HMS ''Curlew'' was the mercantile sloop ''Leander'', launched at South Shields in 1800. The Royal Navy purchased her in 1803 and named her ''Curlew'' as there was already a in service, and the ''Curlew'' name was available. ''Curlew'' was a sloop of 16 guns. The Navy sold her in 1810 and she returned to mercantile service as ''Leander''. On her first voyage to the West Indies a French privateer captured her in a

single-ship action A single-ship action is a naval engagement fought between two warships of opposing sides, excluding submarine engagements; called so because there is a single ship on each side. The following is a list of notable single-ship actions. Single-shi ...

; she was lost shortly thereafter.

Merchantman ''Leander''

''Leander'' first appeared in '' Lloyd's Register'' (''LR'') in 1801.''LR'' (1801), "L" supple. pages, Seq.№L16.
/ref> On 12 April 1801 a gale forced her aground at Torbay while she was on her way from London to Demerara.

HMS ''Curlew''

Between July and 27 September 1803, ''Curlew'' was at Deptford being fitted for naval service. Commander James Murrey Northey commissioned her in August for the North Sea. On 2 April 1804 ''Curlew'', sloop of war, reportedly sailed from the North Seas station with a squadron, and store ships, to Boulogne. Two days later, ''Curlew'' recaptured ''Stert'', of Cardiff, William Pettigrew, master. Pettigrew reported, when he reached The Downs, that the privateer that had captured him off Dungeness had that same day taken nine vessels that she had sent to Dunkirk. Early in the year the ''Naval Chronicle'' noted that ''Curlew'' was "At present with the North Sea convoy." During the year ''Curlew'' escorted convoys and captured vessels, and performed errands. In 1805 ''Curlew'' escorted a convoy to Newfoundland. Between October 1806 and September 1807, ''Curlew'' was at Sheerness, undergoing fitting out. Commander Thomas Young replaced Northey in November 1806, commissioning ''Curlew'' for the North Sea. On 13 October 1807, Abraham Lowe was promoted to Commander into ''Curlew'', an appointment that the Admiralty confirmed. Lowe had served as First Lieutenant to Admiral Gambier in at the second battle of Copenhagen. However, the appointment only lasted until December 1807. Between June 1808 and April 1809, ''Curlew'' was at Woolwich, fitting out for the Baltic.< It is not clear where ''Curlew'' was or who her commander, if any, was between December 1807 and June 1808. In late 1808 Commander John Tancock returned from the West Indies after an attack of yellow fever; he had been captain of . In April 1809 Tancock assumed command of ''Curlew'' on the recommendation of Sir James Saumarez.Marshall (1829), Supplement, Part 3, pp.28–29. Under Tancock's command, ''Curlew'' protected British trade to and from Malmo and Gottenburg through the Sound. During this service, her boats captured seven Danish vessels carrying provisions to Norway. Five of these were: :''Ingeberg Regina'' (21 October) :''Castrup'' (same date) :''Emanuel'' (22 October) :''Hoffnung'' (same date) :Sloop, Name unknown (25 October) Earlier, ''Curlew'' had captured, on 14 and 15 October, ''Hoffnung'' and ''Jussrow Margaretha''. These two vessels may be ''Hoffnung'' and unknown named sloop in the list above. On 10 November ''Curlew'' captured another Danish vessel of unknown name. Disposal: After ''Curlew'' returned from the North Sea she was found to be defective and was paid off. The "Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy" offered "Curlew Sloop, ''lying at Sheerness''", for sale on 25 June 1810. She sold there on that day.

''Leander''

''Leander'' returned to mercantile service. ''Lloyd's Register'' for 1810 showed her with P. Main, master, Inglis & Co., owner, and trade London–Honduras.''Lloyd's Register'' (1810), "L" supple. pages, Seq.№L123.
/ref> On 1 November 1810 ''Leander'' encountered the French 4-gun privateer , of Saint-Malo. An engagement of about a half-hour followed during which men from ''Speculateur'' boarded ''Leander''. Captain Main, two mates, and a seaman were killed, and six men were wounded. On ''Speculateur'' of her crew of 55 men, one was killed and two wounded. ''Leander'' was reportedly taken into Figuerra. A report a week later stated that ''Leander'' had been lost on her way into Tréguier, Côtes du Nord. A third report about a month later confirmed that it was ''Leander'' that had been captured and lost near Lorient.''Lloyd's List'' 18 January 1811, №4529.
/ref>

Notes

Citations

References

* de Tousard, Louis * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Curlew (1803) 1800 ships Ships built by Temple shipbuilders Maritime incidents in 1801 Sloops of the Royal Navy Age of Sail merchant ships of England Captured ships Maritime incidents in 1810