HMS Snapper (1805)
Encyclopedia
HMS Snapper was a Royal Navy
Ballahoo-class schooner
of four 12-pounder carronade
s and a crew of 20. The prime contractor for the vessel was Goodrich & Co., in Bermuda
, and she was launched in 1804. She cruised for some seven years, sharing in several captures of merchant vessels and taking some herself, before a French privateer captured her.
station. In October 1806 she sailed in the Channel under Lieutenant William B. Champion. Then in May 1807 he sailed her to the Mediterranean.
On 13 April 1808 Sub-Lieutenant James Young underwent a court martial aboard Salvador del Mundo at Plymouth. One charge was conduct unbecoming an officer. Apparently he had smoked in the galley with the crew and "permitted liberties derogatory to the character of an officer". A second charge was that he had been absent without leave during a gale and had returned to the vessel intoxicated. The court martial severely reprimanded him. On 11 October the two schooners Snapper and Nonpareil were in company when Nonpareil captured the merchant schooner Belle Coquette.
In 1809 she was under Lieutenant William Jenkins. On 9 July Snapper was in company with the second rate Dreadnought
, Tonnant, Gibraltar and Minerva when they captured the Goede Hoop. On 2 August the same squadron captured the Carl Ludwig. On 9 November Snapper was in sight of Dreadnought, Gibraltar, Christian VII, Milford
, Naiad
, Unicorn
, and the hired armed cutters Nimrod
and Adrian when Snapper captured the French brig Modeste.
Snapper was also in company with Christian VII, Armide and Conflict when they captured the chasse maree Felicitée on 10 January 1810 and Glorieuse ten days later. On 16 February 1810 Snapper and Defiance
were in company with Valiant
when Valiant captured the chasse marees Heureux and Louisa. Next, on 2 June Unicorn
was in sight of Valiant and the schooners Snapper and Arrow when Unicorn captured the chasse maree Marie Josef.
On 7 September 1810 Snapper spotted a ship among the rocks on the west side of Ushant
. She notified the Dreadnought, which attempted a cutting out expedition. The British succeeded in taking the Spanish merchant brig, the Maria-Antonia, which had been taken by a French privateer. However, the success was bought at a cost of six dead, 31 wounded and six missing, as well as two ship’s boats, as a result of an ambush by a large party of French troops with two field guns on a cliff overlooking the anchorage. Five days later, on 12 September, Snapper was in company with a squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Sir H.B. Neal when she captured the merchant vessel Sophie. The vessels sharing in the prize were Caledonia
, Valiant, Piercer
, , and the hired armed cutter Nimrod
. Then, on 28 September, Snapper captured the Aventura and the San Nichola.
. At daybreak Thrakston had sailed to intercept some French vessels that he thought were coasters but that turned out to be a lugger of seven guns, a brig of four guns, and four large pinnace
s armed with swivel gun
s and manned by large numbers of men armed with small arms. A chase ensued with the vessels exchanging fire, until the wind failed and the French were able to approach using sweeps. Although Snapper had suffered no casualties, Thrakston surrendered as the pinnaces closed to board and after her rigging and sails were shot to pieces and she had lost her topmast.
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...
Ballahoo-class schooner
Ballahoo class schooner
The Ballahoo class was a Royal Navy class of eighteen 4-gun schooners built under contract in Bermuda during the Napoleonic War. The class was an attempt by the Admiralty to harness the expertise of Bermudian shipbuilders who were renowned for their fast-sailing craft...
of four 12-pounder carronade
Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
s and a crew of 20. The prime contractor for the vessel was Goodrich & Co., in Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, and she was launched in 1804. She cruised for some seven years, sharing in several captures of merchant vessels and taking some herself, before a French privateer captured her.
Service
In May 1804 she was commissioned under Lieutenant George Honey at Jamaica, and then on the HalifaxCity of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
station. In October 1806 she sailed in the Channel under Lieutenant William B. Champion. Then in May 1807 he sailed her to the Mediterranean.
On 13 April 1808 Sub-Lieutenant James Young underwent a court martial aboard Salvador del Mundo at Plymouth. One charge was conduct unbecoming an officer. Apparently he had smoked in the galley with the crew and "permitted liberties derogatory to the character of an officer". A second charge was that he had been absent without leave during a gale and had returned to the vessel intoxicated. The court martial severely reprimanded him. On 11 October the two schooners Snapper and Nonpareil were in company when Nonpareil captured the merchant schooner Belle Coquette.
In 1809 she was under Lieutenant William Jenkins. On 9 July Snapper was in company with the second rate Dreadnought
HMS Dreadnought (1801)
HMS Dreadnought was a Royal Navy 98-gun second rate. This ship of the line was launched at Portsmouth at midday on Saturday, 13 June 1801, after she had spent 13 years on the stocks...
, Tonnant, Gibraltar and Minerva when they captured the Goede Hoop. On 2 August the same squadron captured the Carl Ludwig. On 9 November Snapper was in sight of Dreadnought, Gibraltar, Christian VII, Milford
HMS Milford (1809)
HMS Milford was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 1 April 1809 at Milford Haven. She was designed by Jean-Louis Barrallier as a large class 74, and was the only ship built to her draught...
, Naiad
HMS Naiad (1797)
HMS Naiad was a Royal Navy fifth-rate frigate that served in the Napoleonic Wars. She was built by Hall and Co. at Limehouse on the Thames, launched in 1797 and commissioned in 1798. She served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and her last actions occurred in 1824-5. She was paid...
, Unicorn
HMS Unicorn (1794)
HMS Unicorn was a 32-gun fifth-rate Pallas-class frigate of the Royal Navy, launched in 1794 at Chatham. This frigate served in both the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, including a medal action early in her career...
, and the hired armed cutters Nimrod
Hired armed cutter Nimrod
During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars the Admiralty also made use of hired armed vessels, one of which was the hired armed cutter Nimrod. Three such vessels are recorded, but the descriptions of these vessels and the dates of their service are such that they may well represent one...
and Adrian when Snapper captured the French brig Modeste.
Snapper was also in company with Christian VII, Armide and Conflict when they captured the chasse maree Felicitée on 10 January 1810 and Glorieuse ten days later. On 16 February 1810 Snapper and Defiance
HMS Defiance (1783)
HMS Defiance was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Randall and Co., at Rotherhithe on the River Thames, and launched on 10 December 1783.-History:...
were in company with Valiant
HMS Valiant (1807)
HMS Valiant was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 24 January 1807 at Blackwall Yard.On 17 June 1813, Valiant was in company with when they came upon in pursuit of an American brig off Cape Sable. The three British ships continued the chase for another 100 miles...
when Valiant captured the chasse marees Heureux and Louisa. Next, on 2 June Unicorn
HMS Unicorn (1794)
HMS Unicorn was a 32-gun fifth-rate Pallas-class frigate of the Royal Navy, launched in 1794 at Chatham. This frigate served in both the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, including a medal action early in her career...
was in sight of Valiant and the schooners Snapper and Arrow when Unicorn captured the chasse maree Marie Josef.
On 7 September 1810 Snapper spotted a ship among the rocks on the west side of Ushant
Ushant
Ushant is an island at the south-western end of the English Channel which marks the north-westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and is in the traditional region of Bro-Leon. Administratively, Ushant is a commune in the Finistère department...
. She notified the Dreadnought, which attempted a cutting out expedition. The British succeeded in taking the Spanish merchant brig, the Maria-Antonia, which had been taken by a French privateer. However, the success was bought at a cost of six dead, 31 wounded and six missing, as well as two ship’s boats, as a result of an ambush by a large party of French troops with two field guns on a cliff overlooking the anchorage. Five days later, on 12 September, Snapper was in company with a squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Sir H.B. Neal when she captured the merchant vessel Sophie. The vessels sharing in the prize were Caledonia
HMS Caledonia (1808)
HMS Caledonia was a 120-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 25 June 1808 at Plymouth. She was Admiral Pellew's flagship in the Mediterranean....
, Valiant, Piercer
HMS Piercer (1804)
HMS Piercer was a Royal Navy launched in 1804. She served against the French, Danes and Dutch in the Napoleonic Wars and was assigned to the Downs station. She participated in a number of operations in the Bay of Biscay, the English Channel, and the North Sea. In 1814 the British government...
, , and the hired armed cutter Nimrod
Hired armed cutter Nimrod
During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars the Admiralty also made use of hired armed vessels, one of which was the hired armed cutter Nimrod. Three such vessels are recorded, but the descriptions of these vessels and the dates of their service are such that they may well represent one...
. Then, on 28 September, Snapper captured the Aventura and the San Nichola.
Fate
Lieutenant Henry Thrakston took command of Snapper in January 1811. On 14 July the French lugger Rapace captured her off Les Sables-d'OlonneLes Sables-d'Olonne
Les Sables-d'Olonne is a seaside town in western France, by the Atlantic Ocean. It is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Vendée department.-Events:...
. At daybreak Thrakston had sailed to intercept some French vessels that he thought were coasters but that turned out to be a lugger of seven guns, a brig of four guns, and four large pinnace
Pinnace (ship's boat)
As a ship's boat the pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a "tender" for guiding merchant and war vessels. In modern parlance, pinnace has come to mean a boat associated with some kind of larger vessel, that doesn't fit under the launch or lifeboat definitions...
s armed with swivel gun
Swivel gun
The term swivel gun usually refers to a small cannon, mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun with two barrels that rotated along their axes to allow the shooter to...
s and manned by large numbers of men armed with small arms. A chase ensued with the vessels exchanging fire, until the wind failed and the French were able to approach using sweeps. Although Snapper had suffered no casualties, Thrakston surrendered as the pinnaces closed to board and after her rigging and sails were shot to pieces and she had lost her topmast.