HMS Plumper
Encyclopedia
HMS Plumper was an 8-gun wooden screw sloop
of the Royal Navy
, the fifth and last ship to bear the name. Launched in 1848, she served three commissions, firstly on the West Indies and North American Station, then on the West Africa Station and finally in the Pacific Station. It was during her last commission as a survey ship that she left her most enduring legacy; in charting the west coast of British Columbia she left her name and those of her ship's company scattered across the charts of the region. She paid off for the last time in 1861 and was finally sold for breaking up in 1865.
as the screw sloop Plumper on 12 August 1847 to a design by John Fincham, and laid down in October that year. She was launched on 5 April 1848 at Portsmouth and commissioned under Commander Mathew Nolloth on 17 December.
Plumper was the only ship ever built to the design. She was constructed of wood, was 140 feet (42.7 m) long and 27 in 10 in (8.48 m) in the beam, and drew 11 foot. This hull gave her a displacement of 577 tons.
She was powered by a Miller, Ravenhill & Co two-cylinder vertical single-expansion steam engine driving a single screw. Developing 148 indicated horsepower, this unit was capable of driving her at 7.4 knots (14.5 km/h). Illustrations show her with a barque rig
, although this may have been a later alteration.
Her armament of 8 guns consisted of eight 32 pounds (14.5 kg) muzzle-loading smooth-bore guns mounted to fire in a traditional broadside arrangement.
on 14 April 1849 of a sighting of a sea serpent off the Portuguese Coast.
In June 1851 she deployed to the south-east coast of America and during this period she captured the slavers Flor-do-Mar on 14 June 1851 and Sarah on 9 June 1851 (with HMS Cormorant).
She is recorded as arriving in Portsmouth from Brazil with 6370 troy ounces (198.1 kg) of gold trans-shipped from the Emperor on 31 December 1852. She paid off at Portsmouth on 6 January 1853.
was employed overwhelmingly in anti-slavery patrols, and the London Gazette
records the capture of a slaving vessel of unknown name by Plumper on 19 October 1855. From 5 April 1855 she was commanded by Commander William Henry Haswell and she paid off at Portsmouth on 9 December 1856.
. She was used to survey the coast of British Columbia
, in particular the Fraser River
, Burrard Inlet
, Howe Sound, Sunshine Coast, Victoria
and Esquimalt
. Plumper, having embarked a company of Royal Marines, was involved in the Pig War
crisis between the United States
and Britain
in 1859; along with Tribune, which was commanded by Captain Geoffrey Hornby
, Plumper and Satellite were dispatched by Governor James Douglas
to prevent American soldiers from erecting fortifications on San Juan Island
and bringing in reinforcements.
Francis Brockton
was the ship's engineer under Captain Richards when, in 1859, Brockton found a vein of coal in the Vancouver
area. After the discovery, which Richards reported to Governor James Douglas
, Richards named the area of the find Coal Harbour
and named Brockton Point
, at the east end of what is now Stanley Park
in Vancouver, after Francis Brockton.
Commander Anthony Hoskins
brought HMS Hecate
out to the Pacific Station and swapped commands with Richards, taking command of Plumper in January 1861. He then returned to the United Kingdom, paying the ship off at Portsmouth on 2 July 1861.
in the Southern Gulf Islands
region of British Columbia and Plumper Cove at Keats Island
(from which Plumper Cove Marine Provincial Park
takes its name). Other features were named after the ship's company, including:
An image of the ship appears on the coat-of-arms of the town of Sidney
on southern Vancouver Island
.
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, the fifth and last ship to bear the name. Launched in 1848, she served three commissions, firstly on the West Indies and North American Station, then on the West Africa Station and finally in the Pacific Station. It was during her last commission as a survey ship that she left her most enduring legacy; in charting the west coast of British Columbia she left her name and those of her ship's company scattered across the charts of the region. She paid off for the last time in 1861 and was finally sold for breaking up in 1865.
Construction
The Admiralty originally ordered the ship on 25 April 1847 from Woolwich Dockyard as the steam schooner Pincher. She was re-ordered from Portsmouth DockyardHMNB Portsmouth
Her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Navy...
as the screw sloop Plumper on 12 August 1847 to a design by John Fincham, and laid down in October that year. She was launched on 5 April 1848 at Portsmouth and commissioned under Commander Mathew Nolloth on 17 December.
Plumper was the only ship ever built to the design. She was constructed of wood, was 140 feet (42.7 m) long and 27 in 10 in (8.48 m) in the beam, and drew 11 foot. This hull gave her a displacement of 577 tons.
She was powered by a Miller, Ravenhill & Co two-cylinder vertical single-expansion steam engine driving a single screw. Developing 148 indicated horsepower, this unit was capable of driving her at 7.4 knots (14.5 km/h). Illustrations show her with a barque rig
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
, although this may have been a later alteration.
Her armament of 8 guns consisted of eight 32 pounds (14.5 kg) muzzle-loading smooth-bore guns mounted to fire in a traditional broadside arrangement.
First Commission (1848 - 1853)
After commissioning at Portsmouth, Plumper joined the Channel Fleet under Admiral Sir Charles Napier, and in January 1849 was sent to the North America and West Indies Station. Curiously, a report was published in the Illustrated London NewsIllustrated London News
The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
on 14 April 1849 of a sighting of a sea serpent off the Portuguese Coast.
She is recorded as arriving in Portsmouth from Brazil with 6370 troy ounces (198.1 kg) of gold trans-shipped from the Emperor on 31 December 1852. She paid off at Portsmouth on 6 January 1853.
Second Commission (1853 - 1856)
Plumper recommissioned at Portsmouth on 1 August 1853 under Commander Wharton for service on the west coast of Africa. At the time, the West Africa SquadronWest Africa Squadron
The Royal Navy established the West Africa Squadron at substantial expense in 1808 after Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act of 1807. The squadron's task was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa...
was employed overwhelmingly in anti-slavery patrols, and the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
records the capture of a slaving vessel of unknown name by Plumper on 19 October 1855. From 5 April 1855 she was commanded by Commander William Henry Haswell and she paid off at Portsmouth on 9 December 1856.
Third Commission (1857 - 1861)
For her third commission Plumper was converted to a survey ship, and it is probable that her armament was increased at this time to 12 guns. Her captain from 1857 until January 1861 was Captain George Henry RichardsGeorge Henry Richards
Admiral Sir George Henry Richards was Hydrographer to the British Admiralty from 1864 to 1874.-Early life:Richards was born in Anthony, Cornwall, the son of Captain G S Richards, and joined the navy in 1832....
. She was used to survey the coast of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, in particular the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
, Burrard Inlet
Burrard Inlet
Burrard Inlet is a relatively shallow-sided coastal fjord in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the low-lying Burrard Peninsula from the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, home to the communities of West...
, Howe Sound, Sunshine Coast, Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
and Esquimalt
Esquimalt, British Columbia
The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esquimalt Harbour and Royal Roads, to the northwest by the...
. Plumper, having embarked a company of Royal Marines, was involved in the Pig War
Pig War
The Pig War was a confrontation in 1859 between the United States and the British Empire over the boundary between the US and British North America. The territory in dispute was the San Juan Islands, which lie between Vancouver Island and the North American mainland...
crisis between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
in 1859; along with Tribune, which was commanded by Captain Geoffrey Hornby
Geoffrey Thomas Phipps Hornby
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Geoffrey Thomas Phipps Hornby GCB , was a British naval officer.-Early life:...
, Plumper and Satellite were dispatched by Governor James Douglas
James Douglas (Governor)
Sir James Douglas KCB was a company fur-trader and a British colonial governor on Vancouver Island in northwestern North America, particularly in what is now British Columbia. Douglas worked for the North West Company, and later for the Hudson's Bay Company becoming a high-ranking company officer...
to prevent American soldiers from erecting fortifications on San Juan Island
San Juan Island
San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington, United States. It has a land area of 142.59 km² and a population of 6,822 as of the 2000 census....
and bringing in reinforcements.
Francis Brockton
Francis Brockton
Francis Brockton was the ship's engineer of HMS Plumper under Captain Henry Richards when, in 1859, Brockton found a vein of coal in the Vancouver area...
was the ship's engineer under Captain Richards when, in 1859, Brockton found a vein of coal in the Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
area. After the discovery, which Richards reported to Governor James Douglas
James Douglas (Governor)
Sir James Douglas KCB was a company fur-trader and a British colonial governor on Vancouver Island in northwestern North America, particularly in what is now British Columbia. Douglas worked for the North West Company, and later for the Hudson's Bay Company becoming a high-ranking company officer...
, Richards named the area of the find Coal Harbour
Coal Harbour
Coal Harbour is the name for a section of Burrard Inlet lying between Vancouver, Canada's downtown peninsula and the Brockton Peninsula of Stanley Park...
and named Brockton Point
Brockton Point
Brockton Point is located in Vancouver harbour at the east end of Stanley Park. It is named after Francis Brockton. Brockton Point Lighthouse, an automated light, is located at the point....
, at the east end of what is now Stanley Park
Stanley Park
Stanley Park is a 404.9 hectare urban park bordering downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was opened in 1888 by David Oppenheimer in the name of Lord Stanley of Preston, the Governor-General of Canada....
in Vancouver, after Francis Brockton.
Commander Anthony Hoskins
Anthony Hoskins
Admiral Sir Anthony Hiley Hoskins GCB , was a British naval officer who was First Naval Lord from 1891 to 1893.-Naval career:Educated at Winchester College, Hoskins entered the Royal Navy in 1842...
brought HMS Hecate
HMS Hecate (1839)
HMS Hecate was a 4-gun paddle sloop launched on 30 March 1839 from the Chatham Dockyard.She was assigned to the Mediterranean Station between 1840 and 1843, she participated during the Syrian War of 1840. After a period of be laid in reserve she served as part of the West Africa Squadron off Africa...
out to the Pacific Station and swapped commands with Richards, taking command of Plumper in January 1861. He then returned to the United Kingdom, paying the ship off at Portsmouth on 2 July 1861.
Legacy
Several significant features of the coast of British Columbia are named after Plumper, including Plumper SoundPlumper Sound
Plumper Sound is a sound in the Southern Gulf Islands region of British Columbia, Canada, located between Saturna Island and East and West Pender Islands. It is named for the HMS Plumper, the survey ship of the Royal Navy engaged in charting the coastal waters of British Columbia in the colonial...
in the Southern Gulf Islands
Gulf Islands
The Gulf Islands are the islands in the Strait of Georgia , between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada....
region of British Columbia and Plumper Cove at Keats Island
Keats Island
Keats Island is a small uninhabited island located on the Eastport Peninsula of Bonavista Bay near the community of Salvage, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada...
(from which Plumper Cove Marine Provincial Park
Plumper Cove Marine Provincial Park
Plumper Cove Marine Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. The park is located on Keats Island in Howe Sound, northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia....
takes its name). Other features were named after the ship's company, including:
- Campbell River, British ColumbiaCampbell River, British ColumbiaCampbell River is a coastal city in British Columbia on the east coast of Vancouver Island at the south end of Discovery Passage, which lies along the important coastal Inside Passage shipping route...
for Dr Samuel CampbellSamuel Campbell (doctor)Samuel Campbell was ship's surgeon of HMS Plumper from 1857 to 1861. He is the namesake of Campbell Island, the location of the community of Balla Bella, and of the Campbell River on Vancouver Island, which is itself the namesake of the City of Campbell River.-References:...
, the ship's surgeon. - Pender IslandPender IslandPender Island is one of the Southern Gulf Islands located in the Gulf of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada. Pender Island is approximately in area and is home to about 2,500 permanent residents, as well as a large seasonal population...
and Pender Harbour, British ColumbiaPender Harbour, British Columbia“”Pender Harbour is a large, multi-inleted bay on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast, on the east side of Malaspina Strait. Once a steamer stop, a fishing village and an important logging and medical waypoint, it is now an unincorporated community within the Sunshine Coast Regional District .Pender...
for Daniel PenderDaniel PenderDaniel Pender was a Royal Navy Staff Commander, later Captain, who surveyed the Coast of British Columbia aboard HMS Plumper, HMS Hecate and the Beaver from 1857 to 1870.-Legacy:...
. - Mayne IslandMayne IslandMayne Island is a rustic 21-km² island in the southern Gulf Islands chain of British Columbia. It is situated midway between the Lower Mainland of BC and Vancouver Island, and has a population of around eleven hundred.-History:...
for Lieutenant Richard Charles MayneRichard Charles MayneRichard Charles Mayne RN CB FGS MP was a Royal Navy Captain, later Admiral and explorer.Richard Mayne was the son of Sir Richard Mayne KCB and the grandson of Judge Edward Mayne. Both his father and grandfather were graduates of Trinity College, Dublin,. Richard Mayne was educated at Eton...
. - Brockton PointBrockton PointBrockton Point is located in Vancouver harbour at the east end of Stanley Park. It is named after Francis Brockton. Brockton Point Lighthouse, an automated light, is located at the point....
for the ship's engineer, Francis Brockton. - Mudge IslandMudge IslandMudge Island is one of the Southern Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia, in British Columbia , Canada. It lies between Gabriola Island and Vancouver Island, and is considered part of the De Courcy group of islands. It is about wide and long....
for William Fitzwilliam Mudge, a ship's officer.
An image of the ship appears on the coat-of-arms of the town of Sidney
Sidney, British Columbia
Sidney is a town located at the northern end of the Saanich Peninsula, on Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is one of the 13 Greater Victoria municipalities. It has a population of approximately 11,300. Sidney is located just east of Victoria International Airport,...
on southern Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
.
Commanding officers
| From | To | Captain |
|---|---|---|
| 6 November 1848 | 6 January 1853 | Commander Mathew Stainton Nolloth |
| 1 August 1853 | Commander John Anthony Lawrence Wharton | |
| 5 April 1855 | 9 December 1856 | Commander William Henry Haswell |
| 1857 | January 1861 | Captain George Henry Richards George Henry Richards Admiral Sir George Henry Richards was Hydrographer to the British Admiralty from 1864 to 1874.-Early life:Richards was born in Anthony, Cornwall, the son of Captain G S Richards, and joined the navy in 1832.... |
| January 1861 | 2 July 1861 | Commander Anthony Hiley Hoskins Anthony Hoskins Admiral Sir Anthony Hiley Hoskins GCB , was a British naval officer who was First Naval Lord from 1891 to 1893.-Naval career:Educated at Winchester College, Hoskins entered the Royal Navy in 1842... |