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PLOVER
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(18) |
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Built in 1796, Mistleythorn.
Sold in 1819. |
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- 1798 J.
CHESHYRE, 05/1796, (see PILOTE) 1800 Edward GALWAY, (who was 1st.
lieutenant on board VANGUARD in the Battle of the Nile) Channel.
He captured the French privateer lugger MASSENA off Dunkirk on the morning of the 10 March 1800 after a chase of half an hour. She was commanded by Bernard Avril with 34 men and mounted four 3-pounders. - PLOVER, ATALANTE, and TERRIER were stationed off Dunkirk to watch four French frigates that had been in the basin for about two years.
When the largest, with 46 guns, came out on the 26 March and anchored in the Roads, the three British vessels took advantage of a Nieuport fishing vessel to send her a challenge to action.
There was no reply.
(PLOVER was armed with eighteen 6-pounders and eight 12-pounder carronades.
See ATALANTE) 1805 R. T. HANCOCK, Channel. - 1807 Philip BROWNE, Plymouth.
The French privateer cutter ELIZE of 14 guns and 66 men was captured by PLOVER 35 miles S. E. of Scilly on 1 January 1807.
The privateer had made no captures in her seven days out from St. Malo.
PLOVER was in company with DRYAD and AMETHYST 60 miles S. W. of Scilly on 15 May when they encountered and captured the French privateer schooner JOSEPHINE mounting four 2-pounders.
Ten of the privateer's crew of 45 had been put aboard her only capture in the 10 days she had been out from the Isle des Bas, the JANE of Greenock homeward bound from Lisbon. - To the north of Scilly, in company with SWALLOW, she captured the French privateer lugger BOHEMIENNE on the afternoon on 30 October 1807.
Of the privateer's crew of 44, 16 were absent in the four sloops she had taken as prizes since leaving St. Malo on the 15th.
These included the HOPE of Cardigan and the FAVOURITE of Ipswich. - On 22 October 1808 she captured the French 16-gun schooner HIRONDELLE off Falmouth and on 10 January 1809 she took the French SARATU (14) off the Scilly Is.
The following month she captured the BOHEMIENNE (14) and on the 21st., after a chase of 36 hours, the ADMIRAL MARTIN of Bayonne, mounting four 18-pounder guns and with a complement of 104 men. - In March 1809 PLOVER joined the 5th. rate LIVELY, Capt. George M'KINLEY off the Spanish coast where Capt. M'KINLEY was co-operating with Don Pablo Murillo, the commander of the Spanish forces besieging Vigo.
On the 9th. LIVELY and PLOVER opened fire on a marauding party of 84 French soldiers which entered the town of Marin the mouth of the Ria de Pontevedra north of Vigo.
The mounted soldiers fled, leaving their companions, and a captain and a lieutenant were captured by the Spaniards.
On the 27th. the French garrison in Viga, numbering over 1300, surrendered. - She took part in the attack on Flushing in August 1809.
Capt. COCKBURN of BELLEISLE, who commanded the flotilla of bombs and gunboats at the south-east end of the town, moved aboard PLOVER to get closer inshore and Capt. BROWNE acted as his deputy. - In October 1809 PLOVER was off Falmouth and on the 19th. she recaptured two vessels which had been taken as French prizes, the American MARY of Boston and the Spanish brig ECCE HOMO.
On the 22nd he captured a new French privateer schooner, HIRONDELLE, out of St. Malo and commanded by Henry Louis Gavellier. She was pierced for 16 guns, all of which were thrown overboard during the 100 mile chase, and was manned by 65 men.
During the eight days she had been at sea she had captured the Portuguese ship MINERVE and unfortunately, during an exchange of musketry between PLOVER and the privateer, the Portuguese captain was badly wounded. - At 4 o'clock in the evening of 6 November 1809 PLOVER, off the Isles of Scilly, saw a lugger being chased by a brig, HMS ACTAEON.
ORESTES too joined in the chase and at 40 minutes past 7 o'clock PLOVER ran the lugger alongside when she proved to be the French privateer LEZARD of St Malo.
There was a crew of 57 men and, although pierced for 14 guns, there were none on board. She had left the Ile de Bas the previous night and had made no captures. - PLOVER and the other two sloops also recaptured the English ship WEYMOUTH fro Gibraltar which was being taken into Aberwrach as a French prize.
- In January 1810 PLOVER was still cruising off the Scillies and on the 10th. she took the French privateer brig SARATU of St. Malo, commanded by a M. Rosse, pierced for 20 guns but mounting only ten 24-pounder carronades and four long 9-pounders. She was crewed by 100 men.
During her eight days at sea she had captured three prizes; one, the RAMBLER sloop from Seville was scuttled by the French, the others the POMONA brig from Pieto, Nova Scotia and the BROTHERS brig from Martinique were retaken by PLOVER.
Capt. BROWNE was promoted to post rank on 19 June 1810. - 1810 Colin CAMPBELL, Channel.
On the 16 November 1810 he captured and scuttled three of the enemy's privateer luggers, one of 32 men the others with 24 each. - 1811 Ditto, Portsmouth for Leith.
Off the Naze of Norway on 6 July 1811 he captured the French privateer FEGERO of 10 guns and 50 men and, on 23 October, the cutter privateer PETIT EDOUARD of 6 guns and 40 men off Normandy. She was three days out from the Texel without taking any prizes. - 1812 Ditto, Baltic.
- 1814, ditto, to coast of Africa.
- 1815 John SKEKEL, Convoy to America.
- 1816 Ditto, Newfoundland.
- 1817, ditto,
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