USS Hornet (1805 brig)
.jpg) Artist's depiction of Hornet's foundering | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name: | USS Hornet |
| Cost: | $52,603 |
| Launched: | 28 July 1805 |
| Commissioned: | 18 October 1805 |
| Fate: | Sunk in storm, 29 September 1829 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Sloop-of-war |
| Tonnage: | 440 |
| Length: | 106 ft 9 in (32.5 m) |
| Beam: | 31 ft 5 in (9.6 m) |
| Draft: | 14 ft (4.3 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Armament: |
|
The third USS Hornet was a brig-rigged sloop-of-war in the United States Navy.[Notes 1] During the War of 1812, she was the first U.S. Navy ship to capture a British vessel.
Design
Hornet was launched 28 July 1805 in Baltimore and commissioned there on 18 October, Master Commandant Isaac Chauncey in command.[1]
Hornet's design was a compromise between the six original U.S. frigates and coastal gunboats championed by President Thomas Jefferson. The fledgling Navy needed a light-draft ship that was fast and maneuverable, but also possessing sufficient firepower to deter or defeat enemy ships. Hornet’s design is attributed to Josiah Fox but her builder, William Price, is said to have altered it based on the successful lines of the Baltimore Clipper, of which he had significant experience.[2]
During his time as captain, Chauncey reported significant problems with Hornet’s rigging, hindering her overall potential. In response to these reports, Hornet's sister ship, Wasp, constructed at the Washington Navy Yard, had her rigging changed to three masts and afterword reported excellent performance at sea.[2]
1806-1812
Hornet cruised the Atlantic coast until 29 March 1806 when she sailed to join the squadron protecting American commerce from threats of piracy in the Mediterranean. She returned to Charleston, South Carolina on 29 November 1807 and was decommissioned.[1]
Hornet was recommissioned on 26 December 1808. She transported General James Wilkinson to New Orleans, Louisiana, cruised in home waters to enforce the Embargo Act, and carried dispatches to Holland, France, and England. From November 1810 to September 1811, based on the success of Wasp, Hornet was ship-rigged in the Washington Navy Yard.[1] She also had additional gun ports fitted, increasing her capacity to 20 guns. Instead of the original 9-pounder conventional guns, Hornet now had eighteen 32-pounder carronades and two 12-pounder long guns.[2][3]:83
War of 1812
At the outbreak of war, Hornet sailed under the command of Master Commandant James Lawrence. It was Hornet that carried the diplomatic messages from Britain, notifying the United States that the Royal Navy would continue impressment of Americans.[2] Lawrence then sailed Hornet with Commodore John Rodgers' Squadron on a raiding voyage to South America. It was during this voyage when the privateer Dolphin was captured on 9 July 1812 — the first prize of the war taken by a naval vessel — which was subsequently recaptured by the British while en route to the United States.[2][3]:115
In October, Hornet sailed south with Constitution, under Commodore William Bainbridge, to harass British shipping. In December, Lawrence spotted and subsequently blockaded, HMS Bonne Citoyenne in the harbor at Salvador, Brazil. When Montague (74 guns) arrived and broke the blockade, Lawrence shifted his efforts to the Caribbean.[2][3]:159
On 24 February 1813, Hornet engaged HMS Peacock off Demerary (Guyana). Hornet forced Peacock, which had lost her captain and taken heavy casualties, to strike, but Peacock was so damaged that she sank shortly thereafter. Hornet then returned to New London. Lloyd's List initially reported that Captain Peake of Peacock and eight of her crew were killed in the action, and 27 were wounded; 19 men, who could not be rescued, went down with her when she sank, but Hornet rescued the rest. She herself had reportedly lost only one man killed and two wounded.[4] She then arrived at Martha's Vineyard on 19 March.[2]
Hornet was then assigned to a squadron consisting of the frigates United States and Macedonian under the command of Commodore Stephen Decatur. The squadron was chased into the Thames River near New London, Connecticut and was blockaded. Hornet was able to escape from the blockade and resumed active service. The other two ships remained under blockade until the end of the war.
On 14 November 1814, under new command, Hornet sailed on a second raiding voyage to the South Atlantic. On 23 March 1815, she captured HMS Penguin in a short battle off Tristan da Cunha. This was one of several naval engagements that took place after the war had ended. On 27 April, she engaged HMS Cornwallis, having mistakenly identified her as a merchant vessel. Hornet managed to escape by throwing overboard boats, guns and other equipment so to enable higher speed.[5]
Loss
Following the war, Hornet cruised to the West Indies and Copenhagen in 1818; and, in 1819, to the Mediterranean. Hornet was later based at Key West and Pensacola, Florida to help end combat in the Caribbean Sea. She captured the pirate schooner Moscow 29 October 1821 off the coast of Santo Domingo.[1]
She cruised throughout the Caribbean throughout the 1820s. In July 1822 under Captain Hensley, Hornet was involved in action against Captain Paez as part of operations to suppress the illicit slave trade. General Paez had captured Theodore, carrying Africans from the West coast of Africa. Hornet in turn captured this ship and took it to the Spanish port Havana, Cuba.[6]
She departing Pensacola the last time on 4 March 1829. Setting course for the coast of Mexico, she was never seen again. On 27 October 1829 the commander of the West Indies Squadron received information that Hornet had been dismasted in a gale off Tampico on 29 September 1829 and had foundered with the loss of all hands.[1]
See also
References
This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be found here.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Hornet (brigantine) III". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Navy Department, Naval History & Heritage Command.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 King, William. "Legendary Name, Hidden History" (PDF). The HORNET Project. Naval Heritage Society, Ltd. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- 1 2 3 Roosevelt, Theodore (1900). The Naval War of 1812. New York: G. P. Putnam and Sons. ISBN 037575419-9.
- ↑ "LLoyd's List". LLoyd's List (4770). London: W. Phillips. 14 May 1813. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- ↑ James (1837), Vol.6, p.387.
- ↑ HOUSE OF LORDS THE SESSIONAL PAPERS 1801-1833 VOL.158. By Order. 1823. p. 98. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
Notes
- ↑ Not to be confused with the Sloop-of-War Hornet, acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1805.
Bibliography
- James, William; Chamier, Frederick (1837). The naval history of Great Britain: from the declaration of war by France in 1793 to the accession of George IV. London: Richard Bentley.
- Harris, Gardner W. (1837). The life and services of Commodore William Bainbridge, United States navy. Philadelphia: Carey Lea & Blanchard. ISBN 0-945726-58-9. Archived from the original on 31 July 2009.
- Cooper, James Fenimore (1826). History of the Navy of the United States of America. New York: Stringer & Townsend. OCLC 197401914.