USS Syren (1803)
 USS Syren (fourth from the right) during the bombardment of Tripoli in 1804.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | USS Syren |
| Builder | Nathaniel Hutton |
| Cost | $32,522 |
| Laid down | 1803 |
| Launched | 6 August 1803 |
| Commissioned | 1 September 1803 |
| Renamed | Siren, 1809 |
| Fate | Captured at sea, 12 July 1814 |
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Siren |
| Acquired | 12 July 1814 by capture |
| Commissioned | Not commissioned |
| Fate | Not listed after 1815 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Type | Brig |
| Displacement | 240 long tons (244 t) |
| Tons burthen | 298 (bm) |
| Length | 94 ft 3+1⁄2 in (28.7 m) (overall); c,75 ft 0 in (22.9 m) |
| Beam | 27 ft 0 in (8.23 m) |
| Depth of hold | 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m) |
| Propulsion | Sail |
| Complement | 120 officers and enlisted |
| Armament | 16 × 24-pounder carronades |
USS Syren (later Siren) was a
Description
Syren was designed by Benjamin Hutton, Jr. of Philadelphia and built for the Navy in 1803 at Philadelphia by shipwright Nathaniel Hutton and launched on 6 August 1803. She was commissioned in September and Lieutenant
She was sharper, but smaller than USS Argus (1803), yet carried the same armament. Both vessels were built the same year for the First Barbary War.
First Barbary War
Syren departed Philadelphia on 27 August 1803 and reached
The first action Syren was involved in was an attack aimed at destroying
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Syren returned to Syracuse on the morning of 19 February. On 9 March, she and
The ship returned to America in May 1806 and reached the Washington Navy Yard in August. She was laid up in ordinary there until recommissioned in 1807 and subsequently carried dispatches to France in 1809.[2] In 1809, her sailing master at the Norfolk Navy Yard was Captain John "Mad Jack" Percival.[6] The following year, her name was changed to Siren.[7]
War of 1812
Little record has been found of the brig's service during the War of 1812, however small news items appeared in the Salem Gazette and the Boston Gazette.
In May 1813 it was reported that within the space of two days a merchant vessel, Pilgrim, was boarded, first by HMS Herald which was searching for Syren, and then by Syren, which was searching for Herald. Syren was now commanded by Lieutenant Joseph Bainbridge.[8] The following month Syren left Belize and proceeded to Cuba where after three weeks searching for a Royal Navy sloop, probably Herald, she sailed for the coast of Florida putting in at New Orleans before departing on 9 May 1813. No prizes were taken during this voyage and the ship needed repairs.[9]
By January 1814 Syren was in Massachusetts and was now commanded by Lieutenant Parker,[10] In February she sailed along with a privateer, Grand Turk.[11] Not long after sailing Parker died and command transferred to Lieutenant N.J. Nicholson.[12]
Syren captured at least three merchant ships off the coast of Africa. On 28 May she captured and burnt Barton, Hassler, master, which had been sailing from Africa to Liverpool. Then on 1 June Syren captured Adventure, which too was from Africa to Liverpool. She took-off their cargoes of ivory and sank them. Lastly, at some point Syren captured Catherine.[13]
On 12 July 1814 Syren while cruising off the West African coast encountered the British ship
According to Samuel Leech, after being captured the crew of Syren were taken to the Cape of Good Hope, and after landing at Simonstown, marched to a jail in Cape Town. Here they were held until transferred to England when the war was over. On arriving at Simonstown, other American prisoners were seen to be leaving the jail and being shipped off to Dartmoor. The Syren crew met these again in England while waiting for transfer to the United States. Some had been present at 'The Massacre'.
British service history
After her capture by the Royal Navy she had a figurehead of a mermaid installed.
The Royal Navy used her as a lazaretto. She is no longer listed after 1815.[1]
References
- ^ a b Winfield (2008), p. 323.
- ^ a b c d e f "Syren". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 30 December 2009.
- OCLC 49297578.
- ^ Skaggs, 2003: Thomas Macdonough: Master of command in the early U.S. Navy, p.42
- ^ OCLC 220045757.
- OCLC 51022876.
- ^ The source for renaming is Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, however contemporary reports of the ship after 1809 still refer to the ship's name as Syren
- ^ Salem Gazette, 28 May 1813
{{citation}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Boston Gazette, 14 June 1814
{{citation}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Salem Gazette, 1 February 1814
{{citation}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Salem Gazette, 22 February 1814
{{citation}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b Boston Gazette, 4 August 1814
{{citation}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - .
- ^ "No. 16958". The London Gazette. 19 November 1814. p. 2287.
- ^ Boston Gazette, 16 March 1815
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- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
Bibliography
- Skaggs, David Curtis (2003). Thomas Macdonough: Master of command in the early U.S. Navy. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD. p. 257. ISBN 1-55750-839-9. Url
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.