HMS Dolphin (1813)
 Dolphin capturing Hebe, 1813
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | Dolphin |
| Owner | John Hollins, John Smith Hollins, Michael McBlair, Lemuel Taylor, Samuel Smith & James A. Buchanan |
| Homeport | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Fate | Captured April 1813 |
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Dolphin |
| Acquired | By capture, 3 April 1813 |
| Commissioned | 11 July 1813 |
| Honours and awards | Naval General Service Medal with clasp "April & May Boat Service 1813" [1] |
| Fate | Unknown |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Schooner |
| Tons burthen | 161 (bm)[2] |
| Complement | 100 |
| Armament | 2 × 9-pounder guns + 10 × 12-pounder carronades[2] |
HMS Dolphin was the 12-gun American privateer schooner Dolphin that Admiral
Privateer
Dolphin had been an American privateer and had carried Baltimore's privateering commission No. 2.
She had had an unsuccessful cruise of two months before on 25 January 1813 she captured Hebe, of 16 guns and 40 men, and the brig Three Brothers, of ten guns and 25 men.[5] Captain W.A. Brigham of Hebe was wounded by a musket ball and later injured by a powder explosion. Dolphin had four men wounded and the British eight to 10 (accounts differ), including Brigham.[6][a] HMS Shannon recaptured Hebe six days later, before she could reach America.[8] Dolphin returned to Baltimore on 13 February.
In all, as a privateer, Dolphin had captured 11 British vessels. One had been burned at sea and another (Hebe) recaptured. However, nine had been brought safely back to the United States.[6]
Battle of Rappahannock River
A British cutting out party of 17 boats under the command of Lieutenant James Polkinghorne was able to work its way 15 miles up the Rappahannock River. There they found four American vessels laying becalmed and out of range of each other.[6] The British captured all four on 3 April 1813:
- Arab, Captain D. Fitch, seven guns and 45 men
- Racer, Captain D. Chaytnor, six guns and 36 men
- Lynx, Captain E. Taylor, six guns and 40 men
- Dolphin, Captain W. S. Stafford, 12 guns and 100 men
The British first captured Arab, which put up a strong fight and caused them the heaviest losses of the day.
British service
Dolphin retained her name and became a
The rest of Dolphin's service career and what became of her at the end of the war is unknown.
Notes
Citations
- ^ "No. 20939". The London Gazette. 26 January 1849. p. 247.
- ^ a b Men of Marque website [1] -accessed 16 March 2012
- ^ Gardiner & National Maritime Museum (Great Britain) (1998).
- ^ a b c Scharf (1881), p. 105.
- ^ Coggeshall (1856), pp. 128–9.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Maclay (1968), pp. 465–7.
- ^ Lloyd's List №4747.
- ^ "No. 16861". The London Gazette. 22 February 1814. p. 413.
- ^ James (1834), Vol.3, p.95.
- ^ U.S. vessels adjudged at Halifax.
- ^ Dudley (1992), p. 339.
References
- Coggeshall, George (1856). History of the American Privateers, and Letters-Of-Marque. New York: New York, the author.
- Dudley, William S. (1992). The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History. Vol. 2. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center.
- Gardiner, Robert; National Maritime Museum (Great Britain) (1998). "War on the High Seas". The Naval War of 1812. Chatham pictorial histories. Chatham. ISBN 978-1-86176-063-0.
- Garitee, Jerome R. (1977). The Republic's private navy: the American privateering business as practiced by Baltimore during the war of 1812. Conn. p. 150. OCLC 464329695.
- Scott, Sir James (1834). Recollections of a naval life, Volume 3. London, England: R. Bently Publishing.
- Maclay, Edgar Stanton (1968). A History of American Privateers. New York: Franklin.
- Scharf, J. Thomas (1881). History of Baltimore City and County, from the earliest period to the present day: including biographical sketches of their representative men. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts.
- Vice-Admiralty Court, Halifax (1911). American vessels captured by the British during the revolution and war of 1812. Salem, Mass.: Essex Institute.