HMS Vesta (1806)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Vesta |
| Ordered | 2 April 1804 |
| Builder | Bermuda |
| Launched | 1806 |
| Commissioned | October 1806 |
| Fate | Sold 1816 |
| General characteristics [1] | |
| Class and type | Adonis-class |
| Tons burthen | 110 93⁄94 bm |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 20 ft 4 in (6.2 m) |
| Depth of hold | 10 ft 3 in (3.12 m) |
| Sail plan | Schooner |
| Complement | 35 |
| Armament | 10 x 18-pounder carronades |
HMS Vesta was an Adonis-class schooner of the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic War. She was built at Bermuda using Bermudan cedar and completed in 1806. She appears to have had an astonishingly uneventful decade-long career before the Admiralty sold her in 1816.
Career
Vesta was commissioned in August 1806 under the command of Lieutenant George Maule for the North America station. In November 1807 Lieutenant Charles Crowdy assumed command. His replacement in June 1808 was Lieutenant George Mends.[1]
Lieutenant George Miall replaced Mends in July 1809. In 1810, Lieutenant William Bowen Mends briefly commanded Vesta before Miall returned to command.[2] Between 18 June and 5 July 1811, Vesta underwent repairs at Plymouth.[1]
On 30 December Vesta and Sabrina captured the Princess de Beira (or Princess Beira).[3] Then on 13 January 1812, Vesta and Sabrina captured the Pepe slave schooner off the coast of Africa.[Note 1]
Almost two years later, on 1 October 1813, Vesta recaptured the Spanish brig St. Francisco de Assis.[6]
Fate
In January 1816 the Admiralty put Vesta up for sale at Deptford.[7] She was sold for £500 on 11 January 1816.[1]
Notes, citations, and references
- Notes
- ^ A first class share of the prize money for Pepe and the bounty for slaves captured on Princess de Beira was worth £404 6s 7½d. A sixth-class share, that of an ordinary seaman, was worth £6 9s 11½d. However, £401 was retained by to meet expenses arising from appeals re the case of the Princess de Beira.[4] Unfortunately, the prize agent, Henry Abbott, went bankrupt. It was not until May 1835 that a final dividend was paid from his estate.[3] The Navy List also gives the date of capture for Pepe as 13 June 1812. A first class share of the final payment for Princess de Beira was worth £41 5s 6d; a sixth-class share was worth 13s 2¼d. A first-class share of the final payment for Pepe was worth £9 18s 9d; a sixth class share was worth 3s 2¼d.[5]
- Citations;
- ^ a b c d Winfield (2008), pp.361.
- ^ Mends (1899), p.350.
- ^ "No. 17148". The London Gazette. 25 June 1816.
- ^ "No. 19255". The London Gazette. 3 April 1835.
- ^ "No. 16888". The London Gazette. 23 April 1814.
- ^ "No. 17096". The London Gazette. 2 January 1816.
- References
- Admiralty (1835) The Navy List. (Great Britain; H.M. Stationery Office).
- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Mends, Bowen Stilon (1899) Life of Admiral Sir William Robert Mends, G. C. B.: late director of transports. (J. Murray).
- Winfield, Rif. British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793-1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. 2nd edition, Seaforth Publishing, 2008. ISBN 978-1-84415-717-4.