Ceremony of the Three Flags-- Part 2: France Had It, Spain Got It, France Got It Back

France had controlled the Louisiana Territory from its founding to the Treaty of Paris ending the Seven Years War (called the French and Indian War in North America).  As a result, Spain received French land west of the Mississippi River.  Spain officially took over control of it in 1769 after they suppressed the Rebellion of 1768 by residents who did not want to become part of the Spanish empire

The United States extended its borders to the east bank of the Mississippi River as a result of the Revolutionary War.

On October 1, 1800, Napoleon and France re-acquired the Louisiana Territory from Spain, but this was done in secrecy and Spain continued administrative control of the area.

You Got It, They Got It, Who Got It?  --Brock-Perry

Ceremony of the Three Flags-- Part 1: Charles Gratiot At It

From Wikipedia.

In the last post, I mentioned that Charles Gratiot was at the Ceremony of the Three Flags on St. Louis.It is also called Three Flags Day and took place on March 9 and 10, 1804, when Spain officially turned over Louisiana (New Spain) to France who then turned it over to the United States as per the Louisiana Purchase.

The ceremony took place in St. Louis and cleared the way for Lewis and Clark to begin their famous expedition of exploration.

--Brock-Perry

Charles Chouteau Gratiot-- Part 5

From Find-A-Grave.Was the grandson of Madame Chouteau, mother of August Chouteau, founder of St. Louis.

As a boy, he was present at the Ceremony of the Three Flags where the Louisiana Territory became a part of the United States.

--Brock-Perry

Some Confusion As to Whether It's Gratoit or Gratiot

But I think i have it squared away.  Apparently it is Gratiot.

--Brock-Perry

Charles Chocteau Gratiot-- Part 3

It was Gratiot who assigned Robert E. Lee to engineer the Mississippi River at St. Louis.  There had been a shift in the Mississippi River channel there which threatened to wipe out river traffic there.  Lee engineered a series of jetties which controlled the flow.

After that, he had a lengthy dispute with the War Department over benefits.  President Martin Van Buren dismissed him for failing to repay government funds entrusted to him.

Charles Gratiot died May 18, 1855, and his remains were interred at Section 13 of cavalry Cemetery in St. Louis.

The important Highway M-3 in Michigan, connecting Detroit and Port Huron is commonly called Gratiot Avenue..  Fort Gratiot in Michigan, which guards the mouth of the St. Clair River is named for him as well.

There are also towns named for him in Ohio and Michigan.

I Wonder If He's had a Book Written About Him?  --Brock-Perry

Charles Chocteau Gratiot-- Part 2: Builder of Forts

During the War of 1812, Gratiot served as General William Henry Harrison's chief of engineers.and distinguished himself in the construction of Fort Meigs in 1813.  He also rebuilt Fort St. Joseph, later named Fort Gratiot in his honor.  In 1814, he took part in the attack on Mackinac Island where he received the Thanks of Congress.

From 1817 to 1818, he was chief engineer of the Michigan Territory and superintending engineer 1819-1828 in the building of the defenses of Hampton Roads, Virginia.

On May 24, 1828, he was appointed colonel of engineers and brevetted to brigadier general.For the next ten years, he was chief administrator on river, harbor fortifications and road construction in the United States.

--Brock-Perry

Charles Chocteau Gratiot-- Part 1: Rapid Rise in the Army

From Wikipedia.

CHARLES CHOCTEAU GRATIOT ( 1786-1855)

Back on June 15th, I mentioned that Fort Hampton was engineered and built by Captain Charles Gratiot so decided to do some research on him.  Interesting fellow.

He was born in St. Louis to a rich fur-trading father and President Thomas Jefferson personally appointed him to the United States Military Academy at West Point in July 1804.  Gratoit was a member of the Class of 1806, the 4th graduating class.  (Back then cadets attended for varying numbers of years before graduation.)

Commissioned into the Corps of Engineers (which usually received the top graduates), he made captain by 1808, which was a remarkable rise in the peacetime army back then.  One of his first assignments was to assist Alexander Macomb in the construction of the Charleston, S.C. defenses.  It was during this time that he oversaw the construction of Fort Hampton.

Chales Gratiot returned to the USMA in 1810 and became commander of the Army garrison,  a post he held from 1810-1811.

A Rising Young Officer.  --Brock-Perry

N.C.'s Fort Hampton-- Part 10: Swept Into the Sea

The erosion continued and eventually Fort Hampton was swept into the sea.  There is no exact record record of when it met its end.  Local tradition has it disappearing virtually overnight during a summer storm. Regardless, it was definitely an early season hurricane on June 2-3, 1825, which finally did it in.

By February 1826, it was found that high tide had reaehed some 200 feet behind the fort's former location.

By 1834, the fort's site was entirely in the inlet.

The site of Fort Macon is roughly 1340 feet southwest of the site of the former Fort Hampton.  Fort Macon itself was saved by the construction of brick and stone sea jetties.

A couple of iron objects have been found on the beach by Fort Macon which had typical hardware which would have been used at Fort Hampton.

--Brock-Perry

N.C.'s Fort Hampton-- Part 9: Facing a New Threat

By 1820, Fort Hampton had been completely abandoned by the federal government and now faced an even greater threat, the advance of the ocean.  The sea was eroding Bogue Point.

By 1820-1821 engineers found that the hide tide mark was at the base of the parapet.  But, Fort Hampton was ignored as the government was in the process of building its more permanent forts of the Third System.  One was scheduled to be built at Bogue Point to replace Fort Hampton.  That would be Fort Macon which still stands.

--Brock-Perry

Fiort Hampton Had Some Major Problems-- Part 8

Besides having the problem of garrisoning it, there were other major problems with the fort.

In August 1813, North Carolina Gov. William Hawkins visited the fort and found pressing structural problems.  It and its sister forts of the Second System had been built quickly and cheaply with little thought to structural longevity.

The guns had been mounted on low carriages, so low they they couldn't be fired over the crest of the parapet.  So, the platforms were raised so the guns could be fired over the parapet, but now the gun crews were protected only from their knees down.  Hawkins immediately ordered the carriages raised and the platforms lowered.

Another problem was that the fort was vulnerable from land side attack and the guns faced seaward.

The fort was occupied intermittently  by small detachments from an artillery company Fort hampton shared with its sister fort, Fort Johnston, at Southport.

N.C.'s Fort Hampton-- Part 7: Militia Replaced

The militia remained at the fort for the remainder of 1813.  Meanwhile, the fort's armament was increased by two 6-pdrs. and a 4-pdr..

In 1814, the enlistments of the N.C. militia was expiring and other militia from the state replaced them.

The State of North Carolina protested the federal government's lack of protection and the militia was replaced by elements of the 43rd U.S. Infantry who remained at the fort until the end of the war.

--Brock-Perry

10th U.S. Infantry Regiment: Some Stationed at Fort Hampton

In the last entry, I mentioned troops from the 10th U.S. Infantry being stationed for a time at Fort Hampton in North Carolina.

From the N.C. War of 1812: The Known Military Units From North Carolina.

Most North Carolinians were folded into the U.S. Army's 10th Regiment under the command of Col. James Welborn of Wilkes County, who resigned his commission as general in the N.C. militia in order to join the regular army..

Although North Carolinians served in rifle companies and in the 12th, 13th, 15th and 43rd Infantry Regiments of the U.S. Army, the majority were in the 10th.

In the winter of 1813-1814, the 10th was moved to the war;s Northern Frontier.

The 10th was destined for the Canadian Front under Col. Welborn but never took part in the fighting as the war ended while they were enroute.

--Brock-Perry

N.C.'s Fort Hampton-- Part 6: British Never Attacked

The British never attacked Fort Hampton during the War of 1812.  However, a landing at nearby Ocracoke Island did cause some serious consternation.

And, this was a good things as there were definite problems with the fort.

One was the difficulty of keeping it garrisoned.  In July 1812, the Army withdrew its regulars posted there.  North Carolina Governor William Hawkins rushed militia in to take their place.  There was no attacks and they were withdrawn in November and replaced by a company of regulars from the 10th U.S. Infantry Regiment who stayed there nine months.

In July 1813, the British raided Ocracoke Inlet which set off a near-panic in the state, but even then the regulars were withdrawn and again militia was rushed in. and stayed there for the remainder of 1813.  The British later withdrew from Ocracoke of their own accord.

--Brock-Perry

North Carolina's Fort Hampton-- Part 5: A Description of the Fort

At the rear of the fort, the walls of the two prongs of the horseshoe were 18-inches thick at the top and loop-holed for rifle fire.  Connecting the two prongs was a two-story barracks about 82-feet long by 30-feet wide.  Each story had five 13-by-16-foot rooms, 3 for enlisted men and two for officers.  These barracks could accommodate one company of 50 men.

Beside the right hand prong was a 15-by-16-foot magazine.

From the rear wall (barracks) to the front of the fort was 90 feet.  The fort was 123-feet wide and had a perimeter of about 440 feet.

During the next several years Fort Hampton was garrisoned by small detachments.

--Brock-Perry

North Carolina's Fort Hampton-- Part 4: A Tabby Fort

In November 1807, North Carolina's General Assembly took steps to encourage the federal government to protect Beaufort.  A tract of land at the point was purchased by the state and ceded to the U.S. government for this fort.

In early 1808, the Army's Engineer Department authorized a small fort and work began the following year. Captain Charles Gratiot supervised construction at a cost of $8,863.62 and it was named for N.C. Revolutionary War hero Col. Andrew Hampton ((1713-1805).

It was the smallest Second System fort built at the time, but typical of their design, consisting of a horse-shaped parapet seven feet high and made of an oyster shell cement called tabby, or tapia.

The walls were 14-feet thick at the base and tapered to 8-feet at the top..  The gun platform was 23-feet wide on which there were to be mounted five 18-pdr. cannons capable of throwing an 18 pound cannon ball a mile.

--Brock-Perry

North Carolina's Fort Hampton-- Part 3: Protecting Beaufort, N.C.

From the NC1812 site "A History of Fort Hampton" by Paul Branch.  A lot of research went into this piece as there is not a lot of information about the fort available over the internet.  It was not a major player in the war or its history and has been completely erased by nature.

People know about Fort Macon, N.C., but not its predecessor, Fort Hampton which once stood near it.  Like Fort Macon, it was built to defend Beaufort harbor.  Beaufort, N.C., was captured twice before Fort Hampton and the residents of the state put pressure on the U.S. government to defend it.

The first capture took place in 1756, after which the colonists got the construction of a battery named Fort Dobbs, but it was never completed.  Beaufort remained defenseless during the American Revolution. (I am not sure about what happened in 1756 or the second capture of Beaufort.)

The second attempt to defend the town began in 1807 with possible war with Britain looming.  A chain of coastal forts were built to protect the nation's shore.  These forts are referred to as the Second System.

--Brock-Perry

North Carolina's Fort Hampton-- Part 2: Replaced By Fort Macon

Fort Hampton was built between 1808 and 1809 and guarded Beaufort Inlet during the War of 1812.  There was no action that took place as the British elected not to attack Beaufort, the port which the fort protected.  It was garrisoned off and on until 1821.

Shore erosion and the Hurricane of 1825 swept the fort into Beaufort Inlet by 1826.

Today's Fort Macon replaced Fort Hampton.  Work on it began near Fort Hampton's site in 1821 and it was garrisoned by 1834.  Fort Macon and Hampton both protected the port of Beaufort, N.C., the state's only deep water port.

Robert E. Lee engineered a system of erosion control for Fort Macon in the 1840s.

The More You Know.  --Brock-Perry

North Carolina's Fort Hampton-- Part 1: Washed Away By a Hurricane

Fort Hampton guarded Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina during the War of 1812.  It was a little masonry fort that was washed into the inlet by a hurricane within a dozen years of construction.

I came across this mention of the fort, which I had never heard of before.  Probably because it was gone by the Civil War and because until the bicentennial of the War of 1812, I didn't know a whole lot about that war.

As such, i have done some research on Fort Hampton.

--Brock-Perry

Henry Eckford-- Part 5: Building Ships--Fast

The USS Madison, actually listed as a corvette, took only nine weeks from the cutting of the timber and 45 days from the laying of its keel to launch on November 26, 1812.  In November 1814, it took only five weeks to launch the frigate USS Mohawk and the schooner USS Sylph took just 21 days from keel to launch.

That Eckford could sure slap them together fast.

On May 1, 1814, U.S. Army troops on sentry duty at Sackets Harbor shot and killed a carpenter after the launch of the USS Superior.  An ensuing confrontation between them and shipyard workers  led to a threatened strike.  Eckford joined Commodore Chauncey of the Navy and Major General Jacob brown in diffusing the situation.

Eckford's efforts, along with Adam and Noah Brown were a big reason for American success on the Great Lakes.

--Brock-Perry

Henry Eckford-- Part 4: Warships and Shipbuilding Race

Henry Eckford and the Browns, Adam and Noah, were responsible for all American ships built on the Great Lakes during the War of 1812.  At Sackets Harbor, some merchant ships were converted into warships with the addition of cannons.

Other warships built were the 89-ton USS Lady of the Lake in 1813 and the never-finished 3,200-ton, 106-gun ship-of-the-line USS New Orleans, the corvette USS General Pike in 1813 and the frigate USS Superior in 1814.

Eckford and others knew that the key to defeating the British Navy on the Great Lakes was to build more ships than them.  Some of the ships were partially built in New York and the pre-fabricated pieces sent to Sackets Harbor for completion.

--Brock-Perry

Henry Eckford-- Part 3: Moves Operations to Sackets Harbor

Henry Eckford suspended his New York City operations, gathered his apprentices and best workers and moved to Sackets Harbor, New York.

His first ship was the USS Madison, a 42-gun frigate.  Construction of the ship was further complicated because Eckford was not only building it, but also building his shipyard, buildings and quarters.  Sackets Harbor went from being a small, sleepy village to a bustling town as one of the Navy's main bases during the war.

By April 1813, Eckford had 200 carpenters and workers there.  By the following year, it was 400 and 800 by 1815.  Part of this increase was due to the shipbuilding race between the British and Americans on the Great Lakes.

--Brock-Perry

Henry Eckford-- Part 2: The Choice to Build U.S. Navy Great Lakes Ships

Henry Eckford ran in the big circles in New York City with Mayor DeWitt Clinton and John Jacob Astor.

The first ships he built for the U.S. navy were the Jeffersonian coastal gunboats.  In July 1808, he built the US Navy brig Oneida at Oswego, New York, on Lake Ontario.

During his career, he employed many apprentices who went on to great success.

WAR OF 1812

  Eckford offered his services to the U.S. Navy and Commodore Isaac Chauncey, placed in command of the naval forces on the Great Lakes, had been the master of an Eckford-built ship, the Beaver from 1806 to 1807 and had supervised construction of the gunboats, hired him to build his ships.  Plus, Eckford already had experience building ships along the Great Lakes.  Eckford was the obvious choice for shipbuilder.

--Brock-Perry

Henry Eckford-- Part 1: Builder of U.S. Ships

From Wikipedia.

Henry Eckfoird (1775-1832)

Built the USS Superior at Sackets Harbor and converted the USS Trippe into a warship.

Scottish-born naval architect, industrial engineer and entrepreneur.  Worked for the U.S. navy and the Ottoman Empire.  Prominent businessman and political figure in New York City 1810 to the 1830s.

In 1791, he began a five-year apprenticeship in Lower Canada on the St. Lawrence River, then moved to Kingston, Canada.

In 1796, he became a master builder and emigrated to the United States, settling in New York City.

1790-1800, opened a shipbuilding business on the East River in Brooklyn.  He sold it in 1802 and moved back to NYC and opened a new shipyard and became a U.S. citizen.

--Brock-Perry

Battle of Prairie du Chien to Be Commemorated-- Part 3

Here is a list of activities planned back in 2014 for the bicentennial of the battle:

May 10th:  Rivertown Reliques

June 29:  Music by Mike McCoy and presentation  of restored 1827 cannon.  It will be unveiled and fired for the first time since the Civil War.

July 11-13:  Villa Louis walking tours at the villa on St Feriole Island and see an archaeological dig on the Villa Louis lawn where the battle took place.

July 13 and 17:  Cruises

July 18:  Parade

July 19: Encampment and battle reenactment at Villa Louis.

September 12-13:  Cannons at the fort.

October 4:  Visiting our Ancestors Cemetery Tour.

Sounded Like a Full Slate.  --Brock-Perry

Battle of Prairie du Chien to Be Commemorated-- Part 2

The Battle of Prairie du Chien began July 17, 1814, when a British force under Col. William McKay attacked American Fort Shelby at Prairie du Chien.

Many Prairie du Chien and Green Bay residents joined the British and more than 300 Indians did as well.  After a three-day siege, Lt. Joseph Perkins surrendered the fort.

There were no casualties except 3 British and 7 Americans wounded as well as the fort's 53-man garrison which was captured.

The British renamed the place Fort McKay and they remained in Prairie du Chien until the spring of 1815 when word of the Treaty of Ghent arrived at which time the British withdrew after setting the fort on fire.  The U.S. constructed Fort Crawford on the site in 1816 which is when all the important military persons served.

--Brock-Perry

Battle of Prairie du Chien to Be Commemorated-- Part 1

From the April 23, 2014, Clayton County (Iowa) Register "Bicentennial Celebration to honor the War of 1812 Battle of Prairie du Chien."

The British won the battle of Prairie du Chien in Wisconsin Territory along the Mississippi River, but lost the territory which eventually became the state of Wisconsin.

Many events are planned.

The town is proud of its history: "There are not many places where one can drive just a few blocks and visit early French-Canadian log houses, see a battle between American and British, walk the same ground as Black Hawk and William Clark, Zebulon Pike, Zachary Taylor, Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant, Eleanor Roosevelt, to name just a few of the national figures who have been to Prairie du Chien."

--Brock-Perry

"The King Pays for All"

In September 1814, a group of American prisoners from Halifax landed at Plymouth, England, and were marched to Dartmoor Prison.

They came upon a cart of luxuries on the way and "confiscated" it.

They told the angry owner, "The King pays for all."

Well, That Was Their Excuse.  --Brock-Perry

Fla-Ga. Sept. 16-17 Hurricane-- Part 3

It is possibly the same storm described by Tannehill hitting the Leeward Islands 7-8 September 1813.

SUMMARY:  Based on storm tides at St. Marys and reports from St. Simons Island, the storm is considered a major hurricane for lower Georgia and adjacent coastal waters and as hurricane for Upper Georgia and Northeast Florida.

There was also another hurricane on August 27, 1813, some three weeks earlier.  This was was rated as a hurricane for Upper Georgia coastal waters, Lower Georgia coastal waters and Northeast Florida.

Its  landfall point was in South Carolina.

The folks along this stretch of U.S. coast must have been wondering "what the hey?"

Fla.-Ga. Sept. 16-17 Hurricane-- Part 2" A Major Hurricane and the Saucy Jack

The descriptions of the damage, storm surge and wind directions make it clear that this was what has to be classified as a major hurricane, not just a regular one.

It made landfall at St. Marys River and proceeded some distance inland.  Its fury was also felt along the Georgia coast.

A letter from Commodore Hugh Campbell, commanding the naval forces at St. Marys to the Secretary of the Navy included: "The Saucy Jack privateer of Charleston, lying ready to sail, is now lying high and dry on a marsh that must be at least five feet above the level of low tide.  She draws 14 feet, seven feet being the common rise."  This would indicate a storm surge of at least 19 feet above Mean Low Water.

--Brock-Perry

The Florida-Georgia September 16-17, 1813, Hurricane-- Part 1

From the Chronological Listing of Tropical Cyclones Affecting North Florida and Coastal Georgia 1565-1899 site.

This storm would be classified as a hurricane in North Florida and Upper Georgia.  In Lower Georgia, it was a major hurricane.

Its landfall points were at Cumberland Island, Georgia, Amelia Island, Florida, and St. Marys.

Sections of three letters from these areas describe the storm.  They were by Mr. Phineas Miller Nightingale of Cumberland Island, Dr. William Baldwin on Amelia Island and Commodore Hugh Campbell.  They all described the passage of the eye over their locations.

U.S. gunboats protecting St. Marys were sunk or scattered.  Twenty members of the crew of Gunboat No. 164 drowned along with two more on the Revenue Cutter.  (I haven't been able to find out the name of the revenue cutter.)

At Stallings it was reported that twenty-eight persons perished.

--Brock-Perry

American Privateer Saucy Jack-- Part 6: Unparalleled With Any Southern Privateer

From Carolina Ships-in-Bottle--  handcrafted by Jim "Goose" Goodwin.

You can buy your very own model of the privateer Saucy Jack in a bottle.  Price for a hal gallon bottle with a lighthouse is $165 and a hal gallon jug with stand is $180.

Length of the Saucy Jack was 90 feet, 170 tons and 7-13 guns.

After cruises under Thos. Jervey (3 captured vessels) and Captain Peter Sicard on second cruise in April 1813, the Saucy Jack was then commanded by John P. Chazal for the rest of the war.  The ship and captain were a good fit.

During several cruises, they captured 5 ships, 4 brigs, 7 schooners and 2 sloops.  They often put into Savannah, a safe haven for them.  While there on September 21, 1814, its fore mast was struck by lightning and the bolt exited at the stern..

After repairs, the Saucy Jack departed and returned on November 28th with another prize and returned to Charleston on New Year's Eve.  When word of the end of the war reached Charleston in february 1815, the Saucy Jack became a merchant ship.

"Her captures, engagements with foreign ships, and narrow escapes were unparalleled with any Southern privateer."

--Brock-Perry

American Privateer Saucy Jack-- Part 6: Chazal Takes Command

In April 1813, command of the Saucy Jack was turned over to John P. Chazal who commanded her for the rest of the war.  he had a crew of 150 and also 1st Lt. Dale Carr, 2nd Lt. Lewis Jantzen and Surgeon Dr. James McBride.  Chazal, Jantzen and McBride were all formerly of the Defiance (probably also a privateer).

The Saucy Jack and captain John P. Chazal proved to be a good match and a very profitable one for its owner, John Everingham.

The 19800-1830 census showed that John Everingham lived in Charleston, S.C., and the city directory listed him as a merchant.  Court records show he owned or co-owned several ships.  Evidently, he was the sole owner of the schooner Doris.

In 1813, he is shown as co-owner of the privateer General Armstrong (but this iwas not the more famous New York registered General Armstrong).  Cemetery records list his death as in 1831.

--Brock-Perry

American Privateer Saucy Jack-- Part 5: First Two Cruises and St. Marys Hurricane

The Saucy Jack's first impressive capture was the brig William Rathbone which had 14 guns anda 40,000 pound cargo.  Another capture was the sloop Brothers.  On its first cruise, under Capt. Thos. Jervey, the Saucy Jack captured three ships.

The second cruise was under Captain Peter Sicard who took over on October 31st.  It captured four vessels on that cruise.  In December 1812, with the privateer Two Brothers out of New Orleans, it captured the brig Antrim.  Then on January 19, 1813 they captured the Mentor.  Both prizes reached New Orleans safely and were reportedly worth $150,000.

Money in the pocket for the Saucy Jack's crew.

In September 1812 (might be 1813), Capt. Sicard and the Saucy Jack entered the St. Marys River and were at St. Marys, Georgia, with two prizes.  This might have been when I read that the Saucy Jack was driven ashore by the Georgia-Florida Hurricane of 1813 (September 17th) struck.  It then headed for Charleston, which it reached April 12, 1813.

Along the way home, it encountered the Spanish ship La Vincinte with ten long guns and 40 men.  A fight ensued and two men were wounded.

Again, these are confusing dates.

--Brock-Perry

American Privateer Saucy Jack-- Part 4: Launched With Much Fanfare

From the Everingham Family History Record 2014 "The Saucy Jack, An Everingham owned American Privateer Schooner: Legal Pirate of the War of 1812."

Privateer schooner,, 90-foot deck, 24-foot beam, 170 tons, mounted anywhere from six to thirteen guns at various times during the War of 1812.  Its third commission list shows it had nine 12-pdr guns and a crew of 150.  Some logs also show that at times it had two long guns.

The Saucy Jack was Charleston-based and launched with much fanfare August 6, 1812 by Pritchard and Shrewberry Yard on the Cooper River in Charleston.  Its first captain was Thos. Jervey.

It was by far the most successful privateer to operate out of Charleston.  It was painted black with a white streak along her side to give a very formidable look.

--Brock-Perry

American Privateer Saucy Jack-- Part 3: Owned by John Everingham

A comment was written to the article in the last post I made.

It said the Chazal family never owned the Saucy Jack.  John Everingham owned the ship.  Thomas Jervey was its first captain and then John Chazal took it over for the rest of the war.

Captain Chazal had captured the Amelia and Kingston Packet on his first voyage as a privateer in the Mary Ann and took them into Charleston.

--Brock-Perr

American Privateer Saucy Jack-- Part 2: 40+ Prizes

Jean Pierre Chazal was the captain of the Saucy Jack for most of its career and during its career, the privateer captured over forty British vessels.  Lots of prize money for the captain, officers and crew.  Thomas Hall Jervey (1778-1846) commanded the ship on its first cruise.

The Saucy Jack's signal book recently came up for auction and consists of ten pages.  One page had nine hand-drawn and colored signals and 90 separate instructions for combinations of those flags.  One is for "rendezvous in Savannah," another "rendezvous in Wilmington" and yet another for "engage the enemy on her weather bow."

--Brock-Perry

American Privateer Saucy Jack-- Part 1: Charleston-Based

In the last entry I mentioned that the HMS Sappho, which captured a prize of the Saucy Jack and also engaged Gunboat No. 168 at Fernadina, Florida, before war was declared and also was at St. Marys when the Hurricane of September 17, 1813 struck and was run aground by the surge.

I decided it was time to find out some more about this, what turns out, was one of the more successful privateers in American service.

From Foundery site "The Saucy Jack -- American Pirate Ship."  Most likely calling the Saucy Jack a pirate ship would indicate a British source.

The Saucy Jack was owned by the Chazal family and operated out of Charleston, South Carolina.  It was one of dozens of privateers operating from that port.  The Chazals were from Santo Domingo and were refugees to Charleston in 1794 because of the slave rebellion there.

Jean Pierre Chazal captained the Saucy Jack.

A Pirate's Life for Me.  --Brock-Perry