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BLAZER
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(14) |
Gun-brig
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Built in 1804, Northfleet.
Sold in 1814. |
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- 1805 Lieut. John HINTON, Downs.
During May 1808 he took four French fishing boats: PETIT ZEPHYR, VILLE DE NIEUPORT, NEPTUNUS and L'ESPERANCE. - 1811 Lieut. Francis BANKS, Heligoland.
When Lieut. BANKS learnt of the distressed state of the French forces in Cuxhaven and the entry of the Russians into Hamburg he decided to take BREVDRAGEREN under his orders and entered the Elbe on the morning of the 16 March 1813 to intercept any gun boats that might try to escape. They destroyed two found deserted at the entrance, the another 18 large schuyts in the port were burnt or sunk by the French. Meanwhile the French force of about 1,200 was retreating towards Bremen and when Lieut. BANKS spoke with the civil authorities in Ritzbuttel they asked him to take possession of the batteries which had been evacuated. The following day he disembarked 32 soldiers of the Royal Veteran Regiment from Heligoland at the Cuxhaven battery and ordered the destruction of the Napoleon battery half a mile up the river. - On the 20 March he sent his cutter with twelve men, and BREVDRAGEREN's galley with nine, to hunt for Danish privateers in the upper Elbe and at daylight the following morning they discovered two galliots. These they assumed to be merchantmen until they were fired on. As the enemy fired for the second time the galley boarded the first and the cutter the second schuyt and carried them without loss. The prizes were the Danish JUNGE TROUTMAN, commanded by Lieut. Lutkin, and LIEBE, commanded by Lieut. Writt. Both were armed with two long 18-pounders and three 12-pounder carronades and carried a crew of 25 men each. They had sailed from Gluckstadt three days previously to attack the Heligoland trade.
- In October 1813 Lieut. BANKS was promoted to commander and BLAZER was re-rated as a sloop-of-war so he could continue in her.
- On the 28 November the squadron off Cuxhaven, SHAMROCK, BLAZER, PIERCER, REDBREAST and seven gunboats was joined by Capt. FARQUHAR in DESIREE as senior officer with orders to co-operate with Russian troops in the area. While the gunboats bombarded two French batteries, the rest of the squadron landed guns and, under the direction of Capt. BANKS, erected a battery of six 18-pounders, two 32 -pounders and two 6-pounders within 400 yards of the French works at Fort Phare.
When the mist cleared on the morning of the 30th. the enemy was so surprised by the strength opposing them that they asked for a truce which led to the surrender of two strong batteries mounting twenty six heavy guns and with a garrison of 300 officers and men. - After the capture of Cuxhaven on 1 Dec. 1813 BLAZER was left as senior ship of the flotilla in the Elbe and took charge of 300 French prisoners until the break up of the ice in March 1814.
She was with Capt. FARQUHER in DESIREE off the river on the 19 December when Capt. MARSHALL of SHAMROCK reported that the Swedes were attacking Gluckstadt and had driven the French out of a battery. The weather was too thick for the vessels to move so Capt. FARQUHER went on up the river in a gunboat, the frigate and the brig followed as soon as the weather cleared and came up with SHAMROCK on the morning of the 23rd. The squadron of brigs and gunboats then joined the Swedes in the attack on the fortress of Gluckstadt which finally surrendered on the 5 January 1814.
(see SHAMROCK for details). Two men were killed in BLAZER. John M'EVOY, an ordinary seaman from DESIREE, and William JACKSON, captain of the foretop. Lawrence ANDERSON, an able-seaman loaned from DESIREE, was wounded. - In March BLAZER and SHAMROCK (14) together with a motley collection of gunboats manned by Russian soldiers, Hanoverian peasants and Danish seamen, joined in the siege of the French garrison in Hamburg. Although the allies entered Paris on 30 March the news of the end of hostilities did not reach Hamburg until late in April. After the surrender, the officers of BLAZER were responsible for the recovery of 49 heavy guns and mortars from the forts and bringing to the Nore a brig, a galliot and 9 gun vessels, all ex-Danish.
- BLAZER paid off at Sheerness 18 August 1814 where she remained until disposal.
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