Sir John Sherbrooke (Saint John)
Encyclopedia
The Sir John Sherbooke of Saint John, New Brunswick
was a letter of marque
brig named after Sir John Coape Sherbrooke
, Governor of Nova Scotia
. Though technically a privateer, she was actually an armed merchantman. She was commissioned on 27 November 1812 and carried ten guns and a crew of 30 men. The smallness of her crew relative to the number of her guns, as well as the small amount of the amount of ammunition that she carried are consistent with her being an armed trader rather than a prize-taker.
Sir John Sherbrooke made several successful trading voyages to the West Indies until October 1813. She left Richibucto, New Brunswick on 11 October under Captain Thomas Robson with a reduced crew of 20. On 30 October she encountered an American privateer while sailing between Cuba and Haiti. The Sir John Sherbrooke was able to hold her off for some five hours until Robson suffered a severe wound that almost killed him. The two vessels then accidentally ran into each other, and the Americans boarded the Canadian ship, capturing her.
Sir John Sherbrooke had lost one man killed and seven wounded, including Robson. Two died later. The American schooner, which turned out to be the Saucy Jack, under Capt. Chasel, out of Baltimore, had suffered 15 men wounded. The Americans took Sir John Sherbrooke into Cuba as a prize.
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
was a letter of marque
Letter of marque
In the days of fighting sail, a Letter of Marque and Reprisal was a government licence authorizing a person to attack and capture enemy vessels, and bring them before admiralty courts for condemnation and sale...
brig named after Sir John Coape Sherbrooke
John Coape Sherbrooke
Sir John Coape Sherbrooke was a British soldier and colonial administrator. After serving in the British army in Nova Scotia, the Netherlands, India, the Mediterranean , and Spain, he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia in 1811.His active defense of the colony during the War of 1812...
, Governor of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. Though technically a privateer, she was actually an armed merchantman. She was commissioned on 27 November 1812 and carried ten guns and a crew of 30 men. The smallness of her crew relative to the number of her guns, as well as the small amount of the amount of ammunition that she carried are consistent with her being an armed trader rather than a prize-taker.
Sir John Sherbrooke made several successful trading voyages to the West Indies until October 1813. She left Richibucto, New Brunswick on 11 October under Captain Thomas Robson with a reduced crew of 20. On 30 October she encountered an American privateer while sailing between Cuba and Haiti. The Sir John Sherbrooke was able to hold her off for some five hours until Robson suffered a severe wound that almost killed him. The two vessels then accidentally ran into each other, and the Americans boarded the Canadian ship, capturing her.
Sir John Sherbrooke had lost one man killed and seven wounded, including Robson. Two died later. The American schooner, which turned out to be the Saucy Jack, under Capt. Chasel, out of Baltimore, had suffered 15 men wounded. The Americans took Sir John Sherbrooke into Cuba as a prize.