A mystery to solve!

[old_trader]

The names of the ships used to sail 60 miles inland during the fall of 1814 are left out of the historic accounts and overshadowed by the later burning of the White House, and Washington! Admiral Cockburn had a fleet but the names of the vesels that made up the fleet are for the most part invisible.

Can you find the names of these ships?

here one account of the events as an example:

The British advance achieved complete tactical surprise. Landing Aug. 19 at Benedict, on the mouth of the Patuxent River, Ross moved north by rapid marches, camping in Upper Marlborough on Aug. 22. Meanwhile, Cockburn's fleet trapped and destroyed the small American flotilla commanded by Revolutionary War hero Commodore Joshua Barney. Two days later, Ross's troops defeated Winder's disorganized militia at the Battle of Bladensburg, crossed the East Branch of the Potomac (today called the Anacostia) and marched against Washington, then unguarded and practically deserted.

Good Luck

Old_Trader

 

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[old_trader]

Yet another account, and it says the ships were there, and it would seem many of them. Yet no names!

During the War of 1812, while a large force of British naval vessels kept a large portion of the American Navy bottled up in the Elizabeth River, British Navy Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn led a small fleet in the Chesapeake Bay, harassing local ports and shipping. To combat this force, Joshua Barney, an American naval hero of the Revolutionary War, devised a Chesapeake Flotilla of small boats and barges manned and armed to engage Admiral Cockburn's ships. His plan was approved by the Navy Department and funded by the Congress, and Joshua Barney was bestowed the rank of Commodore. The flotilla was assembled in Baltimore and engaged Admiral Cockburn's force in various actions, the last of which was on June 26, 1814, at St. Leonard's Creek near the mouth of the Patuxent River. Ships of the flotilla successfully beat back two larger and more heavily armed British ships, but then retreated up the Patuxent River to rejoin the rest of the flotilla.

In mid-August, Admiral Cockburn's force was joined by Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane's fleet with Major General Robert Ross' army embarked. Together, the three leaders developed a plan to sail the combined fleet up the Patuxent River, where the soldiers and marines would disembark, and invade the city of Washington.

On August 21, 1814, the larger ships in Admiral Cochrane's fleet could get up the Patuxent only as far as Benedict, Maryland (near the present Patuxent River Bridge (Maryland Route 231)) so General Ross' army disembarked there. They proceeded northward with Admiral Cockburn's smaller ships pacing them on the river. The army spent their first night in the town of Nottingham, with the naval forces anchored offshore. On the following day, General Ross' army passed by Page's Chapel (now St. Thomas Episcopal Church), through the town of Croom (on what is now Croom Road (Maryland Route 382)) and spent their second night in Upper Marlboro.

Admiral Cockburn was anticipating an encounter north of Pig's Point with Commodore Barney's flotilla, so he landed his compliment of Royal Marines at the town of Leon, to engage the militia there. The vessels then proceeded up the river to attack the American flotilla (near where present day Pennsylvania Ave. (Maryland Route 4) crosses the Patuxent River), but found that the Americans had set fire to their ships to prevent their capture and to block the river. (A much discussed tactic for dealing with the British Navy on the Patuxent was to set fire to ships or barges and set them adrift in the path of the invading fleet.) Commodore Barney had been ordered by the Navy Department to scuttle his flotilla, and he and his flotillamen to join the sparse existing forces in the defense of Washington. The British salvaged (some would say pillaged) what they could, including some merchant schooners and a large quantity of tobacco.

On the 23rd, Admiral Cockburn's force sailed back to Charlestown (now Mount Calvert), where the Royal Marines disembarked and entered Upper Marlboro, where they remained to occupy the town after General Ross' army set off for Bladensburg and Washington.

 

[old_trader]

heres the name on one of the ships, left out of the history books! Manly

Henry William Bruce was born in Ireland on February 2, 1792, the second son of Reverend Sir H.W.A. Bruce, Bart. He began his long career with the navy in 1803, serving on the Euryalus and taking part in the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar. He subsequently served on several ships, one of which was Ajax which was lost by fire off the Dardanelles in 1807, and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1810. Bruce participated in the War of 1812 and received commendation for his actions on board Belvidera during her escape from an American squadron. In May of 1814 he was promoted to Commander and in command of Manly, accompanied Admiral Cockburn's flotilla up the Patuxent River - a prelude to the invasion of Washington.

 

[old_trader]

A little history search of the manly (Manley) and I get the names of three other ships that were present, but skipped in the history books!? ? Fantome, Thistle, and Seahorse

MANLY,12. Gunbrig. (1812 Sandwich. Sold 1833) 1812 Edward COLLIER, 9/12, Scheldt, convoy escort to Newfoundland and cruising on the North American station. On 13 November 1813 MANLEY was driven on shore at Halifax during a gale from the S.S.W. She was so high and dry that it took 3 weeks work to get her back in the water.
Capt. COLLIER and his crew volunteered, with men from FANTOME and THISTLE, to reinforce the squadron on the Great Lakes. Seventy of them sailed from Halifax to St. John's, New Brunswick, in FANTOME on 22 January 1814. They made the passage in four days, the brig being a mass of ice as the sea froze as it broke over them. Capt. COLLIER's division of 70 men left St. John's first at 9 o'clock on the morning of 29 January and, pulling sleighs, made for Frederickston some 80 miles away. The second division under Lieut. RUSSEL of THISTLE followed in the afternoon and the third division under Lieut. John KENT of FANTOME left the next day.
The seamen were lodged in barracks at Frederickston but, having their pockets lined with prize money, (many petty officers had more than 30O pounds they soon got out into the town to take the last opportunity to enjoy themselves. When they were rounded up they were formed into two divisions and continued the journey along the frozen St. John's river. On the third night the master of THISTLE died from the extreme cold. Eighty-two miles further on they reached Presque Isle on 7 February and here exchanged the sleighs for toboggans, one between every four men, and everyone was fitted out with snow-shoes and moccasins. They left the following day and made between 15 to 22 miles a day through snow up to their knees. At times a gale from the northward caused the snow to form deep drifts. On the 18th they had to pass through United States territory to reach the St. Lawrence on the 20th. They reached Quebec on the 28th and crossed over in canoes the next day to find shelter on board the AEOLUS frigate and the INDIAN sloop, frozen up in Wolfe's Cove. Kingston was reached on 22 March.
1814 Vincent NEWTON, 5/14, Jamaica. In August 1814 she joined Capt. GORDON of SEAHORSE and his small squadron in an expedition up the Potomac to bombard Fort Washington while Vice-Ad. COCHRANE landed the army at Benedict on the Patuxent on the 19th and 20th. Rear-Ad. COCKBURN entered the capital with the marines and seamen on the night of the 24th where they burnt the White House, the Treasury and the War Office. They left at 9 o'clock on the evening of the 25th and returned to Nottingham on the Patuxent where the Rear-Ad. found MANLEY and hoisted his flag in her. Following the peace, MANLEY landed Mr WILLIAMSON of ALBION, the purveyor of the squadron, at Savannah in April to buy provisions and found that trade had reverted to normal. MANLEY later sailed from Wilmington to Bermuda and then back home.
1816-26 Portsmouth. 1827 Lieut. William FIELD, 2/27, Halifax. 1830 Lieut. Henry BISHOP, 6/28, Halifax. June 1831 Portsmouth.

 

[old_trader]

A search of the SEAHORSE and I have serveral more ship there on that historic voyage!? EURYALUS, DEVASTATION, ETNA, METEOR, EREBUS and the ANNA MARIA. The Fairy arrived as they were leaving!

SEAHORSE,38. (1794 Rotherhithe. BU 1819) Capt. R.D. OLIVER, 6/96. Capt. G. OAKES, 12/96. Capt. S. FREEMANTLE, 7/97. Capt. Edward James FOOTE, 10/97. Sheerness.
On 13 May 180O SEAHORSE sailed from Portsmouth With Ad. Sir Richard BICKERTON and Generals Sir R. Abercrombie, Moore and Hutchison and th Hon. Col. Hope, with their suite, for the Mediterranean. She had the armed transports DOVER and CALCUTTA under convoy.
In December 180O SEAHORSE, MAIDSTONE, ALLIANCE, CHICHESTER, SERAPIS, PIQUE HARPY and DROMEDARY escorted through the Channel a vast convoy of nearly 550 ships bound for Oporto, the Straits, Lisbon and the West Indies. On the 10th a dead calm took them all aback off the Eddystone and, when the fog lifted about noon, spectators crowded the heights to see the whole horizon covered in sails.
On 14 August she returned to Portsmouth from a cruise off Havre and sailed again four days later with St. FIORENZO to attend on his Majesty at Weymouth. She was back on the 23rd and sailed again on 9 Sepember with the following ships under convoy:- ANN, CALEDONIA, GEN. STUART and MONARCH for Madras; NORTHAMPTON and SOVEREIGN for Bombay; SARAH CHRISTIAN and COMET for Bengal; MANSHIP for Ceylon and Bengal, and PRINCESS MARY for St. Helena and Bengal.
SEAHORSE left the Madras Roads to return to England on 31 May 1802 in company with ANNA and arrived at St. Helena on 21 August. When she sailed from there five days later there were no other ships at the island. SEAHORSE arrived back at Portsmouth on 4 October 1802. On the 8th she went into harbour to be paid off.
1803 Capt. Courtenay BOYLE. On 13 July 1803, in a fine breeze, SEAHORSE, ARROW, WASP and the storeship PREVOYANTE sailed from Portsmouth with a large convoy for Lisbon and the Mediterranean. Several outward bound Indiamen and Whalers sailed with them to join a convoy at Plymouth.
During the night of 10/11 July 1804 the boats of NARCISSUS (Lieut. Hyde PARKER), SEAHORSE (Lieut. John R. LUMLEY), and MAIDSTONE (Lieut. Ogle MOORE), the whole under the direction of Lieut. John THOMPSON of NARCISSUS, attacked, boarded and destroyed a dozen enemy vessels at La Vandour in Hyeres Bay.
The enemy were fully prepared and had secured the vessels on the beach under cover of a battery and musket fire from the houses of the town. Nevertheless one was towed out and the rest burnt. SEAHORSE lost one killed, Lieut. William Wiltshire of the marines, and five wounded, Lieut LUMLEY, Thomas Alex. WATT, midshipman, John WILLIAMS, able seaman and John Fisher and John Williams private marines.
Lieut. THOMPSON feared that Lieut. LUMLEY had been mortally wounded but Lord NELSON was able to report to the Admiralty on the 12th that, although he had had to suffer amputation at the shoulder joint, he was fast recovering. In all 4 were killed and 23 wounded.
On 4 May 1805 Capt. BOYLE learned that a Spanish convoy, laden with gunpowder and stores for the gunboats at Malaga, Ceuta and Algeciras, was on the coast to the westward of Cartagena. In the afternoon they were discovered from the masthead and seen to haul into St. Pedro, an anchorage to the eastward of Cape de Gatte, where they were protected by a fort, two schooners and three gun and mortar launches.
While SEAHORSE kept up a well directed covering fire, Lieut. DOWNIE in the 6-oar cutter assisted by Mr Thomas NAPPER, midshipman, in a 4-oared boat succeeded in capturing and bringing out the largest vessel, a brig laden with 1170 quintals of powder and other stores. SEAHORSE's gunfire sank one of the launches and several of the convoy but, with night coming on, light airs and damaged rigging, Capt. BOYLE thought it prudent to break off the attack. Among those who took part were Lieut. Ogle MOORE, Lieut. Charles Brown YONGE, Mr SPRATT, master, Lieut. Clarke of the marines and Lieut. Hagemeister of the Russian navy. SEAHORSE lost one seaman killed.
1805 Capt. Robert CORBETT, Mediterranean. Capt. John STEWART, 4/06. He superseded Capt. CORBETT, who had made an unauthorised trip to the West Indies, off Cadiz.
SEAHORSE was refitted at Sheerness and, in March 1807, was ordered back to the Mediterranean. While beating through the Straits of Dover in thick weather she struck on the Varne shoal and knocked off her false keel and rudder as she went over it. Capt. STEWART and Lieut. Thomas BENNETT were injured by a breaking hawser while attempting to rehang the rudder. She anchored for the night and the following day worked back into the Downs with a brig and a pilot cutter towed behind to enable her to steer. After temporary rudder had been fitted she made her way to Plymouth for permanent repairs and finally sailed for the Mediterranean with a convoy.
SEAHORSE called at Malta and at Messina where she took on board two long, brass 18-pounders in lieu of her four 9-pounders. (She also mounted twenty-eight iron 18-pounders and twelve 32-pounder carronades) She then joined Lord COLLINGWOOD with the fleet at Imbros near the entrance to the Dardanelles. After a week there the fleet moved over to Tenedos for more shelter from the southerly winds. At the end of August she was sent to examine Porto Trio in Paros to see if it was fit for sheltering a squadron.
On 17 September Capt. STEWART sailed for the Cyclades with orders to drive out the Ionian privateers which had been sailing under the Russian flag and were now preying on the islanders as pirates. This task was completed by the middle of October.
Capt. STEWART was subsequently senior officer in the Archipelago where he destroyed many small vessels. Although he was ordered to destroy the Turkish trade the Admiralty Courts would not condemn so he rather felt that he was wasting his time. But, when the Turks asked if he would interfere if they sent out a force to crush the Epirots who were making a prize of all vessels going to Constantinople, he replied that he would repel it. When the Turks did come out the Epirots sent word to Capt. STEWART at the island of Syra. He feared that the Turkish squadron might include line-of-battle ships but on the evening of 5 July 1808 he saw a large Turkish frigate and a corvette coming through the passage between the islands of Scopulo Killidroni, followed by a galley. Since this force seemed to be within his compass he waited until dark and then brought them to action. The enemy ships attempted to run them on board but Capt. STEWART manoeuvred to avoid this and dropped alongside the smaller ship and poured shot into her for about a quarter of an hour at half pistol-shot range. By the time they left her she was silent and had partially blown up forward. The action with the frigate lasted for a longer time before the enemy was silenced and Capt. STEWART decided to wait until daylight before taking possession. The next morning the Turkish colours were still on the stump of the mizzen mast so SEAHORSE fired a broadside into her stern, when she struck. She was the BADERE ZAFFER with 52 long brass guns - 24 pounders on the main deck plus two 42-pounders, 12-pounders on the quarterdeck and forecastle. She had on board 543 men, including some from the galley, and was commanded by Scanderli Kichue Ali. Of these 165 were killed and 195 wounded. The smaller ship was the ALIS FEZAN armed with twenty-four 12-pounders and two mortars and carrying 230 men. She rolled over and sank as the action with the frigate ended. SEAHORSE lost five killed and ten wounded.
SEAHORSE was thirty short of her establishment of 281 officers, men and boys. Her officers were Lieuts. George DOWNIE, Thomas BENNETT and Richard Glinn VALLACK; Thomas CURTIS, master, and Lieut. John COOK, R.M.
Capt. STEWART took his prize first to Miconi on the 9th, and then to Malta where the prisoners were set at liberty. Here a British diplomat, Mr Robert Adair, who had come out to renew discussions with Turkey, was embarrassed by the news. He embarked on board SEAHORSE on 3 September and they sailed to Tenedos to await the Turkish plenipotentiary and then to Barbieri Bay in the Straits. On the day before the first meeting an insurrection took place in Constantinople resulting in the slaughter of ten of fifteen thousand Turks and the burning of a third of the city.
A peace treaty was signed on 5 January 1809 and SEAHORSE proceeded to Constantinople where she remained for nearly three months. Capt. STEWART then visited Smyrna to see the British Factory re-established. When he returned to Malta Capt. STEWART received the naval medal from the Admiralty. Lieut. DOWIE was promoted to commander,(He was killed in action on Lake Champlain in September 1814) Mr William LESTER to lieutenant, Thomas HULLY to gunner. Mr George FLINTOF, purser, the boatswain and the carpenter were to be appointed to ships of higher rate.
SEAHORSE was next employed cruising between Corsica and the Italian coast. On 10 May 1809 the boats of SEAHORSE and HALCYON under Lieuts. BENNETT and PEARSE destroyed the enemy forts on the the small islands of Gianuti and Pianoza (Gianutri and Pianosa). About 10O of the enemy were made prisoner during four hours fighting for the loss of one marine killed and one wounded.
In the summer of 1811 SEAHORSE brought Lord Amherst and his family home from Palermo. As they were passing through the Channel only Lieut. BENNETT going on deck before daylight prevented them hitting the Varne Shoal for a second time.
SEAHORSE paid off at Woolwich to be repaired and refitted for foreign service. Capt. James Alexander GORDON was appointed to her in the autumn of 1812 after losing his leg in ACTIVE.
Capt. GORDON gave chase to the large French privateer lugger SUBTILE,16, on 13 November 1813. When she surrendered after 3 hours she was so damaged by shot that she sank. Only 28 of her crew could be saved.
SEAHORSE subsequently crossed the Atlantic to join Vice Ad. Sir Alexander COCHRANE. On 17 August 1814 Capt. GORDON, with EURYALUS, DEVASTATION, ETNA, METEOR, EREBUS and the ANNA MARIA tender under his orders, entered the Potomac to bombard Fort Washington some 10 miles below the capital. Without pilots they found the navigation through 'Kettle Bottoms' difficult and, with contrary winds, it took them ten days to reach Fort Washington. For five consecutive days they had to warp over a distance of 50 miles, each of the vessels going aground many times. The bombs opened fire on the fort on the evening of the 27th and the Americans were seen to retreat. The powder magazine blew up at eight o'clock and the following morning Capt. GORDON landed and took possession. Twenty-one heavy cannon and six field pieces were found, already spiked they were cmpletely destroyed. On the morning of the 29th he accepted the capitulation of Alexandria and twenty-one vessels taken as prizes were fitted out ready to be taken down river. When FAIRY arrived on the 31st to warn that the Americans were setting up batteries along the banks

 

[old_trader]

The history of the EURYALUS,36 turned up one additional ship AETNE, and interestingly enough the date of the event is a year off!

EURYALUS,36. (1803 Bucklers Hard. Hulk 1826) 1804 Capt. Hon Henry BLACKWOOD. In September 18O4 EURYALUS was with the Dungerness squadron under the command of Rear Ad. LOUIS and in October she took part in the attack by Explosion Vessels (Fulton's catamarans) on the French vessels lying off Boulogne pier. Capt. BLACKWOOD superintended the operations from the northward and Capt. OWEN from the southward.
At the end of March 1805 he sent a lieutenant on board the privateer ELIZA of Liverpool and, in spite of Capt. Keene producing a protection from the Admiralty, impressed four of her crew of 41 men and boys. A few days later on 4 April ELIZA and the GREYHOUND privateer from Guernsey captured DOS AMIGOS off the Azores. Her rich cargo was worth more than 150,000 pounds and, due to the method of dividing up the prize money, the loss off four hands reduced ELIZA's share by about 3000 pounds. Her owners, Messrs. Hobson and partners, sued Capt. BLACKWOOD in the King's Bench in July 1807 for 2888L. 10s. 6d. in compensation. Although the judge's summing up appeared to favour Capt. BLACKWOOD the jury found for the plaintiffs and awarded them the full amount.
Later in the year with Lord NELSON off Cadiz. At 6 o'clock on the morning of 21 October Capt. BLACKWOOD was ordered on board VICTORY. He remarked to his Lordship that if 14 of the enemy ships were captured it would be a glorious result but NELSON replied that he would not be satisfied with less than 20. As the VICTORY led TEMERAIRE, NEPTUNE and LEVIATHAN towards the French NELSON desired Capt. BLACKWOOD and Capt. PROWSE of SIRIUS to go on board their own ships and, on the way, tell the captains of the line-of-battle ships that they would do no wrong if they put their ships close alongside the enemy. Capt. BLACKWOOD returned to VICTORY and arrived in the cockpit as NELSON died. When COLLINGWOOD's ROYAL SOVEREIGN was almost totally dismasted EURYALUS was ordered to come and remain within hail to make signals and after the battle the Vice Admiral shifted his flag to her.
Capt. BLACKWOOD was sent under flag of truce into Cadiz to arrange the transfer of wounded prisoners to hospitals there. EURYALUS soon returned to England and Capt. BLACKWOOD took part in NELSON's funeral. 1806. Capt. George Heneage DUNDAS. Early in 1806 EURYALUS sailed from England with OCEAN and other warships as escorts to a large convoy bound for Oporto, Lisbon and the Mediterranean. When she joined Lord COLLINGWOOD off Cadiz, she was ordered to cruise between Cape St. Vincent and Cape St. Maria in the Algarve; and afterwards to watch the port of Cartagena. After about four months she was moved to the Gulf of Lyons.
Towards the end of 1807 she returned to England with NIGER as escort to a convoy of several thousand troops under Sir John MOORE from Gibraltar. She went into dock at Plymouth for a refit and was then stationed in the North Sea. She carried the Duke d'Angouleme from Yarmouth to Gottenburg and escorted the Baltic convoys through the Great Belt. After seeing one convoy clear on 11 June 18O8 she and CRUISER discovered several vessels at anchor at the entrance of Naskon (?Nakskov on Lolland) close into the shore. Capt. DUNDAS anchored and sent Lieut. HEAD with four boats from the two ships to destroy them. He took with him Messrs. WEMYS, RICKETTS, YEOMAN, RICHARD and GAYMORE, midshipmen of EURYALUS and MOFFATT and LOVEDAY from CRUISER. They burnt two large troop transports and captured a gun-vessel armed with two 18-pounders and carrying 64 men. This was accomplished within half pistol-shot of a battery of three 18-pounders and a shore lined with troops. Seven of the enemy were killed and twelve wounded, as well as many drowned for only one man, George JOHNSTONE, yeoman of the sheets, slightly wounded.
During the same year Capt. DUNDAS went to Lebe, a small port in West Prussia about 60 miles west of Dantzig (now Gdansk in Poland) to embark Marie-Louise-Josephine of Savoy, the consort of Louis XVIII, the Duc du Berry and other members of the French royal family. He took them to Carlscrona in southern Sweden (Karlskrona in Blekinge Lan) and, after re-embarking them at Gottenburg, finally to Harwich.
EURYALUS took part in the disasterous expedition to Walcheren in 18O0 where, under the orders of Lord William STUART in LAVINIA, she joined the squadron which forced the passage of the Scheldt between the batteries at Flushing and Cadsand on 11 August. EURYALUS had no casualties although 2 were killed and 9 wounded in the other ships.
Later she was stationed off Cherbourg under the orders of Capt. Sir Richard KING, and in November captured the French privateer lugger ETOILE of 14 guns and 48 men. She was two days out from the Hogue without making any captures.
In the spring of 1810 EURYALUS escorted a large convoy from Spithead to Portugal and the Mediterranean and was then attached to Captain BLACKWOOD's inshore squadron off Toulon. This consisted of WARSPITE, AJAX, CONQUEROR, EURYALUS and SHEERWATER.
A strong gale from the north-west on 15 July forced the fleet to take shelter behind the Ile du Levant and drove the commander-in-chief's ship, SAN JOSEF, as far to the eastward as Villefranche. On the 20th a division of the French fleet consisting of six sail-of-the- line and four frigates came out from Toulon. There aim was to enable a frigate and her convoy to escape from Bandol where they had been forced to take refuge. Because the wind was now light and variable, Capt. BLACKWOOD was unable to prevent the junction with the frigate and, while he was trying to concentrate his squadron, EURYALUS and SHEARWATER were obliged to cross ahead of the French ships. When the wind failed it seemed certain that the enemy, which still had wind, would be able to capture them so Capt. BLACKWOOD, in the absence of the admiral, resolved to risk action.
He therefore brought to with CONQUEROR and AJAX astern of him and exchanged broadsides with the enemy ships as they hauled up in succession. When the French tacked the British line followed their example. EURYALUS and SHEARWATER made their escape and the squadron stood a little way to the southward but the French did not take advantage of their superiority and returned to harbour. The SHEERWATER received received three broadsides from one of the French line-of-battle ships and a frigate without being struck by either.
Early in 1811 Capt. DUNDAS was temporarily appointed to the command of ACHILLE,74, until relieved by Capt. HOLLIS when he returned to his own frigate.
On 7 June 1811 the boats of EURYALUS and SWALLOW captured the French privateer INTREPIDE after a long chase off Corsica. She was armed with two 8-pounders and 58 men.
In October 1812 Capt. DUNDAS removed to the EDINBURGH,74, and Capt. Thomas USHER was appointed to command EURYALUS. In April 1813 Capt. Charles NAPIER took over command when Capt. USHER moved to MILFORD.
Because of Capt. NAPIER's efforts along the French coast between 1O and 15 May 1813, the enemy coasting trade eastward from Toulon, numbering more than 2O vessels, took refuge in the Bay of Cavalaire. The surf was too great for an attack to be carried out until the 16th, when the boats of BERWICK commanded by Lieut. SWEEDLAND with the Royal Marines under Capt. MATTHEWS went in. Within 2O minutes they had reached the beach, taken the batteries and turned the guns on the retreating enemy.
The national zebec FORTUNE, carrying ten long 9-pounders and a crew of 95 men and commanded by Lieut. Lecarnus, attempted to escape but she was cut off by EURYALUS pushing close in. Her crew abandoned her and left a burning train of pouwder to the magazine but Lieut. Mark WHITE, with a division of boats, boarded her in time to stop an explosion. They found 22 vessels in the harbour which were either taken or destroyed. Those scuttled by the enemy were cleared by EURYALUS which anchored to protect the working party and, thanks to the efforts of Capt. NAPIER and his first lieutenant, Mr Alexander SANDILANDS, everything worth having was brought off. Fifteen of the vessels were chiefly laden with oil, corn, and lemons. EURYALUS lost one ordinary seaman, George REARDON, missing.
During the severe winter of 1813 EURYALUS was employed watching the enemy fleet at Toulon under the orders of Capt. Thomas USSHER in UNDAUNTED. When the two ships were driven to eastwards of the Iles d'Hyeres Capt. NAPIER discovered two ships and a schooner standing towards Calvi in Corsica. He signalled UNDAUNTED and gave chase. At sunset Capt. USSHER made the signal for recall but Capt. NAPIER did not see it in the haze and pressed on to drive one of the ships on to the rocks. She was the 22-gun storeship BALAINE bound for Ajaccio from Toulon.
During the night of 21 April 1814 the two ships were a few miles south of Marseilles when a bright light was seen over the city. When they closed the land under flag of truce they were fired on by two batteries on the Isle of Pomegue. These were silenced by broadsides from UNDAUNTED but shortly after the mayor of Marseilles arrived in a boat with the news of the abdication of Napoleon. The two frigates moved into the port and the captains landed to meet Col. Neil Campbell who had a message from Lord Castlereagh. Capt. USSHER was required to proceed to Frejus to escort Buonaparte to Elba while EURYALUS remained at Marseilles.
In June 1814 EURYALUS sailed from Gibraltar for Bermuda with a squadron under Capt. Andrew KING and a fleet of transports with troops from Genoa.
(this date is wrong it should be 1814->) In 1815 EURYALUS was serving on the Halifax station. On 17 August, with SEAHORSE, DEVASTATION, AETNE, METEOR AND EREBUS all under the command of Capt. James Alexander GORDON, EURYALUS entered the Potomac. Because they were without a pilot through the difficult part of the river known as Kettle-Bottoms, and from contrary winds, it was the evening of the 27th before they reached Fort Washington. On the 25th., while passing the Flats of Maryland, EURYALUS lost her bowsprit, the head of her fore-mast and the heads of all her top-masts in a tornado. But, within 12 hours, she was again under weigh and advancing up the river.
The bomb-ships immediately began to bombard the fort and two batteries and, in less than two hours, the marines and seamen from the squadron completed their destruction. The following day the town of Alexandria capitulated and the shipping there was seized. Lieut. HERBERT of EURYALUS was responsible for getting the prizes ready for their journey. When FAIRY arrived with the news that the Americans were fortifying the river bank to oppose their return, Capt. GORDON decided to retire. Due to contrary winds the ships had to be warped down river. A boat from EURYALUS with a howitzer, assisted by METEOR and FAIRY, impeded the the enemy but nevertheless they managed to increase their battery to 11 guns with a furnace for heating shot. On the 5th. the wind being fair, SEAHORSE and EURYALUS anchored within musket shot of the battery and, as they silenced the enemy fire, the whole of the prizes were passed down river. EURYALUS lost able seaman John HOGAN, ordinary seaman Edward DOBSON and able seaman Wiiliam FAIR killed. Capt. NAPIER was slightly wounded and Pat POWIS, quarter-master, was dangerously wounded. The other wounded were John ALLEN, James BURGOINE, Lawrence MURRAY, John JONES (3), James KELLY and William SCOTT, all seamen, and John BOURMAN and Joseph ALDERED, marines.
In May 1815 a brigade of 400 seamen from PRINCE was embarked on EURYALUS at Portsmouth and they sailed for the Scheldt where they were commanded by Capt. NAPIER and Cdr. Francis LE HUNTE (who commanded a division of the Sicilian gunboats in 1813.)
EURYALUS was paid off in June 1815 after Capt. Thomas HUSKISSON, who commanded her for a very short period, had taken her over to the mouth of the Seine to prevent the escape of Napoleon, before learning that he had surrendered to BELLEROPHON. EURYALLUS then remained "In Ordinary" at Chatham for three years until she was taken into the Dockyard to be fitted out for the Leeward Islands station.
1818 Capt. HUSKISSON was re-appointed to her on 25 July 1818 and on 18 Nov. 1819 he hoisted his broad pennant at Barbados as Commodore in command of the squadron in the Caribbean following the death of Rear Ad. Donald CAMPBELL at Tortola seven days earlier. In 1819 many of the ship's company of EURYALUS became victims of yellow fever which swept through the ship for six weeks, she also lost a lieutenant and eight young gentlemen. On 16 May 1820 Rear Ad. FAHIE arrived from England to take command of the squadron and Capt. HUSKISSON was ordered to place himself under the command of Sir Home POPHAM at Jamaica. Ill health forced Sir Home to return to England where he died on 11 Sept. and on 16 June Capt. HUSKISSON again hoisted his broad pennant as Commodore of a squadron. He was relieved by Sir Charles ROWLEY on 21 December 1820 and, being in ill health, returned home in the SANDWICH Packet.
1821 Capt. Augustus W. J. CLIFFORD, appointed on 22 Oct. 1821. On 21 February 1822 he sailed from St. Helen's for the Mediterranean with the British Ambassador to the Neapolitan court as a passenger. In 1825 he was able to render assistance to the American brig CHARLES & ELLEN which had been wrecked on the island of Milo. Some 70 - 80 members of the crew were employed for seven days in repairing the brig. EURYALUS was paid off at Deptford in May 1825 after an absence of nearly three years. Her crew requested permission to cheer the captain and the first lieutenant to mark the kind treatment they had received from their officers.
In 1826 she was converted to a prison ship at Chatham, renamed AFRICA in 1859.

 

[old_trader]

The history of the DEVASTATION,8 brings no new ships to light, but the events add something to the history!

DEVASTATION,8. Bomb. (Purchased 1804. Sold 1816) 1804 A. MILNER, 4/04. On 14 September 1804 DEVASTATION and LUCIFER bombs came down to Deal from Sheerness. 1807 M. SMITH, Downs. 1807 Woolwich. 1808 John SMITH, Baltic. 1810 John TAYLOR, Cadiz. DEVASTATION was employed from December 18O9 until the raising of the siege of Isle of Leon in 1811. The bombs supported the gunboat flotillas in the defence of Cadiz which was under siege by French armies under Marshal Soult. For most of the time the bombs were anchored within range of the enemy guns and the four commanders took it in turns to row night guard.
On 24 November 1810 DEVASTATION, THUNDER and AETNA bombarded Fort Catalina which covered the entrance to Cadiz Bay while the gunboats fired some 100 shells into a collection of enemy gunboats by Santa Maria. Capt. TAYLOR was appointed to ESPIEGLE in September 1812 and was dismissed the service after a court martial in 1814.
1814 Thomas ALEXANDER, North America. In August 1814 a squadron consisting of SEAHORSE,38; EURYALUS,36; DEVASTATION, AETNA, and METEOR; the rocket vessel EREBUS and a tender ANNA MARIA, was sent up the Potomac river under the command of Captain James GORDON. Their mission was bombard Fort Washington, some 11 miles below the American capital. They entered the river on 17 August but, being without pilots through the part of the river called the Kettle Bottoms, it took them 10 days to reach Fort Washington. For 5 successive days the crews were employed in warping over a distance of more than 5O miles against adverse winds. Each vessel grounded many times and had to be hauled off. On the evening of the 27th the bombs began a bombardment of the fort which continued until the powder magazine exploded.
When Capt. GORDON took possession the following morning he found that the Americans had retreated leaving 21 heavy guns and 6 field-pieces all spiked. On the 29th he accepted the surrender of the town of Alexandria and took possession of 21 seaworthy vessels which he loaded with merchandise and naval and ordnance stores. FAIRY arrived with news that the Americans were mounting guns downstream to oppose the squadron's return so GORDON started back without delay. Unfortunately DEVASTATION ran aground and the Americans tried to destroy her with three fire-ships. This attempt was defeated by Capt. ALEXANDER who launched his own boats and, assisted by those of the other ships, drove off the Americans and towed the fire-vessels on shore. The squadron spent a total of 23 days in the river.
Capt. GORDON then landed with a party of 200 seamen and marines at Parker's Point in the Chesapeake to procure cattle and they were attacked by more than 1100 American soldiers. He extricated his people without loss and captured two of the enemy and 20 of their horses. In February 1815 Capt. GORDON took part in Capt. Charles ROSS's expedition up St. Mary's river in Georgia. The fort at Pointe Petre was blown up, an English East Indiaman taken by an American privateer was retaken and an American ship loaded with timber was taken out to Cumberland Island. Any stores and guns at the town of St. Mary's not fit to bring away were destroyed. (Capt. GORDON was promoted to post rank in October 1814 and died in Burma in 1825, in his 41st year)
1816- Portsmouth for disposal in 1817.

 

[old_trader]

ANNA MARIA. A tender which formed part of Capt, James GORDON's squadron in the attack on Fort Washington in the Potomac, August 1814. She assisted METEOR and FAIRY in harassing the workmen building batteries to attack the flotilla as it withdrew downstream.

AETNA 1814 Richard KENAH, Baltic. To America in the spring to join Vice-Ad Sir Alex. C0CHRANE. EURYALUS, DEVASTATI0N, AETNA, METE0R, EREBUS and the ANNA-MARIA despatch-boat were detached under Capt. G0RD0N of SEAH0RSE on the 17 August to go up the Potomac and bombard Fort Washington which lies on the left bank about ten or twelve miles below the city. Because of contrary winds and because they had no pilot through Kettle-Bottoms it was the 27th before they reached the Fort. They had to sweep for more than 50 miles over a period of five successive days.

FAIRY. (1812 Bideford. 'Cruizer'. BU 1821) 1814 Henry Loraine BAKER 18/3/14, convoy to the West Indies. Between 20 and 31 August 1814, carrying dispatches from Sir Alexander COCHRANE, FAIRY had to fight her way up the Potomac to reach Captain Alexander GORDON who two days before had received the capitulation of Alexandria. (see DEVASTATION) This confirmed that the Americans were bringing up forces to oppose the return of his squadron which consisted of SEAHORSE,38; EURYALUS,36; DEVESTATION, AETNA, METEOR and EREBUS plus 21 captured American vessels. All these ships had to be warped downstream against contrary winds. During a delay caused by DEVASTATION grounding the Americans launched an unsuccessful attack with fire-vessels. Meanwhile FAIRY and METEOR maintained fire on an enemy battery which, despite their efforts, was increased from five to eleven guns.
On 3 September the wind changed to the N.W. and AETNA and EREBUS came down to their assistance with the frigates and prizes following on the 4th. The frigates anchored within a musket shot of the battery and proceeded to silence it while the prizes were passed downstream to the next battery where the guns of FAIRY had the most decisive effect. At daylight on the 6th all the British ships moved down the river without further opposition. In the whole operation in the Potomac only 7 lost their lives, including Charles DICKINSON the second lieutenant of FAIRY.
1815 West Indies. She took part in the reduction of Guadaloupe in August 1815. 1816-18 Plymouth.

 

[old_trader]

Mystery solved! These are the ships that made the voyage!

FANTOME, THISTLE, MANLY (MANLEY),SEAHORSE,38,EURYALUS,DEVASTATION,METEOR,EREBUS,tender ANNA MARIA,FAIRY,AETNA(ETNA)

Now can anyone tell me the names of the 21 vessels they captured?? The loot from Washington and The White House was on them

 

[old_trader]

credit for the info I was able to gather here is in large part due to the great British Ship History that can be found here!

http://www.cronab.demon.co.uk/INTRO.HTM