HMS Plumper (1848)
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HMS ''Plumper'' was part of the 1847 programme, she was ordered on 25 April as a steam schooner from Woolwich Dockyard with the name ''Pincher''. However, the reference Ships of the Royal Navy, by J.J. College, (c) 2020 there is no entry that associates this name to this build.Colledge The vessel was reordered on 12 August as an 8-gun sloop as designed by John Fincham, Master Shipwright at Portsmouth. Launched in 1848, she served three commissions, firstly on the West Indies and North American Station, then on the West Africa Station and finally in the Pacific Station. It was during her last commission as a survey ship that she left her most enduring legacy; in charting the west coast of British Columbia she left her name and those of her ship's company scattered across the charts of the region. She
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 ...
for the last time in 1861 and was finally sold for breaking up in 1865. ''Plumper'' was the fifth named vessel since it was introduced for a 12-gun vessel launched by Randall of Rotherhithe on 17 May 1794 and sold in January 1802.


Construction

''Plumpers keel was laid in October 1847 at Portsmouth Dockyard and launched on 5 April 1848. Her gundeck was with her keel length reported for tonnage calculation of . Her maximum breadth was reported for tonnage was . She had a depth of hold of . Her builder's measure tonnage was 490 tons and displaced 577 tons. Her mean draught was .Lyon Winfield, page 213 Her machinery was supplied by Miller, Ravenhill & Company. She shipped two rectangular fire tube boilers. Her engine was a 2-cylinder vertical single expansion (VSE) oscillating steam engine with cylinders of in diameter with a stroke, rated at 60 nominal horsepower (NHP). She had a single screw propeller of in diameter. Her main armament consisted of two Blomefield 32-pounder 56 hundredweight (cwt) muzzle loading smooth bore (MLSB) 9.5-foot solid shot guns and six Blomefield (bored up from 18-pounders) 32-pounder 25 cwt MLSB 6-foot solid shot guns on broadside trucks.


Trials

During steam trials her engine generated 148 indicated horsepower (IHP) for a speed of 7.4 knots. Plumper was completed for sea on 17 December 1848 at a cost of £20,446.


Commissioned service


First commission (1848–1853)

She was commissioned on 6 November 1848 under Commander Matthew S. Nolloth, RN for Particular Service with
Admiral Sir Charles Napier Admiral Sir Charles John Napier (6 March 1786Priscilla Napier (1995), who is not elsewhere free from error, gives the birth year as 1787 (p. 1, and book title), but provides no evidence. All other authorities agree on 1786. – 6 November 1860 ...
's Western Squadron. In January 1849, she was sent to the North America and West Indies Station. Curiously, a report was published in the ''
Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'', founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. The magazine was published weekly for most of its existence, switched to a less freq ...
'' on 14 April 1849 of a sighting of a sea serpent off the Portuguese Coast. On 25 June 1850, she ran aground and was damaged off
Digby, Nova Scotia Digby is a Canadian town in southwestern Nova Scotia. It is in the historical Digby County, Nova Scotia, county of Digby and a separate municipality from the Municipality of the District of Digby. The town is situated on the western shore of the ...
,
British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...
. She was refloated and taken in to Digby for repairs. In June 1851, she deployed to the south-east coast of America and during this period she captured the slavers ''Flor-do-Mar'' on 14 June 1851 and ''Sarah'' on 9 June 1851 (with HMS ''Cormorant''). She is recorded as arriving in Portsmouth from Brazil with of gold trans-shipped from the ''Emperor'' on 31 December 1852. She paid off at Portsmouth on 6 January 1853.Winfield


Second commission (1853–1856)

After a short refit she recommissioned at Portsmouth under Commander John A.L. Wharton, RN on 1 August 1853 for service on the West Coast of Africa. At the time, the
West Africa Squadron The West Africa Squadron, also known as the Preventive Squadron, was a squadron of the Royal Navy whose goal was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa. Formed in 1808 after the British Parliament passed ...
was employed overwhelmingly in anti-slavery patrols. She changed commanders on 5 April 1855 when Commander William H. Haswell took command. ''
The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'', known generally as ''The Gazette'', is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, i ...
'' records the capture of a slaving vessel of unknown name by ''Plumper'' on 19 October 1855. By October 1856, her gun armament was increased to 12 guns. She returned to Home Waters paying off at Portsmouth on 9 December 1856.


Third commission (1857–1861)

She was recommissioned at Portsmouth on 10 December 1856 under Captain George Henry Richards, RN for service on the Pacific Coast of British North America as a survey ship. During her tenure there she surveyed the lower
Fraser River The Fraser River () is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Blackrock Mountain (Canada), Blackrock Mountain in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia just south of the City of V ...
,
Burrard Inlet Burrard Inlet () is a shallow-sided fjord in the northwestern Lower Mainland, British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the lowland Burrard Peninsula to the south from the coa ...
, Howe Sound, Sunshine Coast and the waters around Esquimalt and Victoria on Vancouver's Island. The ''Plumper'', having embarked a company of
Royal Marine The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...
s, was involved in the Pig War crisis between the United States and
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
in 1859; along with ''Tribune'', which was commanded by Captain
Geoffrey Hornby Admiral of the Fleet Sir Geoffrey Thomas Phipps Hornby GCB (10 February 1825 – 3 March 1895) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer, he saw action at the capture of Acre in November 1840 during the Egyptian–Ottoman War. As a captain ...
, the ''Plumper'' and HMS ''Satellite'' were dispatched by Governor James Douglas to prevent American soldiers from erecting fortifications on
San Juan Island San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington, United States. It has a land area of 142.59 km2 (55.053 sq mi) and a population of 8,632 as of the 2020 census. Washington State F ...
and bringing in reinforcements. Francis Brockton was the ship's engineer under Captain Richards when, in 1859, Brockton found a vein of coal in the
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
area. After the discovery, which Richards reported to Governor James Douglas, Richards named the area of the find
Coal Harbour Coal Harbour is a section of Burrard Inlet lying between Vancouver's Downtown Peninsula and the Brockton Point of Stanley Park. It has also now become the name of the neighbourhood adjacent to its southern shoreline. Neighbourhood Coal Harbou ...
and named
Brockton Point Brockton Point is a headland off the Downtown Peninsula of Vancouver, on the north side of Coal Harbour. Named after Francis Brockton, it is the most easterly part of Stanley Park and is home to a 100-year-old lighthouse and several hand-carve ...
, at the east end of what is now
Stanley Park Stanley Park is a public park in British Columbia, Canada, that makes up the northwestern half of Vancouver's Downtown Vancouver, Downtown peninsula, surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay, Vancouver, English Bay. The park bor ...
in Vancouver, after Francis Brockton. Commander Anthony Hoskins brought HMS ''Hecate'' out to the Pacific Station and swapped commands with Richards, taking command of the ''Plumper'' in January 1861. He then returned to the United Kingdom, paying the ship off at Portsmouth on 2 July 1861.


Disposal

''Plumper'' was sold to White of
Cowes Cowes () is an England, English port, seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked b ...
for breaking on 2 June 1865.


Legacy

Several significant features of the coast of British Columbia are named after ''Plumper'', including
Plumper Sound Plumper Sound is a sound in the Southern Gulf Islands region of British Columbia, Canada, located between Saturna Island (E) and North and South Pender Islands. It is named for , the survey ship of the Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is th ...
in the
Southern Gulf Islands The Gulf Islands is a group of islands in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the mainland coast of British Columbia. Etymology The name "Gulf Islands" comes from " Gulf of Georgia", the original term used by George Vancouver in his ma ...
region of British Columbia and Plumper Cove at Keats Island (from which
Plumper Cove Marine Provincial Park Plumper Cove Marine Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. The park is located on the northwest shore of Keats Island in Howe Sound, northwest of Vancouver, British Columbia. The park is one of the oldest marine par ...
takes its name). Other features were named after the ship's company, including: *
Campbell River, British Columbia Campbell River is a city in the Sayward Land District of British Columbia, Canada, on the east coast of Vancouver Island at the south end of Discovery Passage, which lies along the 50th parallel north along the important Inside Passage ship ...
, for Dr Samuel Campbell, the ship's surgeon. *
Pender Island Pender Island ( Saanich: ) is the collective name for two Southern Gulf Islands located in the Salish Sea, British Columbia, Canada. The Pender Islands, consisting of North Pender Island and South Pender Island, have a combined area of approxim ...
and
Pender Harbour, British Columbia Pender Harbour (''ḵalpilin'' in ''she shashishalhem'') is a harbour on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast, on the east side of Malaspina Strait. The name Pender Harbour also refers collectively to the surrounding unincorporated communities o ...
, for
Daniel Pender Daniel Pender was a Royal Navy Staff Commander, later captain, who surveyed the Coast of British Columbia aboard , and from 1857 to 1870. Pender was recorded as the second master of the admiralty survey vessel, HMS ''Plumper'', in 1857 when h ...
. *
Mayne Island Mayne Island is a island in the southern Gulf Islands chain of British Columbia. It is midway between the Lower Mainland of BC and Vancouver Island, and has a population of over 1300. Mount Parke in the south-central heart of the island is ...
for Lieutenant Richard Charles Mayne. *
Brockton Point Brockton Point is a headland off the Downtown Peninsula of Vancouver, on the north side of Coal Harbour. Named after Francis Brockton, it is the most easterly part of Stanley Park and is home to a 100-year-old lighthouse and several hand-carve ...
for the ship's engineer, Francis Brockton. *
Mudge Island Mudge Island is one of the Southern Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia, in British Columbia (BC), Canada. It lies between Gabriola Island and Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of t ...
for William Fitzwilliam Mudge, a ship's officer. An image of the ship appears on the coat-of-arms of the town of Sidney on southern
Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...
.


Citations


References

* Lyon Winfield, The Sail & Steam Navy List, All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815 to 1889, by David Lyon & Rif Winfield, published by Chatham Publishing, London © 2004, * The Navy List, published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London * Winfield, British Warships in the Age of Sail (1817 – 1863), by Rif Winfield, published by Seaforth Publishing, England © 2014, e, Chapter 12 Screw Sloops, Vessels ordered or reordered as steam screw sloops (from 1845), Plumper * Colledge, Ships of the Royal Navy, by J.J. Colledge, revised and updated by Lt Cdr Ben Warlow and Steve Bush, published by Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley, Great Britain, © 2020, e (EPUB), Section P (Plumper, Pincher) {{DEFAULTSORT:Plumper (1848) Victorian-era sloops of the United Kingdom Sloops of the Royal Navy Survey vessels of the Royal Navy Ships built in Portsmouth Pre-Confederation British Columbia 1848 ships