HMS Snake (1797)

HMS ''Snake'' was a British Royal Navy ship launched in 1797 as the only member of her class of brig-sloops. She captured or destroyed two French privateers and one Danish privateer. She also captured numerous small merchantmen, but spent time escorting convoys to and from the West Indies. She was sold in 1816.

Design

''Snake'' was the sole vessel of her class. Her designer was Sir William Rule. He produced two designs, one for a ship-sloop (''Snake''), and one for a brig-sloop () that differed only in their rigging. His designs were in competition with those of John Henslow, who produced the ship-sloop and the brig-sloop . Rule's brig-sloop design won. The Admiralty ultimately ordered 106 brig-sloops. In 1811, the Navy converted ''Snake'' to a brig-sloop, making her indistinguishable from the ''Cruizer''-class brig-sloops.

Career

''Snake'' was commissioned in February 1798 under Commander John Mason Lewis for cruising and convoy duty.

On the morning of 10 November 1799 was some south-east of Beachy Head, when she sighted a schooner and a brig. The schooner made off as soon as she saw the ship and the brig hove to and hoisted her ensign upside down. The brig ''Diana'', which had been carrying a cargo of coal from Sunderland, informed ''Eurydice'' that ''Diana'' had repelled an attack by a French privateer, suffering one man badly wounded while doing so. ''Eurydice'' sent over a boat and her surgeon, Mr. Pardie, had to amputate the arm of the wounded man on ''Diana''. ''Eurydice'' then set off in chase. At around 11a.m. ''Snake'' came up and joined the chase. Halfway through the afternoon ''Eurydice'' came nearly within gunshot of the privateer which bore up and tried to cross ''Snake''. ''Snake'' thwarted the attempt and the privateer then lowered her sails, enabling ''Snake'' to send over a boarding party. The schooner was ''Hirondelle'', of fourteen 3 and 4-pounder guns, with a crew of 50 men under the command of Pierre Merie Dugerdin. ''Hirondelle'' had left Calais the previous day and had not made any captures. She was under the command of Jean Fresson.

On 3 February 1800 ''Snake'' sailed from Spithead with and . They were escorts to the convoy of some 150 ships to African and the East Indies. ''Snake'' parted from the convoy on 25 March in a terrible storm. She was not heard from for so long that it was believed that she had been lost. However, on 14 October she returned to Portsmouth from the coast of Africa. She brought at prize with her.

This was almost certainly the brig ''Less Amis'' that ''Snake'' captured on 13 September 1800.

''Snake'' went into dock in November. Captain Lewis received a promotion to post captain on 1 January 1801. Commander Charles Tinling assumed command in January 1801. ''Snake'' was one of the vessels that sailed from Spithead on 17 January 1801 for undeclared stations to transmit orders that the Royal Navy at that station was to detain all Swedish and Danish vessels. She returned on 26 January.

Commander William Roberts replaced Tinling, who had been promoted to post captain. On 23 February Roberts sailed ''Snake'' as escort to a convoy for West Africa. However, contrary winds forced her to return to St Helen's. She was assigned to the Africa station.

In late 1801 Roberts sailed ''Snake'' to Jamaica.

The French frigate was initially trapped in harbour by the blockade of Saint-Domingue. She was with the 74-gun ''Duguay-Trouin'' on 24 July 1803, when a British ship sighted ''Duguay-Trouin'' off Cape Picolet. The 74-gun gave chase, and the two ships exchanged several broadsides. ''Snake'' appeared on the north-west quarter, but ''Elephant'', either because of the appearance of ''Guerrière'' to windward, or for another unexplained reason, failed to maintain her position alongside ''Duguay-Trouin''. Consequently, both French ships were able to escape. However, , a 74-gun armed en flûte, was captured.

On 10 November ''Snake'' chased a French privateer all day. In trying to evade him after dark the privateer grounded on Rocky Point near the east end of Jamaica. The quarry was ''Esperance''. ''Snake'' captured her 60 crew members and took them into Port Royal.

The London ''Morning Post'' reported on 12 November 1803 that ''Snake'' had detained 12 vessels, most of which were American. They were bound from Jérémie to Cape François and ''Snake'' sent them into Port Royal.

In the spring of 1804 Commander Roberts commanded a small force based at New Providence in the Bahamas.

''Lloyd's List'' reported on 20 August 1805 that a French privateer had captured the American brig ''Angel'', Spih, master, as ''Angel'' was sailing from St Domingo to Philadelphia. ''Snake'' recaptured ''Angel'', which came into Port Royal, Jamaica.

Between March and August 1807 ''Snake'' underwent a Middling Repair at Chatham. In July Commander Thomas Young recommissioned her for the Leith Station. In August ''Snake'' was at the Nore and so was among the vessels that benefited from the proceeds of the Danish vessels detained there. The vessels ''Printz Frederick'', ''Freden'', ''Elizabeth'', ''Vrow Anna'', ''Margdretha'', ''Anna Elizabeth'', and ''Cecilia'' were detained between the 26 and 29 August, and ''Cupido'' was detained on 1 September.

On 15 October ''Snake'' was in company with and at the capture of the Danish brig ''Narhvalen'' and so later shared in the proceeds.

Between April and May 1809 ''Snake'' was at Sheerness being converted from a sloop to a brig.

On 24 June 1809 ''Snake'' and were in company and so later shared in the proceeds from the capture of the Danish galliot ''Catherina''.

On 21 July the brig ''Johanna Catherina'', a prize to ''Snake'', arrived at Leith.

On 22 July 1809, ''Snake'' and ''Fancy'' approached the town of Hammerfest in Norway. Before reaching Hammerfest, the two vessels had successfully attacked the village of Hasvik. The following battle between Hammerfest's two two-cannon batteries and the Royal Navy warships with a combined number of thirty-two cannon between them was unusually intense and did not end until the Norwegian cannons had run out of gunpowder after about 90 minutes of combat. Both warships had suffered a number of cannonball hits and had at least one fatal casualty; a sailor who was buried at the local cemetery. During the battle, the local populace evacuated the town, and ''Snake'' and ''Fancy'' remained in the town for eight days after the Norwegian defenders withdrew. The crews sacked the empty town before withdrawing.

''Lloyd's List'' reported on 1 August that ''Fortuna'' had arrived at Aberdeen. ''Snake'' had captured her off North Cape.

On 8 August, ''Snake'' captured a Danish galliot, name unknown. The sales proceeds were remitted from Gothenburg.

Also on 8 August three Danish vessels arrived at Leith. They were prizes to , ''Snake'', and . One may have been the Danish privateer schooner ''Roland'', which ''Snake'' had captured the day before.

On 30 August ''Frederick'' of Oldenburgh, from Archangel, came into Leith. The Danes had captured her, and ''Snake'' had recaptured her. A later prize money announcement makes clearer that ''Snake'' had recaptured the galliot ''Oldenburg'', Carl Frederick Janvaril-Veer, master.

''Lloyd's List'' reported on 15 September that ''Snake'' had captured a Danish privateer of 12 guns and 78 men and brought her into Leith. This may have been ''Christiana'' that ''Snake'' captured off Bergen. On 12 October ''Snake'' captured the Danish galliot ''Frue Mette''.

On 15 May 1810 ''Snake'' captured ''Tri Bergithie''.

On 25 October ''Snake'' and were in company at the recapture of ''Ulrica Wilhelmina''.

In November Commander William Hellard replaced Commander Young. ''Snake'' continued to serve on the Leith Station.

On 18 April 1811 a Danish schooner with a cargo of grain arrived at Leith. She was a prize to ''Snake''. On 8 May ''Snake'' captured a Danish sloop of unknown name.

''Snake'' was at Lerwick on 5 November. She had saved men from a prize belonging to . On the Sunday prior to 6 November, a Russian galiot that ''Tartar'' had captured was laying stranded at Montrose. The river had carried her and deposited her on the beach. A strong tide then lifted her, causing her to drift out to sea where she was dashed to pieces on the Ness (probably Scurdie Ness).

Hellard received promotion to post captain on 12 August 1812, and Commander George Robbin took command of ''Snake'' for the Jamaica station. ''Snake'' was among the vessels benefiting from the seizure on 12 August of the American vessels ''Cuba'', ''Caliban'', ''Edward'', ''Galen'', ''Halcyon'', and ''Cygnet'', shortly after the commencement of the War of 1812.

On 1 December ''Snake'' captured ''Twende Sostre'', Winther, master, on 21 January 1813 ''Splied'', Pederson, master. Commander Robbin died while on the Jamaica station.

From 16 February 1814 to October 1815 Commander Joseph Gape was in command of ''Snake''., She made one more capture, that of the smuggling lugger ''Fox'' on 11 May 1815.

Fate

The "Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy" offered for sale on 18 April 1816, lying at Sheerness, the "Snake brig, of 386 tons". She sold there on that day for £820.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Snake (1797)
1797 ships
Sloops of the Royal Navy
Brigs of the Royal Navy