Captain William Nichols-- Part 6: Captured Many Times

From the Marine Society of Newburyport.

Captain William Nichols joined the Marine Society in November 28, 1811.  He was born in 1781 and died Feb. 12, 1863.

he was captured by the French twice (probably during the Quasi War) and in 1811, while commanding the brig Alert, ran the English blockade into the French port of Bordeaux with a cargo of brandy, wine and silk, but the next day, on his way out, was captured by the British frigate HMS Semiramis.

A prize crew was put aboard, but Nichols and four others were left on board and the same day retook their ship.  They put the prize crew in a small boat and cast them off.

A week later, the Alert was again captured, this time by the HMS Vestal..  Nichols and his men were taken to Portsmouth and put aboard a prison ship.  He was later sent ashore for an examination and he escaped again and went to London to secure passage back to the United States.  (This was in 1811, before war had started between the two countries.)  He was spotted by a former jailer but bribed his way out off recapture and returned to Boston.

After the War of 1812 began, he commanded a fast-sailing privateer.  (I imagine the Decautur.)

--Brock-Perry

HMS Surprise: Captured Capt. Nichols

From Wikipedia.  Frigate commissioned in September 1812 under the command of Sir Thomas John Cochrane.  150.4 feet long. Mounted 38 guns.

Captured the 12-gun privateer Decatur 16 Jan. 1813, which was under the command of Captain William Nichols.

Took part in the attack on Washington and the attack on Baltimore.  Converted into a prison hulk in 1822 and sold in 1837.

There is a replica HMS Surprise built in 1970 in Nova Scotia, but it is based on the HMS Rose, a 20-gun 6th rate frigate.

--Brock-Perry

Captain William Nichols-- Part 5: A Book About Him

And there Iwas never having heard of the good captain until I did the blog entry about the boy in Newburyport, Massachusetts who was run over and killed by a gun carriage during the town's celebration of the Treaty of Ghent.

AND,  there is a book written about him.  It is called "Holy Terror: Captain William Nichols: A True Story" by Dr.G. Williams Freeman.  The author is a sixth generation descendant.

--Brock-Perry

Captain William Nichols-- Part 4: Captured Again

Sailing back to Newburyport, Captain Nichols encountered the British ship Commerce which was twice his size and mounted double the number of heavy cannons.  It was a lopsided battle but even so, the Decatur won.

On his second cruise, Nichols captured even more prizes until he was captured by the British frigate HMS Surprise and taken to Barbados.  When the Vestal showed up there, its captain took Nichols prisoner and put him in a 5 X 7-foot crate for 34 days and then placed in a British prison.

He was exchanged and returned home.  In short order, he returned to his privateering business and put out in the brig Harpy.

--Brock-Perry

Captain William Nichols-- Part 3: Thwarts a Mutiny and Very Successful Cruise

Even without most of his cannons, William Nichols determined to push on and capture some British ships.  His crew, despairing of prizes tried to mutiny, but Nichols overcame the attempt and fortunately the same day, captured two prizes and sent the Duke of Savoy and Elizabeth to Maine.

By September 1, he had a total of nine prizes.  One of his biggest captures was the armed ship Diane with a cargo valued at $400,000.

By now, out of the crew of 160 Nichols had when he sailed, he was down to just 27, the rest being sent to crew the prizes to port.

--Brock-Perry

Captain William Nichols-- Part 2: A Case of Mistaken Identity

Back in the United States, Captain Nichols was put in command of the privateer Decatur and left Newburyport, Massachusetts, on Auguist 4, 1813.  He spotted a large frigate ship which he took to be British and fled as quickly as he could, knowing a fight would come to nothing but bad for him.  He ended up throwing 12 of his 14 cannons overboard in the attempt to escape, but was still overtaken by the frigate.

It turned out to be the USS Constitution.  Once on board and greatly relieved, Nichols told the Isaac Hull, the Constitution's commander, that he had seen the HMS Guerriere prowling about in the local waters which set up the famous battle.

--Brock-Perry

Captain William Nichols-- Part 1: Amazing Privateer Captain "Here Are Three Guineas"

While researching Newburyport, Massachusetts, I came across the name of a Captain William Nichols of the privateer Decatur.

From Ancestory Archives by Melissa Davenport Berry.

He was born and grew up in Newburyport and had sea experience from a young age before the War of 1812.

While in command of the brig Alert in 1811 and had been captured but had concealed a brace of pistols and when the prize crew aboard his ship weren't watching, he retook the ship.

Now, this was before the war was declared.

And then, he was captured again soon after that and this time he did not retake the ship.  He was taken to England and put in prison.  A prison from which he soon escaped and took a coach to London to procure passage home..  Once there, he was spotted by the sergeant from whom he had just escaped and Nichols said, "Here are three guineas you can have, but never me."  Fortunately for him, the sergeant favored the coin more and looked the other way.

--Brock-Perry