HMS Borer (1812)

HMS Borer was a 14-gun Bold-class gun-brig built by Tyson & Blake at Bursledon. She was launched in 1812 and sold off in 1815.

Borer
History
Royal Navy EnsignUnited Kingdom
NameHMS Borer
Ordered16 November 1811
BuilderTyson & Blake, Bursledon
Launched27 July 1812
CommissionedAugust 1812
Honours and
awards		Naval General Service Medal with clasp "8 Apr Boat Service 1814"
FateSold on 12 October 1815
General characteristics [1]
Class and typeBold-class gun-brig
Tons burthen18384⁄94 bm
Length
  • 84 ft 6 in (25.8 m) (overall)
  • 70 ft 2+3⁄4 in (21.4 m) (keel)
Beam22 ft 2+1⁄4 in (6.8 m)
Depth of hold11 ft 0 in (3.4 m)
Sail planBrig
Complement60
Armament10 x 18-pounder carronades + 2 x 6-pounder bow chasers

Design and construction

The Bold class were a revival of Sir William Rule's Confounder-class gun-brig design of 1804. They were armed with ten 18-pounder carronades and two 6-pounder bow chasers. Built at Bursledon by Tyson & Blake, Borer was launched on 26 June 1812 and commissioned under Commander Richard Coote.[1]

Service

From 7–8 April 1814, ships' boats of the Hogue, Endymion, Maidstone and Borer attacked Pettipague point.[2][3] In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "8 Apr Boat Service 1814" to all surviving claimants from the action.[4] The raid was commanded by Coote,[5] who was promoted as a result of the successful outcome, as was Lieutenant Pyne who assisted him.[6]

Commander J Rawlins took over from Commander Coote in May 1814. The Borer was present with Vice Admiral Alexander Cochrane's fleet off the coast of New Orleans. Under the rules of prize-money, the Borer shared in the proceeds of the capture of the American vessels in the Battle of Lake Borgne on 14 December 1814.[lower-alpha 1] With peace declared, the Borer's last task was to pick up some Royal Marines and some escaped slaves from the British outpost at Prospect Bluff[8] When the Borer stopped off in Bermuda, one of the people that the ship's captain spoke to did not approve of freeing slaves, and a minor diplomatic incident started when a "Gentleman of respectability at Bermuda" wrote an anonymous tip-off to the American authorities.[9] The Borer left Bermuda on 25 May, accompanied by the transport vessel Daedalus, and arrived at Halifax on 3 June. Thereafter the Borer arrived at Portsmouth on 10 July 1815.[8]

Notes
  1. 'Notice is hereby given to the officers and companies of His Majesty's ships Aetna, Alceste, Anaconda, Armide, Asia, Bedford, Belle Poule, Borer, Bucephalus, Calliope, Carron, Cydnus, Dictator, Diomede, Dover, Fox, Gorgon, Herald, Hydra, Meteor, Norge, Nymphe, Pigmy, Ramillies, Royal Oak, Seahorse, Shelburne, Sophie, Thames, Thistle, Tonnant, Trave, Volcano, and Weser, that they will be paid their respective proportions of prize money.' [7]

Citations
  1. Winfield (2008), p.346.
  2. James, p325
  3. Jerry Roberts. "The British raid on Essex". connecticuthistory.org. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  4. "No. 20939". The London Gazette. 26 January 1849. pp. 247–247.
  5. Wetherell, W.D. (2002). This American River: Five Centuries of Writing about the Connecticut. UPNE. pp. 56–59. ISBN 9781584651116. Letter from Coote to Capel dated 9 April 1814
  6. Marshall, pp301-304
  7. "No. 17730". The London Gazette. 28 July 1821. p. 1561.
  8. "Royal Marines on the Gulf Coast". Retrieved 2 February 2014. Extracted information from the muster of HMS Borer
  9. British and Foreign State Papers 1818–1819. Vol. 6. London: James Ridgway. 1835. p. 363. memorandum dated 21 May 1815

References
  • Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
  • Foreign Office (1835). British and Foreign State Papers Volume 6, 1818–1819. Piccadilly, London: James Ridgway. OCLC 434287559
  • William James (naval historian) (2002) [1827]. The Naval History of Great Britain, Volume 6, 1811 – 1827 (Rev. ed.). London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-910-7. OCLC 48836534.
  • Marshall, John (1833). "Index" . Royal Naval Biography. Vol. 4, part 1. London: Longman and company.
  • Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-84415-717-4.
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