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USS ''Scorpion'' was a
schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...
of the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
. She was the second USN ship to be named for the
scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...
. The British captured her on 6 September 1814 and took her into service as HMS ''Confiance''. She was placed in
Ordinary Ordinary or The Ordinary often refer to: Music * ''Ordinary'' (EP) (2015), by South Korean group Beast * ''Ordinary'' (album) (2011), by Every Little Thing * "Ordinary" (Alex Warren song) (2025) * "Ordinary" (Two Door Cinema Club song) (2016 ...
in 1817 and broken up in 1831.


Career

''Scorpion'' was launched in the spring of 1813 at Presque Isle (now
Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...
), probably by Noah Brown of New York, for service on the upper
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
. ''Scorpion'', commanded by Sailing Master
Stephen Champlin Stephen Champlin (17 November 1789 – 20 February 1870) was an officer in the United States Navy during the War of 1812. Born in Kingston, Rhode Island, Champlin entered the Navy as a sailing master 22 May 1812. He commanded the schooner in her ...
, first cousin to
Oliver Hazard Perry Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was a United States Navy officer from South Kingstown, Rhode Island. A prominent member of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace Alexander and Captain Christo ...
, operated with Commodore Perry's squadron on
Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...
during the summer and fall of 1813. On 10 September 1813, she participated in the battle off
Put-in-Bay Put-in-Bay is a resort village located on South Bass Island in Put-in-Bay Township, Ottawa County, Ohio, United States, west of Cleveland and east of Toledo. The population was 154 at the 2020 census. The village is a popular summer res ...
, Lake Erie, which resulted in the defeat and capture of a British squadron (see
Battle of Lake Erie The Battle of Lake Erie, also known as the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, on Lake Erie off the shores of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of the British ...
). ''Scorpion'' had the distinction of firing the first and last shot in the battle in which she lost two men. At the close of the action, she and pursued and captured the fleeing British schooners and . After Perry's victory, ''Scorpion'' assisted General
William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was the ninth president of the United States, serving from March 4 to April 4, 1841, the shortest presidency in U.S. history. He was also the first U.S. president to die in office, causin ...
's forces operating in the
Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...
area, by transporting troops as well as stores and ammunition captured from the enemy. During the winter of 1813 and 1814, she was laid up at Erie, Pennsylvania. From May 1814 to September 1814, ''Scorpion'' cruised on Lake Erie and
Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is shared on the north and east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the south and west by the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the lake is derived from early French ex ...
, cooperating with the army in the Detroit area by transporting troops, staking out the flats through the
St. Clair River The St. Clair River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed November 7, 2011 river in central North America which flows from Lake Huron into Lake St. Clair, forming part ...
, and blockading the enemy at the
Nottawasaga River The Nottawasaga River is a river in Simcoe County and Dufferin County in Central Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, and is a tributary of Lake Huron. The river flows from the Orangeville Reservoir in the town of Orangeville, ...
and
Lake Simcoe Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly within the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century, the lake was called ''Ouentir ...
.


Capture and fate

On 6 September 1814, while on blockade duty on Lake Huron, ''Scorpion'', under command of Daniel Turner, was surprised and captured by the former American schooner, , which also had been taken by the British a few days earlier. Both vessels and prisoners were taken to
Fort Mackinac Fort Mackinac ( ) is a former British and American military outpost garrisoned from the late 18th century to the late 19th century in the city of Mackinac Island, Michigan, on Mackinac Island. The Kingdom of Great Britain, British built the f ...
. ''Scorpion'' was subsequently taken into the Royal Navy as the four-gun schooner ''Confiance'', which along with ''Tigress'', according to local legend, was later sunk in
Georgian Bay The Georgian Bay () is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To its northwest is t ...
, Lake Huron, off
Penetanguishene Penetanguishene (, sometimes shortened to Penetang) is a town in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the southeasterly tip of Georgian Bay. Incorporated on February 22, 1882, this bilingual ( French and English) community has a popu ...
, Ontario. In fact both vessels were laid up and dismantled at Colborne Basin, Ontario.


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scorpion (1813) Schooners of the United States Navy War of 1812 ships of the United States Great Lakes ships War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom Ships built in Erie, Pennsylvania Vessels captured from the United States Navy 1813 ships