a b c Quinn, David B. (1979) [1966]. "Gilbert, Sir Humphrey". In Brown, George Williams (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. I (1000–1700) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- ^ ISBN 0460039571.
- ^ "NMM, vessel ID 376281" (PDF). Warship Histories, vol x. National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 August 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
- JSTOR 41327468.
- ^ JSTOR 24412446.
- ^ JSTOR 24412446.
- JSTOR 41065256.
- This article includes data released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported UK: England & Wales Licence, by the Warship Historiesproject.