HMS ''Demerara'' was the mercantile schooner ''Anna'' that the British Royal Navy purchased in 1804. A French privateer captured her that same year and ''Demerara'' became the French privateer ''Hebe''. She had an unsuccessful

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 ...

in 1806. The Royal Navy recaptured her and she returned to service that year as HMS ''Anna''. She was broken up in 1809.

HMS

The Navy appointed Lieutenant Thomas Dutton to command ''Demerara''.Marshall (1833), Vol. 4, p.33. On 14 July 1804 ''Demerara'' was cruising off Demerara when at daylight she sighted a ship at anchor. The ship got under weigh and approached ''Demerara'', which attempted to escape what was clearly a well-armed privateer. Within an hour the privateer had caught up with her quarry and started firing small arms and a broadside. Within 10 minutes ''Demerara'' had lost one man killed and nine wounded, and Dutton

struck Struck is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Adolf Struck (1877–1911), German author *Hermann Struck (1876–1944), German artist *Karin Struck (1947–2006), German author *Paul Struck (1776-1820), German composer *Peter Struc ...

. The privateer was ''Grande Décidée''. She was armed with 22 guns and had a crew of 155 men.

Privateer

'' Lloyd's List'' of 18 April 1806 reported that a 14-gun privateer had captured ''Shipley'', but that ''Shipley'' had been recaptured and had arrived at Barbados. In February ''Shipley'' had encountered a French three-masted schooner privateer, the former . Wilson and ''Shipley'' resisted for an hour and three-quarters until after he was severely wounded, as were the mate and the steward, and she had had four men killed. (The French had lost six men killed, including her second captain, and many men wounded.) The French plundered ''Shipley'' of her cargo. It was that recaptured ''Shipley''. On 25 July Shipley Williams & Co., ''Shipley''s owners, presented Wilson with a silver cup as a token of appreciation. The cup's inscription names the French privateer as ''Hebe''.Object ID:PLT0189 "Silver cup presented to Captain John Wilson in 1806."
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HMS

It appears that the Royal Navy may have retaken ''Demerara''. The vessel resumed the name ''Anna'' on 15 August 1806, i.e., after the above engagement, and after the commissioning of a new . ''Anna'' was broken up in 1809.

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Demerara (1804) 1800s ships Schooners of the Royal Navy Captured ships