HMS ''Badger'' was a

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part ...

rigged Sloop-of-War in service with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

in the late eighteenth century. Badger is notable as being the first Royal Navy ship to be commanded by

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought ...

Career

''Badger'' was one of a number of ships purchased for service on the

North America and West Indies Station The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when th ...

during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...

. She was previously an American merchant vessel, ''Defence'', and had been purchased in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...

in November 1777 for £1,540. She replaced an earlier HMS Badger that had been bought the previous year but condemned as unfit for service in 1777. Little is known about her specifications, but she probably carried 12 guns, and was apparently 'capable of carrying 16 guns'. Her first commander was

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain ...

(listed as Lieutenant, February, 1778) Michael John Everett, who brought with him the crew of the earlier ''Badger''. On 28 January, 1778 she captured schooner "Liberty" off Turks Island. On 12 February she captured schooner "Tryall" 29 Leagues off Turks Island. On 9 April 1778 she pursued and captured a privateer that ran aground 5 miles from Jean Rabel Bay,

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to ref ...

. On 8 December 1778 the commander of the North America and West Indies Station, Sir Peter Parker, transferred a young

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

named

, who had previously been serving aboard his

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the f ...

, to the command of ''Badger'', and moved Everett to command the newly captured and commissioned 18-gun sloop . ''Badger'' was Nelson's first experience of command of one of the Royal Navy's commissioned warships, and he duly took command in January 1779.Nelson (1844), p. 6. Nelson spent half of 1779 cruising the Caribbean, ranging off the Spanish colonies in Central America in search of

prizes A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

. Nelson did not have much success, but on 11 June 1779 Parker promoted Nelson to

post captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) addressed as captain ...

and gave him the command of the 28-gun frigate . On 20 June Nelson duly handed ''Badger'' over to Commander

Cuthbert Collingwood Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood (26 September 1748 – 7 March 1810) was an admiral of the Royal Navy, notable as a partner with Lord Nelson in several of the British victories of the Napoleonic Wars, and frequently a ...

. Collingwood commanded ''Badger'' until early 1780, and in March that year he was succeeded by Commander Samuel Walker. Walker was replaced in September that year by Commander Richard Storey, who was commander in an acting capacity. It had been planned that Commander Donald Sutherland would take over command, but he had died on 9 September, after only two days in command. In December 1780 Commander James Cornwallis took over. ''Badger'' was temporarily under Lieutenant William Sykes between January 1781 and possibly March 1782. ''Badger'' was

paid off Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to placing a warship i ...

in May 1782, and was sold there in June the following year for £2,050.

Notes

References

* * * Nelson, Viscount Horatio Nelson (1845) ''The dispatches and letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson: with notes, Volume 1''. (H. Colburn). * Winfield, Rif, ''British Warships of the Age of Sail 1714–1792: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates'', Seaforth, 2007,

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Badger Brigs of the Royal Navy 1770s ships