HMS Bustler (1782)

HMS Bustler was the mercantile Shillelagh, which the Admiralty purchased in January 1782. She was sold in 1788 and returned to mercantile service. In 1793 she became a privateer and made one notable capture. She then became a West Indiaman that the French captured in 1795.

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

History
Great Britain
NameShillelagh
FateSold January 1782
Great Britain
NameHMS Bustler
AcquiredJanuary 1782 by purchase
FateSold 28 May 1788
General characteristics [1]
Tons burthen20876⁄94 (bm)
Length
  • Overall:76 ft 7+1⁄2 in (23.4 m)
  • Keel:60 ft 9 in (18.5 m)
Beam25 ft 4+1⁄2 in (7.7 m)
Depth of hold10 ft 0 in (3.0 m)
Sail planCutter, converted to Brig
Complement90
Armament16 × 4-pounder guns
History
Great Britain
NameBustler
Acquired1788 by purchase
Captured1795
General characteristics
Tons burthen199,[2] or 208[2] (bm)
Complement
Armament
  • 1793: 20 × 6&12-pounder cannons[2]
  • 1794: 18 × 6&12-pounder cannons[2]

Royal Navy

The Admiralty purchased Shillelagh in January 1782 and she underwent fitting at Plymouth between February and June. In March Commander Samuel Cox commissioned her for the Channel. He paid her off in August. She underwent coppering and conversion to a brig between July and December. In November Commander Robert Burton commissioned Bustler for the Irish Sea. She then served out of Holyhead, on Anglesey, until she was paid off in May 1786. The Navy sold her at Deptford for £240 on 25 August 1788.[1]

Merchantman

It is obscure what name Bustler sailed under, who her owners were, or what her trade was between 1788 and 1793.

Still, Captain Henry Passmore acquired a letter of marque on 4 March 1793 for Bustler.[2] Bustler captured Necker in September 1793,[3] and sent her into Dartmouth.[4] Neckar, Mitchell, master, prize to Bustler, arrived at Gravesend on 21 October 1793.[5] Prize money for Neckar was paid on 8 March 1794.[6]

Captain Stephen Thomas acquired a letter of marque on 8 March 1794.[2] This letter Thomas stated that Bustler's crew was 20 men. The reduction indicated that she was no longer engaged in privateering as she would not have enough men for prize crews on captures.

Captain Thomas sailed for San Domingo on 11 April. Lloyd's List reported in July 1795 that a French privateer or privateers had captured Bustler, of London, as well as a number of other merchantmen, and taken them into Aux Cayes.[7]

Citations
  1. Winfield (2007), p. 332.
  2. "Letter of Marque, p.54 – Retrieved 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  3. "No. 13629". The London Gazette. 4 March 1794. p. 205.
  4. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 2545. 24 September 1793. hdl:2027/hvd.32044050633098.
  5. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 2553. 22 October 1793. hdl:2027/hvd.32044050633098.
  6. Steel (1805), p. 3, No.30.
  7. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 2731. 7 July 1795. hdl:2027/hvd.32044105233118.

References
  • Steel, David (1805). Steel's Prize Pay Lists; new series ... Corrected to the first of April, 1805. P.Steel.
  • Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 978-1844157006.
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