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On 23 March 1815 captured in a short battle off
Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcano, volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the Extreme points of Earth, most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town, Sou ...
. It was one of several engagements that took place after the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...
had ended, and was the final action between British and American forces. The American gunnery was far more effective than the British, despite the two vessels being virtually identical in strength. After exchanges of
broadside Broadside or broadsides may refer to: Naval * Broadside (naval), terminology for the side of a ship, the battery of cannon on one side of a warship, or their near simultaneous fire on naval warfare Printing and literature * Broadside (comic ...
s and
musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually di ...
fire, the British commander was killed. The British brig rammed the American ship in an attempt to board, but the two were separated and ''Penguin'' was disabled shortly afterwards when the foremast fell, forcing the British to surrender. The British brig was too badly damaged to be salvaged and was set ablaze by the victors after its stores and surviving crew were removed.


Background

Late in 1814, the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
had been preparing a small squadron at
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, to attack British shipping in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...
. The squadron consisted of the
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed an ...
(Captain
Stephen Decatur Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was an American naval officer and commodore. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County. His father, Stephen Decatur Sr., was a commodore in the Unit ...
), the sloops of war (Master Commandant
Lewis Warrington Lewis Warrington (3 November 1782 – 12 October 1851) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812. He later became a Captain. He temporarily served as the Secretary of the Navy. His highest rank ...
) and (Master Commandant
James Biddle James Biddle (February 18, 1783 – October 1, 1848), of the Biddle family, brother of financier Nicholas Biddle and nephew of Capt. Nicholas Biddle, was an American commodore. His flagship was . Education and early career Biddle was born in P ...
) and the brig-rigged tender . On 15 January, Decatur took advantage of a north-westerly gale to break out alone in ''President'', but the frigate went aground on the bar at the harbour mouth and received damage which delayed it for two hours and slowed it. Decatur was unable to turn back as the gale was still blowing, and ''President'' was captured after being pursued by the four frigates of the blockading British squadron. The commanders of the other American vessels were not aware of Decatur's fate. When another gale blew up on 22 January, they sailed out in broad daylight under storm canvas and evaded the blockaders through their speed and weatherliness. They made for a pre-arranged rendezvous with ''President'' off
Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcano, volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the Extreme points of Earth, most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town, Sou ...
, which was being used by the Americans as a
cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several ...
base. During the voyage, ''Hornet'' lost touch with the other two vessels. ''Peacock'' and ''Tom Bowline'' reached the rendezvous first, on 18 March, but were then driven off by a gale. ''Hornet'' reached the island on 22 March.


Battle

Biddle, commanding ''Hornet'', was about to drop anchor when a strange sail was sighted to the southeast. Biddle at once made for the stranger. This was the , commanded by Captain James Dickenson. ''Penguin'' was a new vessel, which had first sailed in September 1814. It carried roughly the same armament (sixteen 32-pounder
carronade A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color wh ...
s, one 12-pounder long gun and two 6-pounder guns) as ''Hornet'' (eighteen 32-pounder carronades and two 12-pounder guns). Some time earlier, ''Penguin'' had been sent from
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
to hunt an American privateer (''Young Wasp'') which had been attacking homeward-bound
East Indiamen East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...
.Roosevelt, p.236 As soon as ''Hornet'' was sighted, Dickenson steered for the sloop and prepared to engage. ''Penguin'' had the
weather gage The weather gage (sometimes spelled weather gauge) is the advantageous position of a fighting sailing vessel relative to another. It is also known as "nautical gauge" as it is related to the sea shore. The concept is from the Age of Sail and is no ...
and for a time, ''Hornet'' ran before ''Penguin'', yawing occasionally to avoid being raked. Then ''Penguin'' turned up-wind to port at almost the same moment as ''Hornet'' turned to starboard. The two vessels exchanged broadsides for 15 minutes, with the range gradually closing from "musket shot". Dickenson turned downwind, to close with ''Hornet'' in an attempt to board and capture ''Hornet'', but was mortally wounded. ''Penguin''s bowsprit ran across ''Hornet''s deck between the main and mizzen masts, badly damaging the American rigging. ''Penguin''s crew made no attempt to board ''Hornet'' and ''Hornet''s crew prepared to board but Biddle stopped them, to continue the gunnery duel. Biddle believed that the British had surrendered at this point and prepared to step aboard ''Penguin'' but was wounded by musket balls.Roosevelt, p.237 As the two vessels separated, ''Penguin''s foremast fell, breaking off the bowsprit. The brig had already been severely battered by American shot, and with the brig unable to manoeuvre, Lieutenant McDonald, now in command of ''Penguin'', surrendered. The British had lost 14 men killed and 28 wounded. The brig was "riddled through" and most of the starboard side carronades had been dismounted. By comparison, the Americans had lost only one man killed, one mortally wounded and seven wounded, mostly to musketry. (''Penguin'' had embarked twelve extra
Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious warfare, amphibious light infantry and also one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighti ...
in Cape Town.) Strikingly, not a single British carronade shot had hit the hull of ''Hornet''.


Aftermath

''Penguin'' was too badly damaged to be repaired and put into service, so the Americans prepared to destroy the brig after removing the stores. Another sail was sighted and the Americans hastily set the ''Penguin'' on fire, but the strange sails proved to be ''Peacock'' and ''Tom Bowline''. ''Tom Bowline'' was sent to a neutral port (
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, then part of the
Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the ...
) with ''Penguin''s crew, where they were escorted ashore by U.S. Marines. They became the last body of British troops and sailors to be taken prisoner during the war.Forester, pp.219-220 The two American sloops of war waited in vain for ''President'' until 15 April, then headed for the
East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...
, as originally intended. On 27 April, they sighted a large ship, which they at first believed to be an East Indiaman, and eagerly headed for it but then realised that their intended victim was a British ship of the line, . The Americans split up. ''Peacock'' was the faster of the two sloops and was soon out of sight. ''Cornwallis'' had recently been completed at
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
from teak woodElting, p.234 and proved to be very fast and weatherly. ''Hornet'' escaped only after a chase lasting two and a half days, during which Biddle had been forced to jettison his stores, ballast, anchors, cables, guns, small arms, capstan, the armourer's anvil, ship's bell and even substantial parts of the forecastle to lighten the sloop enough to outrun ''Cornwallis''. Since ''Hornet'' no longer had any fighting strength, Biddle had to turn home. He reached the
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is ...
on 9 May, where he learned that the Senate had ratified the Treaty of Ghent on 18 February, ending the war more than a month before the engagement with ''Penguin''.


References


Printed sources

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Penguin Penguins (order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adap ...
History of Tristan da Cunha March 1815 events