The Coast of Maine in the War of 1812 and a Threat to Portland

With the end of the war against Napoleon, the British had more resources to use against the United States which had essentially been on the back burner for efforts as Napoleon posed a much worse threat to Britain.

By August 1814, the British were blockading Portland Harbor in earnest.  By September they captured Castine and held the Maine coast east of the Penobscot.  Rumors abounded in Portland warning that "a large fleet with troops" under  the flagship HMS Bulwark had left Castine headed for Portland.

Daily, the British would sail up to the lighthouse, but the mighty fleet never materialized.  Even so, Governor Strong  called up six to seven hundred militiamen from Cumberland and Oxford counties to defend Portland.

Portland also appropriated  $10,000 for  public defense.

It was during this scare that the former HMS Boxer was pressed into service.  The battery of the prize ship San Jose Indiano was  ordered to be mounted on her.  (The Boxer's cannons had been removed to the privateer Hyder Ally.)  The Boxer was then hauled into position so as to command the approaches to Vaughan's Bridge.

The ship's gunners amused themselves by  firing into the steep bankings on Bramhall's Hill.  All this went on for about two weeks, but since nothing happened, everyone was sent home.

Fun and Games in Portland.  --Brock-Perry

Privateer Hyder Ally-- Part 4: The First Capture Is then Lost

Near the Cape of Good Hope, the Hyder Ally was chased all day by a British  East India Company sloop of war, but escaped under cover of darkness.  After rounding the cape, she captured an East Indian merchant ship with a valuable cargo.

Thorndike sent it off with a prize crew to Portland.  This prize never made it home as it was captured off Cape Elizabeth by the British privateer Tom.

That this prize was captured there is no big surprise because the coast of Maine was virtually under siege by the British for most of 1813 and 1814.  Maine had begun fortifying its coast as a result.

In Portland, the militia had built a defensive earthwork they named Fort Burrows, after the captain of the USS Enterprise in the famed battle.  Other batteries were around as well.  Also, out toward the harbors entrance, there were Fort Preble at Spring Point and Fort Scammel on House Island.  Both of these were built in 1809.

--Brock-Perry

Privateer Hyder Ally-- Part 3: The Captain and Good Crew and the Bad Luck

The Hyder Ally's captain was Israel Thorndike of Beverly, Massachusetts; second in command was Lt. Henry Oxnard of Portland, Maine, and the third officers were a Perry of Salem and Noah Edgecomb, a Portland rigger.  Thorndike ran a tight ship with strict discipline.

There was a crew of fifty men, many from Portland including Isaac Fickett, a relative of the builder and caulker on the shop during her entire privateer career.  Historian Goold received most of his information on the ship from this man.

BAD LUCK?

Maine authorKenneth Roberts wrote that the Hyder Ally's bad luck came to her initially because of the HMS Boxer's guns being transferred to her.

The new privateer set sail from Portland across the Atlantic Ocean on January 31, 1814, and no one was thinking about bad luck.

The ship took several prizes in the Indian Ocean, but none of them were ever able to make to an American port for the prize money.  As a mater of fact, neither did the Hyder Ally herself.

Bad Luck.  --Brock-Perry

Maine's Privateers-- Part 2: Building, Buying and Outfitting the Hyder Ali

After the battle between the USS Enterprise and HMS Boxer, the Boxer was auctioned off as a prize for $11,674. Of that, $9755 was put into three lots including the Boxer,  its guns and 36 tons of kentlage (iron ballast).  The prize money was shared between Captain Burrows' heirs received $1,115 prize money and each seaman $54.31.

The Boxer was auctioned to Thomas Merrill, Jr. for $5600 and wet to sea under Captain William McLellan as a merchant ship. Although her final fate is unknown, she did see service one more time on the American side during the War of 1812.  In August 1814, she put in a short stint protecting the city of Portland, Maine.

The Hyder Ally was built in Portland by shipwright Samuel Fickett at a dock near the foot of Park Street.  William Goold who gives the most complete account of the Hyder Ally in his history of Portland says "she was not especially built to be a privateer but was so constructed to carry a battery (of cannons), as no vessel was then safe on the high seas without one."   She was built for speed.

The ship's keel was laid before the declaration of war in June 1812. There was no market for ships at the time, but Fickett continued her construction and after awhile, he found a buyer.  The merchants Bryant and Sturgis of Boston bought her.

They also purchased the Boxer's armament at the auction and must have added some cannons as well  for privateering.  Ten 18-pound and two 6 pound cannons were brought on board.  The final count of weapons was twelve 18 pounder  carronades, two long 18 pounders and two long nines.

--Brock-Perry

Maine's Privateers-- Part 1: Money to be Made

I am writing about the Maine privateer Hyder Ali or Hyder Ally, I've seen several spellings for the ship.  I will put this ship's name as Privateer Hyder Ali in my labels.

From The Maine Story:  "The Hyder Ally:   Maine's Unluckiest Privateer." by Pat Higgins.

At the onset of the War of 1812, the American Navy had about 17 ships.  Their foe, the British Navy, had about 1,000 ships.

A privateer navy would be needed to fill the breech.

Maine and New England jumped into activity.  Here was a business proposition that would recoup losses suffered because of the Embargo Act of 1807 and the Non-intercourse Act of 1809.  Both of these hit New England interests particularly hard.

Ships were built for speed and armed for battle.  Shares were sold.  Money was there to be made and the New Englanders were just the people to take advantage of it.

A privateer infestation soon occurred for any and all British shipping along the North American coasts.  This extended into the Caribbean Sea and across the Atlantic to the Irish Sea.  It was also in the Mediterranean and even as far as the Indian Ocean (where the Hyder Ally went).

--Brock-Perry

American Privateer Hyder Ally (Ali): What's in a Spelling?

I've seen this ship with the Hyder Ali spelling and the Hyder Ally spelling. Also sometimes spelled Hyder Alley.

From Wikipedia.

A privateer from Portland, Maine.  Received a Letter of Marque in 1814 and sailed to the eastern Indian Ocean where she captured three prizes before the Royal Navy captured her.

The Hyder Ally sailed out of Portland Harbor under the command of Captain Israel Thorndike, who received a Letter of Marque on 18 January 1814.  (I have also seen the ship commanded by an R. Thorndike.  The Wikipedia article dies not say anything about Israel Thorndike sailing a privateer in 1814,so not sure if the commander's name is correct.  Israel Thorndike was involved with privateering quite a bit during the American Revolution.)

One source says that after the capture of the HMS Boxer on 5 September 1813, that her guns went to arm the Hyder Ally.  However, the list of Hyder Ally's guns and carronades does not match what the Boxer had.

--Brock-Perry

American Privateer Hyder Ali

I couple posts ago, I wrote that the HMS Boxer's cannons were placed on the privateer Hyder Ali which went on what appears to be just one cruise with a little bit of success, not much, before it was captured by a British frigate HMS Owen  Glendour.

From Three Decks.org.

HYDER ALI

I also thought this was kind of a strange name for an American ship.  Sounded more Middle Eastern.

12 guns of American registry.  Captured May 1814.

Fifty-man crew under command of  Captain (privateer) R. Thorndike.

Taken by Owen Glendower.

367 tons, twelve 18-odr. carronades, two long 18-pdrs., some from the captured HMS Boxer.

There is a report saying that when captured, the Hyder Ali had 30 men after a ten-hour chase near the Nicobar Islands.  Before the capture, the Hyder Ali had been chased for 3 days by HMS  Salsette, but got away.

The Nicobar Islands are over by Southeast Asia by the Indian Ocean.

--Brock-Perry

HMS Boxer-- Part 4: Prize Money and the Privateer Hyder Ali

The HMS Boxer was sold at auction in Portland, Maine, to Thomas Merrill, Jr. for $5,600.  Her guns and ballast were sold at the same time, the whole proceeds amounting to $9,755.  Lt. Burrow's heirs received $1,115 and each seaman's share at $55.

Some of her spare spars and rigging were used on the Mercator.  The Boxer's guns went to arm the Maine privateer Hyder Ali.  But this ship didn't have a lot of luck either.  After capturing two prizes that the British retook before they reached the safety of Maine, the privateer was captured herself in May 1814 near the Nicobar Islands by the frigate HMS Owen Glendower.

But, what of the Boxer herself?

You Know Those New Englanders and Their Privateers.  --Brock-Perry