American Privateers in the War-- Part 2: A U.S. Navy-Privateer Comparison

COMPARISON OF THE U.S. NAVY AND PRIVATEERS DURING THE WAR OF 1812

*********************

TOTAL SHIPS

U.S. Navy--  23
Privateers--  517

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TOTAL GUNS ON SHIPS

U.S. Navy--   556
Privateers--  2893

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ENEMY SHIPS CAPTURED

U.S. Navy--  254
Privateers--  1300

So, who was better, the U.S. Navy or privateers?

--Brock-Perry

American Privateers vs. U.S. Navy in the War of 1812-- Part 1: "Free Trade and Sailors' Rights"

Since I have been writing about the privateer Patriot.

From American Merchant Marine and Privateers of the War of 1812.

The War of 1812 was fought over the Merchant Marine.  The British were seizing American ships on the high seas, and forcing seamen (impressment) to join their navy.  In addition, American ships bound to Europe would be seized if they did not first make a stop at a British port.

Between 1802 and 1812, they seized or stopped nearly 1500 American vessels.

The war was fought primarily by American merchant ships because the U.S. Navy was so small.  The battle cry was "Free Trade and Sailors' Rights."    During the war, U.S. privateers and Navy ships  together captured some 30,000 prisoners, compared to the American Army's 6,000.

Value of privateer captured British prizes was almost $40 million.

--Brock-Perry

Disappearance of the Patriot-- Part 2

Logbooks from British warships off the North Carolina coast  reported a severe storm that struck January 2, 1813, after the Patriot left South Carolina.  The Patriot would have been a bit north of Cape Hatteras when the storm was at its fiercest and facing hurricane-strength winds in the early morning hours of January 2.

The Patriot was never heard from again.  Despite the many conspiracy theories and tales about Theodosia surviving it is most likely she perished with the rest of the ship's passengers and crew that day.

(I have also read that the British ships had stopped the Patriot, but after seeing a letter from Joseph Alston, the governor of South Carolina, asking for them to allow the ship to continue on its way, they did.  But, who will ever know.)

--Brock-Perry

Disappearance of the Patriot and Theodosia Burr Alston-- Part 1: About the Schooner Patriot

From Mark Jones Books site  "Today in Charleston History:  January 2, 1813--  Deaths."

I haven't been able to find out much about the Patriot other than it was a schooner and had been a recent privateer in the Caribbean Sea area.

1813--  Deaths.  Today in Charleston, January 2

Mist scholars agree that at some time on Jan. 2, 1813, that the Patriot schooner was wrecked somewhere off Cape  Hatteras, North Carolina.  Among those lost was the wife of South Carolina's governor and daughter of Aaron Burr, Theodosia Burr Alston.

She left Georgetown, S.C., to visit her father.  Her ship, the Patriot was known to be a fast sailer and had been a former pilot boat recently employed as a privateer.  Her captain, William Overstocks, was anxious to make a fast run up to New York to sell his captures.

--Brock-Perry

Eight Facts About Theodosia Burr Alston-- Part 6: The Theda Bara Connection

8.  SHE CONTINUES TO INSPIRE TODAY.

And, considering that a month ago, I had no idea who this woman was.  Never even heard of her name.  And, it is all because of a French privateer captured in early 1800s by the British ship HMS Nimrod, taken into the Royal Navy with the name HMS Venturer, later changed to the HMS Theodosia which is how I came across the name.

**   The musical "Hamilton" isn't the  only  reminder of the disappeared Theodosia's legacy.

Her name has lived on through others.

**  Silent film star Theda Bara's (1885-1955) real name was Theodosia Burr Goodman, named after the daughter of former Vice President Aaron Burr.  She was a famous silent film star known for her vamp roles, but never appeared in a "talkie."

--Brock-Perry

Eight Facts About Theodosia Burr Alston-- Part 5: Her Disappearance

7.  IN 1813 SHE DISAPPEARED FOREVER.

Aaron Burr had experienced some very difficult years in his life, but nothing like he did  between 1812 and 1813.

First, his ten-year-old grandson, Theodosia's son, Aaron Burr Alston, died of malaria in June 1812, just a month after he returned from Europe.  A few months later, Theodosia boarded the schooner Patriot, which had been used a s a privateer during the War of 1812, for passage to New York to visit her father.

But, the ship never reached its destination, taking along with crew ad passengers, the 29-year-old Theodosia.

To this day, no one knows what happened.  Many stories abound to answer this question, with the best one seeming to be the ship was captured by pirates.  But, most likely, her end will never be known.

This hit her father hard who was quoted as saying t felt like he "was severed from the human race" because of it.

What Happened To Her?  --Brock-Perry

Eight Facts About Theodosia Burr Alston-- Part 4: First Lady of South Carolina

6.  SHE WAS THE FIRST LADY OF SOUTH CAROLINA.

Her husband, John Alston, became governor of South Carolina in December 1812, making Theodosia the First Lady.

Unfortunately, she only held that position for  21 days, before tragedy struck.

Columbia was chosen as the site of South Carolina's capital in 1786.

--Brock-Perry

Eight Facts About Theodosia Burr Alston-- Part 3: Queen Theodosia? and Getting Dad Back

4.  IF THINGS HAD GONE HER FATHER'S WAY, SHE COULD HAVE BEEN A QUEEN.

In 1805, one year after his famous duel with Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr hatched quite a plan.  He was going to annex a part of North America and declare himself monarch of it.

This would have made Theodosia next in line to be Queen of Mexico/Florida and then, her son, born in 1802, would have inherited the throne.

But, Burr's plan didn't work out and he was tried for treason.

5.  SHE WROTE LETTERS TRYING TO GET HER FATHER OUT OF EXILE.

In 1808, after being found not guilty of treason, Burr went to Europe in self-imposed exile partly to escape creditors and also to get away from the American public which was beginning to turn against him.

After awhile he attempted to return, but didn't have a passport and couldn't get back in.    Theodosia wrote letters to those in power to get him back.  The letters didn't succeed, but it became apparent that the government wouldn't stand in his way returning so he came back in 1812.

--Brock-Perry

Eight Facts About Theodosia Burr Alston-- Part 2: Merriwether Lewis? and Her Honeymoon

2.  SHE MAY HAVE BEEN CLOSE TO EXPLORER MERRIWETHER LEWIS

This has been a tabloid story for over a century.  Supposedly they met at a dinner hosted by Thomas Jefferson and  and had a discussion about whether Lewis might find mastadon relatives in his upcoming trip west.  But the timing of their opportunities to be together don't bear this out.

Whether they were sweet on each other is not known.

3.  HER HONEYMOON DESTINATION WAS THE START OF A TREND

On February 2, 1801, 17-year-old Theodosia married a wealthy Southerner named Joseph Alston and they went to Niagara Falls for their honeymoon.  Now, this is common , but they were considered to be the first celebrity couple to do so.  Today, Niagara Falls is called "The Honeymoon Capital of the World."

That Theodosia, the Princess Di of Her Age.  --Cooter

Eight Facts About Theodosia Burr Alston-- Part 1: A Remarkable Woman

From July 11, 2016, Mental Floss "8 facts about Theodosia Burr Alston" by Chloe Arnold.

1.  SHE WAS CONSIDERED A PRODIGY  Aaron Burr raised a very educated and well-rounded daughter.  She studied Greek, Latin and reportedly had read all of  "the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" by the time she was ten.  She had a very progressive education for the time.

She was possibly the first woman in America to have what was considered a college education.  According to Felton Pidgin in his 1908 biography on Theodosia:  "Her personal charm, her amiability,  her moral heroism,  and her educational acquirements entitle her to he designation which we have given  her THE FIRST GENTLEWOMAN OF HER TIME."

--Cooter

Roadtrippin' Through History: How I Got Here

Whenever I am researching for any of my eight blogs, I also look up any names and places I find to see where it goes.

Right now, in my Saw the Elephant:  Civil War blog, I am writing about the Defenders of Charleston statue in that city and most recently about William Robert Greer, who was at Fort Sumter in those horrific attacks in 1863 and later was captured at Fort Fisher in 1865 and sent to Elmira Prison in New York and was one of those fortunate enough to survive their six months' incarceration.

I started my Roadtrip Through History in that blog with the 80th anniversary of the movie "Gone With the Wind" and the role of Alicia Rhett  in it as the India Wilkes, the sister of Scarlet's love interest, Ashley Wilkes.  Did you know that this was the only time she ever was in a movie?  Or that her grandfather was a Confederate soldier?  Might her last name have something to do with a prominent character in the movie?  Plus, her father, although not a Confederate soldier, was a West Point graduate who died in 1918.

Well, I had to figure that meant he was killed in World War I, but I found out he died in Delaware during the Spanish flu pandemic.  How's that for coincidence in these days of coronavirus.

Anyway, there will be lots more "RoadTrippin' " in that thread.

In that blog, I did the "Roadtrippin' " for this thread in this blog.  You can view in the My Blog List section to the right of this.  Click on the blog Saw the Elephant: Civil War and and then scroll back to April 18, "An Added Little Nugget for Col. William Robert Greer."

No Wonder It takes So Long To Do These Blogs.  --Brock-Perry

Theodosia Burr and Philip Hamilton-- Part 2: Dear Theodosia" / "Oh Phillip"

Like I said in the last post, I did not know Theodosia was one of the characters in the play.

Here are some lyrics from the song "Dear Theodosia" from the musical Hamilton.

The first are sung by Aaron Burr to his daughter Theodosia:

"Dear Theodosia, what to say to you?
You have my eyes
You have your mother's name.

When you came into the world, you cried and it broke my heart."

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These words are sung to Philip by his father, Alexander Hamilton:

"Oh Philip when you smile I am undone
My son
Look at my son
Pride is not the word I am looking for.

There is so much more inside me now.

Fatherly Love.  --Cooter

Theodosia Burr and Philip Hamilton, the Children-- Part 1

From the July 11, 2016, Mental Floss "8 facts about Theodosia Burr Alston" by Chloe Arnold.

I was unaware until just now about the connection of the name Theodosia to the popular play "Hamilton."  Well, I didn't see it, so that's my excuse.  In the play, Aaron Burr sings "Dear Theodosia" to his daughter Theodosia and Alexander Hamilton to his son Philip.

It is song 22 in Act One.

Philip died in a duel in 1801 and Theodosia was lost at sea in 1813.  He was 19 when he died and she was 33.

So, a Hamilton Connection as Well.  --CootHam

Demolition Plans for the Nimrod Restaurant Put On Hold

From the April 10, 2020, Falmouth (Ma) Enterprise  by Carrie Gentile.

This is the reason I have been writing so much about the HMS Nimrod, HMS Venturer and Patriot as well as Theodosia Burr Alston lately.  This old restaurant in Falmouth, Massachusetts, has the hole made by a cannonball fired by the second HMS Nimrod during the War of 1812 in it.

A photo accompanies the article and the place looks to be in quite bad shape.

Lionel C. Pinsonneault owns it and he has received permission from the zoning board to raze the structure, but demolition plans are put on hold  until the Falmouth Historical Commission votes on the plan.

Before it was a restaurant, it was a private residence that was hit by the HMS Nimrod during a bombardment.  The cannonball is long gone, but the hole it left is still there.

Here's Hoping They At Least Keep the Hole for Its Historical Value.  --Brock-Perry

Disappearance of the Patriot and Theodosia Burr Alston-- Part 5: Never Made it to New York

The journey to New York City normally took five or six days.  After two weeks, there was no sign of the Patriot.  Her husband John Alston and Aaron Burr became desperate.  Finally, Burr gave up hope that his daughter was still alive.

Theodosia Burr Alston, her fellow passengers, the crew and the ship were never seen again.  The Patriot had disappeared without a trace.  Later it was learned that the British fleet had stopped the Patriot off  Cape Hatteras on January 2, but Gov. Alston's letter worked and they released the ship.

Later that night a gale hit and dispersed the British fleet.  Beyond that, there was no clue as to what had happened to the ship.  Burr sent people looking for her who went to Nassau and Bermuda, but to no avail.  It is a mystery why he didn't send them to the Outer Banks.

So, What Happended to Theodosia and the Patriot?  --Brock-Perry

Disappearance of the Patriot and Theodosia Burr Alston-- Part 4: Preparations and a Privateer

As her health continued to deteriorate, and with rumors of pirates operating along the North Carolina coast, Theodosia was still determined to visit her father.  Her husband, John Alston, wrote a letter to the British blockading fleet to allow passage for his wife.  Aaron Burr sent his trusted friend and doctor, Timothy Green to make the voyage with his daughter.

On December 30, Theodosia, her maid and Green climbed aboard the schooner Patriot which lay moored in Charleston Harbor.  It sailed out of the harbor bound for New York City under the command of Captain William Overstocks.

The Patriot had just returned from several months in the Caribbean where it had done privateering on the behalf of the U.S. government.  It was filled with booty from that.  To disguise his ship, the guns had been stowed below and the name had been painted over.

Some stories had Theodosia taking along a recently completed painting of herself that she intended to give her father as a Christmas gift.

--Cooter

Disappearance of Schooner Patriot and Theodosia Burr Alston-- Part 3: A Duel, Conspiracy Then a Disappearance

From the February 9, 2012, North Carolina Shipwrecks blog  "Schooner Patriot and  the Mystery of Theodosia Burr Alston by Judi Heit.

Wife of South Carolina governor John Alston and daughter of former U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr, but the 1804 duel between her father and former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton that led to the latter's death, complicated her life. During Burr's murder trial, Theodosia traveled several times to New York to support her father.

He was acquitted, but still politically intriguing and next got in trouble when he tried to get several western states/territories to secede and make him leader.  In 1807, he defended himself against conspiracy allegations.  He was acquitted, but went into exile in Europe.  Theodosia defended him in this as well.

After return to South Carolina from the conspiracy trial, Theodosia's health became worse and then she lost her ten-year-old son.  In the meantime, Aaron Burr had returned from Europe and in 1812, was living in New York and convinced his daughter to come see him there during the holidays.  At this time, Great Britain and the United States were at war, so her husband couldn't come with her because he was governor of S.C..

--Brock-Perry

Disappearance of Schooner Patriot and Theodosia Burr Alston in 1813-- Part 2

After the Patriot left Charleston Harbor, no trace of the ship, crew or Theodosia was ever found.

A number of theories and legends have spring up about their disappearance.  Some claim the ship was attacked by pirates and made to walk the plank.  Others think they might have been captured by the British since the war was going on at the time.

Perhaps most fanciful of all was the story of a Karankawa Indian chief, who claimed that he had rescued a woman who had washed up ashore after a shipwreck and that in thanks, she had given him a locket with the name Theodosia inscribed upon it.

Personally, I think their end came from a storm or shipwreck.  The Patriot would have to pass North Carolina's Outer Banks n the way to New York and, as you know, many ships have been wrecked in that area.  Had the British captured or destroyed the ship, they would have written about it.

Now, after more than 200 years, it is not likely we will ever know their fate.

--Brock-Perry

The Disappearance of the Schooner Patriot and Theodosia Burr Alston in 1813-- Part 1

From the August 5. 2016, Mental Floss "7 ships that disappeared without a trace" by Claire  Cock-Starkey.

While looking up the HMS Theodosia after the last several posts, I came across this article.  It wasn't about the HMS Theodosia but definitely had a War of 1812 connection.

Theodosia Burr Alston (1783-1813) was the daughter of the third U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr.  She had a privileged upbringing and was well-educated.  In 1801, she married wealthy landowner  Joseph Alston who went on to become South Carolina's governor (1812-1814, so, the war years).

Sadly in 1812, she lost her only son and, stricken with grief, boarded the schooner Patriot in South Carolina to visit her father in New York.

After it sailed, it was lost to history.

What Happened to the Patriot and Theodosia?  --Brock-Perry

Other Ships Named HMS Venturer-- Part 3

**  Motor Minesweeper 261 was the HMS Venturer between 1948 and 1956.

**  HMS Buttington (M1117) was the HMS Venturer in 1962.

**  HMS Hodgeston (M1146) was HMS Venturer between 1961 and 1971.

**  HMS Venturer (1978) was a converted  minesweeper launched in 1972 as the commercial trawler Suffolk Harvester.  She was converted and  commissioned into the Severn RNR in 1978 and was returned to her original owner in 1983.  She was then converted into an oil rig safety/standby vessel.

--Brock-Perry

Other Ships Named HMS Venturer-- Part 2: A Famous World War II Submarine

There was not another British ship name Venturer until 1943, during World War II (or, as the British call it, the Second World War).

**  HMS  Venturer (P68).  Launched in 1943 and lead submarine of the British "V" Class.  Sank the German submarine U-771 and more famously, the U-864 in what is regarded as the first time that one submarine purposely destroyed another submarine while both were submerged.

The submarine was sold to Norway in 1946, and renamed the HNoMS Ulstein and was scrapped in 1964.

I will write more about this in my Tattooed On My Soul:World War II blog today.

**  HMS Venturer.   Then there were three tenders of the HMS Flying Fox, the Bristol Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Division named HMS Venturer.  The MS Flying Fox was at first an actual ship, a 24-class sloop launched in 1918 and transferred to the British Naval reserve in 1920, but now moved ashore in a building.  The original HMS Flying Fox was scrapped in 1973.

--Brock-Perry

Other Ships Named HMS Venturer-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

Seven ships have been named the HMS Venturer in the British Navy.

**  HMS VENTURER was a 14-gun cutter purchased by the British Navy in 1787 and named the HMS Ranger.  She was captured by the French in 1794, recaptured in 1797 and then briefly retaken but finally recaptured.  If you can figure this all out, you're doing better than me.

She was recommissioned as the HMS Venturer before being sold in 1803.

**  The second one was the HMS Venturer that I wrote about yesterday.  It was also the French privateer Nouvelle Enterprise.

--Brock-Perry

HMS Venturer (HMS Theodosia)

From Wikipedia.

In the last post, I mentioned the HMS Nimrod (1799) capturing the French privateer Nouvelle Enterprise in 1807, and it being taken into the British Navy as the HMS Venturer  and later having its name changed to HMS Theodosia.

It was 72 feet long with a 20,5 foot beam.  55 crew members as the French privateer, and one 12-pdr gun and four carronades when captured.

Served in thee Mediterranean until 1814, when she was sold.  Was a merchant ship after that, but no records of her after 1822.

Commissioned in 1809 for service in the Mediterranean.

In early September 1812, she reportedly destroyed a 22-gun privateer.  In 1814, returned to England where crew was paid off.

--Brock-Perry

The Earlier HMS Nimrod (1799)-- Part 2: A Former French Privateer

Even before commissioning as a British ship, the newly captured French ship took several Spanish ships on her way to Plymouth where, between May 21 and August 8, she was refitted and commissioned as the HMS Nimrod.

In November, the Nimrod captured two ships.  In November 1804, the Nimrod sailed for the Leeward Islands and recaptured a brig taken by a French privateer and in January 1805, an American ship, the Ardent which had also been captured by a French privateer.

In 1807, came the capture of a Spanish packet and then the French privateer schooner Nouvelle Enterprise which entered British service as the HMS Venturer.  It was renamed HMS Theodosia in 1808 and then sold in 1814.

Kind of Confusing Whose On Whose Side Back Then.  --Brock-Perry

Well, There Was An Earlier HMS Nimrod (1799), and It Originally Was a French Ship-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

It was originally the 18-gun French corvette Eole of the French Navy that was captured by the HMS Solebay in 1799 and became the HMS Nimrod.  Sold in 1811 and became a whaler.  As a whaler, she did capture several American whalers.

STATS

101 feet long

29 foot beam

Complement:  British 121,  whaler: 36

Armament:  British

Original:

Sixteen 18-pdr. carronades
Two 6-pdr. chaser guns

1804:

Sixteen 24-pdr. carronades
Two 6-pdr. chase guns

As a Whaler

1812

Fourteen 12-pdr. guns

1814

Twelve 12-pdr. guns.

I was unaware that whalers had that type of weaponry.

--Brock-Perry

Model Boat Builder Constructs Replica of the HMS Nimrod

From the June 7, 2013, Falmouth (Ma.) Enterprise" by Christoher Kazarian.

Alan G. Alan G. Lunn loves anything to do with the sea and ocean.  Just look around his home.  he collects, he builds, and the latest is a scale reproduction of the British brig-sloop HMS Nimrod that played a part in Falmouth's history.

He has spent some two hours a day and the last eight months fine-tuning his effort.  He alludes to four  specific traits for someone who makes these reproductions:  "You need to have the eyes of an eagle, the patience of a saint, the hand skills of a surgeon and the ability to curse like a sailor."  (Well, I got one of the three.)

The 84-year-old was able to get the Nimrod's  original plans from the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, as well as materials from Woods Hole Historical Museum that proved useful in the project.

During his research, he discovered a factual error in the painting of the Nimrod in the Falmouth Public Library which shows a two-deck ship, the Nimrod only had a single deck.

The process of building a boat like this was, at time, painstaking.  For the rigging he took bristles from a broom, glued them together and painted them black.  He laughed that there were times he needed hands of a surgeon, nut those were all too often overshadowed by cursing like a sailor.

A picture of Mr. Lunn and his model of the HMS Nimrod accompanies the article.

Job Well Done, Mr. Lunn   --Brock-Perry

HMS Nimrod Shells Falmouth, Ma.-- Part 3: Damage to Homes and Salt-Works

"This morning (January 29) at sunrise, she (Nimrod) sailed westward, supposed to join a ship of war said to be at Tarpaulin Cove.  Fortunately, no lives were lost and no person hurt.

"The damage done to houses, outbuildings and salt-works has been considerable, the amount of which is not known.  The greatest sufferer was myself, having eight thirty-two pounder shot through my house, some through my outbuildings, and many through my salt-works.

"The greatest part of the furniture in the house was destroyed.

"The other principal sufferers were Elijah Swift, Silas Jones, Thomas Bourne, Jehabad Hatch, Rev. Henry Lincoln, Shubael Hatch Jr., etc., etc. in damage done houses, salt-works, etc."

Among other buildings hit were present-day Elm Arch Inn, then the home of Silas Jones, and the Nimrod Restaurant, both of which have been moved from their war-time locations.

A picture accompanies the article showingthe cannonball hole in the Nimrod Restaurant.  But, it is in the men's bathroom.

Here's hoping they find a way to save the Nimrod Building, or at least the cannonball hole.

That's an Interesting Bit of History.  --Brock-Perry

HMS Nimrod Attacks Falmouth in 1814-- Part 2: A Deadline Not Met and Bombardment Began

On January 28, 1814, the commander of the Nimrod  warned Falmouth of his plans to bombard the town unless they gave up two cannons and a sloop that was docked at present-day Surf Drive.  The town's response went essentially, "If you want our cannons, you can come and get them, but we'll give you what's in them first."

Falmouth resident John Crocker, whose Shore Street home is now the central building  of Shoreway Acres, described what happened next in February 1814 in the New England Palladium.

"During the interim  the flag frequently passed;  the town was in utmost confusion; the inhabitants removing the sick, the women, the children and furniture.

"About the time set (the Nimrod had given a time the bombardment would start if demands weren't met) for the cannonading to begin, and continued with very little intermission until night, and several guns in the night, making in all about  three hundred (shots) from their thirty-two pounders, besides the smaller ones."

--Brock-Rod

The HMS Nimrod Attacks Falmouth on January 28, 1814-- Part 1

From the January 28, 2020, Cape Cod Today  "January 28, 1814:  British warship shells the town of Falmouth."

On this day in 1814, the British HMS Nimrod warship, a brig-sloop, shelled the town of Falmouth for several hours.  The reason for the bombardment, the American refusal to give up two  cannons.

There is a painting of the HMS Nimrod at the Falmouth Historical Society.

The 18-gun Nimrod had arrived in American waters the year before and quickly had become to Americans.  With the aid of two other vessels, it had captured the 20-gun American privateer Yorktown in July 1813.

That autumn, she was assigned to patrol the coast of New England with a squadron of other ships.  The squad established itself at Tarpaulin Cove on Naushon Island, a site well-known to mariners because of an inn  located there.  The innkeeper, a man maybe named Mr. Slocum, overheard the British discussing  their plans to attack Falmouth so he alerted the town.

--Brock-Perry