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CRUIZER (18) Built in 1797, Ipswich. Name ship of her class.
Sold in 1819.

  • 1799 Charles WOLLASTON, North Sea.
  • On the 23 March 1800 Capt. WOLLASTON discovered a strange sail to the eastward and, after a chase of five hours, came up with and captured the French privateer cutter PERSEVERANT on the Brown Bank.
    With 14 guns and 47 men she was commanded by Capt. Delattre and came from Dunkirk. She had been out for 20 days, including two off the Texel, but had made no captures, although on previous cruises she had been very successful.
    He sent his prize into Yarmouth.
  • Two days later he boarded a brig from Bremen and learned from her master that about three hours before he had been hailed by a French brig steering to the north-east.
    He made all sail in that direction and at half past eight ran alongside the enemy and forced her to strike. She proved to be the FILIBUSTIER of 14 guns and 54 men. She had sailed from Dunkirk the day before under Capt. Cany.
    CRUIZER returned with her prize to Yarmouth.
  • 1801 John HANCOCK.
    04/1801, cruising in Channel.
    On 31 August 1801 NELSON wrote to a friend that Capt. HANCOCK had landed two captured brass guns at Yarmouth and was believed to have others on board.
    He thought they were worth 400 to 500 pounds each.
    On 14 June 1803 CRUIZER was involved with JALOUSE (q.v.) and the frigate IMMORTALITE in the capture of two French gun vessels, INABORDABLE, schooner and COMMODE, brig, each mounting three 24-pounders and one 18-pounder.
    They were driven aground near Cap Blanc Nez and after a cannonade between the British ships and batteries ashore they were brought off by the boats of the three ships.
  • During the night of 8 March 1804 two boats from CRUIZER and RATTLER cut out a cutter COLOMBE from the harbour of Sluys in Holland but she stuck on the bar and had to be burnt to avoid recapture.
  • In the same month CRUIZER and RATTLER were moored off Blankenberg when they were attacked by 13 armed vessels which had brought troops out from Flushing with the intention of boarding the two brigs.
    They were repulsed and chased back to shore until shoaling water and fire from the Ostend batteries prevented further pursuit.
    CRUIZER was under the command of Sir Sidney SMITH in ANTELOPE which was normally anchored at Stone Deep, some eighteen miles off Flushing, and Capt. HANCOCK passed signals to him, using flags of extraordinary size, via the frigate AIMABLE.
  • On the evening of 15 May 1804 Capt. HANCOCK reported that 22 vessels were coming out of Ostend and he made a recall signal to a flotilla of gunboats which seems to have been either misunderstood or not seen.
    The following morning the Flushing flotilla of 59 vessels (2 praams, 19 schooners and 38 schuyts) was sighted making its way along the shore towards Ostend.
    CRUIZER and RATTLER attacked at about 1.30 PM by which time a change of wind had forced the Dutch commander to put back towards Flushing.
    While the two brigs were thus engaged with the tail, PENELOPE and ANTELOPE attacked the head.
    AIMABLE was sent in to assist Capt. HANCOCK about 4 o'clock.
  • One of the praams, VILLE D'ANVERS, which was armed with at least twelve long 24-pounders and flying the flag of a Rear-Admiral, was engaged by Capt. HANCOCK from a few yards off her lee quarter. She soon struck and ran up on the beach but the water was too shallow for cruiser to follow and she had to sheer off.
    He was immediately surrounded by a number of schooners which attempted to board the brig.
    The bowsprit of one lay across her and, although it was cleared three times by marines and small-arms men, the assaults continued over it until it was cut away by a shot from a carronade.
  • CRUIZER was engaged for over six hours and had one man killed and the captain's clerk, George Ellis, and three men wounded.
    Her sails and rigging were badly damaged and she received two shots through the hull under water.
    Capt. HANCOCK sent out one schuyt, with a lieutenant and 23 soldiers on board, which had surrendered to him.
  • The Flushing flotilla carried seventy-six long 32-pounders, twenty-four long 24's, thirty-nine long 18's, 230 carronades and more than 3,000 men.
    The French acknowledged a loss of 18 killed and 60 wounded and Sir Sidney SMITH reported that if the gun-brigs had responded to Capt. HANCOCK's signal they and the two brigs could have completely destroyed the enemy before the frigates even arrived.
  • Two attempts were made by CRUIZER to destroy the VILLE D'ANVERS and the other grounded vessels which resulted in unfortunate accidents to the crews of the vessels assisting her.
    The master and five seamen aboard MINX were badly hurt and five men were lost in ANTELOPE's launch when she was upset alongside the brig.
  • On Monday 22 April James DOUGLAS, a petty officer in CRUIZER, was flogged around the fleet for beating and ill-treating a prisoner on board a prize of which he was the prize-master.
  • On 23 October, HANCOCK, as senior officer off Ostend in CRUIZER, with his flotilla of gun-brigs and cutters, had a general action with two praams and 18 schuyts.
    They silenced one of the praams but, with failing light and the French retreating to shoal water on a falling tide, they were forced to haul off and anchor.
    CRUIZER's sails and rigging were damaged once more and acting Lieutenant Abraham GARLAND lost his right leg.
    During the action the gun-brig CONFLICT grounded and had to be abandoned.
  • The flotilla consisted of BLAZER, John HILTON; CONFLICT, Charles ORMSBY; TIGRESS, Edward GREENSWORD; ESCORT, Joseph GARLAND; ADMIRAL MITCHELL, Richard WILLIAMS and GRIFFIN, James DILLON.
    All lieutenants.
  • One capture which was welcomed in letters from ship-owners and merchants was made by Capt. HANCOCK on 17 November 1804.
    CRUIZER, with the gunbrigs BOLD, ANN and FLORENCE was off Boulogne when a strange sail was observed inshore.
    HANCOCK attempted to close but the other made all sail and it was not until after a chase of 100 miles when HANCOCK was about to hail him before opening up with a broadside that he struck.
  • She proved to be the French privateer Le CONTRE AMIRAL MAGON, built only two months before at Dunkirk, and commanded by Capt. BLANKEMAN.
    He had been cruising for eighteen days and had taken three prizes: BELLISARIUS of Newcastle and the colliers SCIPIO and CONSTANT INCREASE.
    Their masters and 20 crew members were held on the privateer.
    Capt. HANCOCK took his capture into Yarmouth and landed his prisoners.
    The CONTRE AMIRAL MAGON, 224bm, was armed with fourteen long 6-pounders, two 18-pounder carronades and one long 9-pounder.
  • During 1805 CRUIZER was in action no less than 104 times with the enemy port flotillas, coastal batteries and privateers.
  • In January 1806 Capt. HANCOCK, by disguising CRUIZER as an American in search of a pilot, decoyed a number of blockade breakers off shore.
    He captured one cutter and manned her as a tender under Lieut. John PEARSE.
    between them they then succeeded in taking between them six luggers and a schooner with cargoes consisting of more than 26,000 gallons of spirits together with tobacco and other goods.
  • Capt. HANCOCK was superseded by Cdr. STODDART on his return to port.
  • 1806 Pringle STODDART, 22/01/1806, North Sea.
    On 26 January 1807 CRUIZER was on her way from Walcheren towards the Galloper Shoal and she had about 12 miles to go when she passed a lugger on the opposite tack.
    When the wind veered to the west she was able to follow in the lugger's wake and, after a long chase, managed to drive her on the beach three miles west of Blankenberg where the captain and most of her crew escaped ashore.
    While CRUIZER anchored a half gun-shot off, her boats, under Lieut. PEARSE, Mr LASH, the master, and Mr MOFFAT, master's mate, went in and brought off the privateer without any damage.
    This was accomplished under musket fire from the enemy gathered on the sand dunes.
    The lugger was the BRAVE of Dunkirk of 16 guns and the masters and crews of two captured British ships were found on board her.
    One of these, LEANDER, a collier brig from the Tyne, was recaptured by CRUIZER the same afternoon, the other was a galliot laden with government rum.
    CRUIZER also retook the GUARDIAN of Bridlington which had been captured by the privateer REVANCHE off Flamborough Head while returning from the Baltic.
  • In August CRUIZER was part of Admiral GAMBIER's inshore squadron, five bombs, three sloops and seven gun-brigs, which covered the army landings for the siege of Copenhagen, where on 22 August they were attacked by three praams, each carrying 20 guns, and more than 30 gunboats, supported by the fire from floating batteries and block-ships.
    The British squadron suffered little damage but Lieut. John WOODFORD of CRUIZER was killed.
    The Danes asked for an armistice on 5 7eptember.
  • The squadron consisted of Bombs: THUNDER,G. COCKS; ZEBRA, W. BOWLES; FURY, J. S.GIBSON; AETNA,W. GODFREY, and VESUVIUS,R. ARTHUR.
    Sloops: CRUIZER, P. STODDARD; KITE, J. JAMES, and MUTINE,H. STEUART.
    Gun-brigs: FEARLESS, INDIGNANT, URGENT, PINCHER, TIGRESS, DESPARATE and SAFEGUARD.
    The armed ship HEBE and ten launches fitted as mortar-boats.
  • 1807 George Charles M'KENZIE, North Sea.
    After seeing a convoy through the Great Belt on 11 June 1808 EURYALUS and CRUIZER discovered several vessels at anchor close to the shore near Korsor and Lieut. HEAD of the former was sent in with the boats of both vessels to destroy them.
    Two large transports were burnt and a gun-vessel captured, the latter mounting two 18-pounders and having a crew of 64 men.
    They were moored within half a pistol shot of a battery of three 18-pounders and a shore lined with troops.
    The Danes had 7 killed and 12 wounded with many drowned, the British only one man slightly wounded.
    Midshipmen MOFFATT and LOVEDAY of CRUIZER were praised for their conduct.
  • 1808 Lieut. (act.
    Cdr.) Thomas WELLS.
    On 1 October 1808 CRUIZER was attacked by about 20 gunboats off Goteborg, Sweden.
    Not only did she drive them off but succeeded in capturing one, a schuyt -rigged privateer with ten 4-pounders and 32 men.
    The others made their escape by running under the island of Loesoe.
    WELLKS was confirmed in his acting rank for this action.
  • 1809 Thos.
    Richard TOKER, 11/1808, Baltic, until he was posted in December 1813.
    On 7 May 1809 he was off Pillau with a letter for Louis Drusina who had been British consul but had remained under cover as a secret agent.
    He captured the Danish CHRISTIANBORG off Bornholm on the evening of 31 May. She was armed with six guns, three of which she hove overboard during the chase.
    Her captain was H. F. Hatting and he had a crew of 37 men, 13 of whom had been sent off to cruise in a boat.
    During her six hours out of Earthholm,she had made no captures.
  • Capt. TOKER boarded the AMELIA galliot on 13 June 1810 off Jasmund and learnt that she was carrying a cargo of British colonial produce.
    Her master said that he had left Stralsund because of a rumour that the French intended seizing all British goods.
  • 1814 Sheerness.
  • 18


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