Fowey (1798 ship)

Armed cutter

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Fowey.

History
Great Britain
Name| Fowey
Launched| 1798
General characteristics [1]
Tons burthen| 221,[2] or 22188⁄94, or 22192⁄94[3] (bm)
Length| 67 ft 3 in (20.5 m)
Beam| 21 ft 9 in (6.6 m)
Depth of hold| 8 ft 6 in (2.6 m)
Complement|

* 1800: 65[2]
* 1803: 55[2]

Armament|

* 1798: 10 × 12-pounder carronades
* 1800: 14 × 12-pounder carronades[2]
* 1803: 12 × 12-pounder carronades[2]

Fowey was launched in 1798. She spent a little more than a year-and-a-half as a hired armed cutter for the British Royal Navy. She was sold in 1800 and became a privateer. Her fate after 1804 is currently obscure.

## Hired armed cutter

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His Majesty's hired armed cutter Fowey served under contract from 10 November 1798 until 20 June 1800.[1] During this period she captured, alone or with others, a number of merchant vessels.

On 8 July 1799 the Portuguese schooner Teijo, of Lisbon, came into Plymouth. She had been sailing from Bristol to Lisbon when the French privateer Vengeance had captured her on 1 July. Fowey, Lieutenant Derby, recaptured Teijo on 3 July.[4] Fowey, Lieutenant John Darby, had recaptured Friends on 17 June, and Teijo on 2 July.[5] On 17 July the Bristol underwriters and shippers on Tejo wrote a letter of appreciation for Lieutenant Derby's initiative in her recapture.[6]

On 12 July the sloop Goodwill came into Cork. She had been sailing from Waterford to Lisbon when she was taken.Fowey had recaptured her.[7]

On 23 July Juno, of Stettin, Joachim Frederick Rogerson, came into Plymouth. She had been sailing from Dantzig to Nantes with a cargo of time when Fowey, Lieutenant Darby, detained her.[8][9] The capture took place off the Eddystone.

On 12 October Two Friends, J. Schmid, master, came into Plymouth. She had been sailing from Havana to Altona when Fowey captured her.[10] Two Friends had been carrying a cargo of cotton, sugar, and coffee. The vessel was Danish, but the cargo was suspected of being Spanish.[11]

Fowey was one of the seven Royal Navy vessels that shared in the proceeds of the capture of a French sloop on 25 November, and a French brig on 28 November.[12]

## Privateer

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Fowey was offered for sale at Plymouth on 12 July 1800. The advertisement noted that she was less than two years old, had been a hired armed cutter, and that she would make a good privateer.

Captain Christopher Parnall acquired a letter of marque on 24 February 1801.[2]

On 8 June 1803, Captain John Rowe acquired a letter of marque. By this time she had been converted to a brig.[2]

In August 1803, Lloyd's List reported that the Fowey privateer had taken Amité, which had been sailing from Newfoundland to Bordeaux, and sent her into Guernsey.[13]

In November, the Fowey privateer, of Guernsey, recaptured Flying Fish and sent her into Guernsey. Flying Fish, of Cork, had been sailing from Gibraltar to Cork when a French privateer had captured her.[14]

## Citations

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1. ^ a b Winfield (2008), p. 389.
2. ^ a b c d e f g "Letter of Marque, p.64 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
3. ^ "Advertisements & Notices", Trewman's Exeter Flying Post (Exeter, England), 10 July 1800; Issue 1917.
4. ^ "Business". Morning Post and Gazetteer (London, England), 11 July 1799; Issue 9520.
5. ^ "No. 15185". The London Gazette. 21 September 1799. p. 969.
6. ^ Naval Chronicle, Volume 3, p.39.
7. ^ "News". Whitehall Evening Post (1770) (London, England), July 13, 1799 - July 16, 1799; Issue 8109.
8. ^ "Business". Evening Mail (London, England), July 24, 1799 - July 26, 1799.
9. ^ "No. 15512". The London Gazette. 4 September 1802. p. 948.
10. ^ "News". Lloyd's Evening Post (London, England), October 11, 1799 - October 14, 1799; Issue 6573.
11. ^ "News". Bell's Weekly Messenger (London, England), 13 October 1799; Issue 181.
12. ^ "No. 15300". The London Gazette. 7 October 1800. p. 1161.
13. ^ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 4378\. 23 August 1803. hdl:2027/uc1.c2735021. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
14. ^ "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 4402\. 15 November 1803. hdl:2027/uc1.c2735021. Retrieved 17 November 2020.

## References

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* Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.