Hussar (1812 ship)

Hussar was an American privateer active during the War of 1812. Hussar was launched in 1812 and made several cruises, first two as a letter of marque, and two as a privateer, but apparently without success. HMS Saturn captured her.

History
United States
NameHussar
OwnerJohn Hollins, John Smith Hollins, William Hollins, & Michael McBlair
BuilderTalbot County, Maryland
Launched1812
Captured25 May 1814
General characteristics [1]
Tons burthen211 (bm)
Length96 ft (29.3 m)
Beam24 ft (7.3 m)
Depth of hold10 ft 3 in (3.1 m)
Sail planSchooner
Complement
  • Letter of marque: 30
  • Privateer: 100
Armament
  • Letter of marque: 2 × 6-pounder guns + 4 × 12-pounder carronades
  • Privateer: 1 × 12-pounder gun + 8 × 12-pounder carronades[2]

Letter of marque and privateer
  • First letter of marque: Captain Joshua Mezick commissioned Hussar on 10/31/12.[1]
  • Second letter of marque: Captain Tom Manning commissioned her on 7/17/13.[1]
  • First privateer cruise: Captain Joshua Mezick commissioned her on 11/3/13.[1] No record of any captures.[3]
  • Second privateer cruise: Captain Francis Jenkins commissioned her on 5/17/14.[1]

Capture

On 25 May 1814 Saturn captured Hussar at 40°8′N 73°28′W after a four-hour chase. Hussar was armed with one 12-pounder gun and nine 12-pounder carronades, eight of which she threw overboard during the chase. Her complement consisted of 98 men. She had been in commission for only a week and had left New York the previous evening for her first cruise, bound for Newfoundland; she was provisioned for a four-month cruise. Nash described her as "coppered, copper-fastened, and sails remarkably fast".[2][lower-alpha 1]

Fate

Hussar was condemned at the Vice admiralty court, Halifax, Nova Scotia.[5]

Notes
  1. Head money was paid in May 1816. A first-class share was worth £105 12s 10d; a sixth-class share, that of an ordinary seaman, was worth 8s 3d.[4]

Citations
  1. Cranwell & Crane (1940), p. 367.
  2. "No. 16916". The London Gazette. 12 July 1814. p. 1415.
  3. Emmons (1853), p. 182.
  4. "No. 17136". The London Gazette. 14 May 1816. p. 911.
  5. Vice-Admiralty Court (1911), p. 128.

References
  • Cranwell, John Philips; Crane, William Bowers (1940). Men of marque; a history of private armed vessels out of Baltimore during the War of 1812. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
  • Emmons, George Foster (1853). The navy of the United States, from the commencement, 1775 to 1853; with a brief history of each vessel’s service and fate ... Comp. by Lieut. George F. Emmons ... under the authority of the Navy Dept. To which is added a list of private armed vessels, fitted out under the American flag ... also a list of the revenue and coast survey vessels, and principal ocean steamers, belonging to citizens of the United States in 1850. Washington: Gideon & Co.
  • Vice-Admiralty Court, Halifax (1911). American vessels captured by the British during the revolution and war of 1812. Salem, Mass.: Essex Institute.
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