''Princess Amelia'' was launched in 1799 and became a packet for the British

Post Office Packet Service The Post Office Packet Service dates to Tudor times and ran until 1823, when the Admiralty assumed control of the service. Originally, the General Post Office, Post Office used packet ships to carry mail packets to and from British embassies, col ...

, sailing from

Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Falmouth was founded in 1613 by the Killigrew family on a site near the existing Pendennis Castle. It developed as a po ...

. She sailed to North America, the West Indies, Mediterranean, and Brazil. In 1800 a French privateer captured her, but she returned to the packet service later the same year.

Joshua Barney Joshua Barney (6 July 1759 – 1 December 1818) was an American naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War and in the French Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars. He later achieved the rank of comm ...

, in the American

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

, captured her on 16 September 1812, at the start of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. The United States Navy took her into service as HMS ''Georgia'', but then renamed her USS ''Troup''. She served as a guardship at Savannah; the Navy sold her in 1815.

Packet

As a packet, ''Princess Amelia'' sailed from Falmouth on numerous voyages to Jamaica, to the Mediterranean, and to Brazil. On 14 May 1800 a French

captured ''Princess Amelia'' packet, Richard Stevens, master, as she was returning from the Leeward Islands, and took her into Bordeaux. The privateer was ''Decide'', or ''Grande Decide'' of Bordeaux. On 12 October 1800 the Danish vessel ''Two Sisters'', Gardrund, master, came into Falmouth from Bordeaux, in ballast. ''Two Sisters'' was the former ''Princess Amelia'' packet. The Packet Service took ''Princess Amelia'' back into service. On 17 December 1800 ''Princess Amelia'', G. Bryant, master, sailed from Falmouth for Jamaica. On 18 December 1800 ''Grantham Packet'', Bull, master, was going to Jamaica from Falmouth was wrecked on the Mendham Shoals off

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. The people aboard her were rescued. The Post Office hired to carry the passengers and mail that ''Grantham Packet'' was to carry to England, but ''Caroline'' was wrecked at Jamaica before she could leave for England. ''Princess Amelia Packet'', Bryant, master, took the passengers and mail to Falmouth, leaving Jamaica on 8 February and arriving at Falmouth on 22 March. ''Princess Amelia'' twice had to go into quarantine at Falmouth because of deaths due to fever. ''Princess Amelia'', Richard Stevens, master, left Tortola on 19 January 1805 and arrived at Falmouth on 10 February. Because two crew members had died of fever on the passage she went into quarantine on her arrival. In 1807 Captain Stevens and eight crew members died of yellow fever at Jamaica. ''Princess Amelia'' arrived at Falmouth on 11 January 1808. ''Princess Amelia Packet'' arrived in Falmouth on 2 July 1811, having sailed from Jamaica in April. In August 1812 she left Bridgetown, Barbados,''Essquebo & Demarary Royal Gazette'', No. 534, 5 December 1812. for St. Thomas. From there she sailed for England. It was on this voyage back to Falmouth that she encountered ''Rossie''. ''Rossie'' was armed with ten 12-pounder guns and one long 9-pounder on a pivot, and had a crew of 95; ''Princess Amelia'' was armed with four 6-pounders and two 9-pounders, and had a crew of 27 or 28. ''Princess Amelia'' had to

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...

after she had lost three men killed, including her captain, Isaac Moorsom, and her sailing master, John Nankivell, and 11 men wounded. (Some of the wounded may have died later as a report on her arrival in Savannah gives her casualties as six dead and six or seven wounded.) American casualties were seven men wounded, one of them, the

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

, severely. ''Rossie'' sent her prize into

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

. American sources reported that ''Princess Amelia''s passengers had expressed their thanks for the polite treatment they received from Captain Barney.

USS ''Troup''

At Savannah the United States Navy bought ''Princess Amelia Packet'' and named her ''Georgia''. The US Navy then changed her name to ''Troup'', naming her after Congressman George Troup of Georgia who had written to Secretary Hamilton urging her purchase. The US Navy used ''Troup'' as a guard and receiving ship at Savannah for the remainder of the War of 1812, under the command of a Captain Walpole. She was sold at Savannah in 1815.

Notes

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Sources

* * * * * * * * * {{cite book , last=Silverstone , first=P.H. , title=The Sailing Navy, 1775-1854 , publisher=Routledge , series=The U.S. Navy warship series , year=2006 , isbn=978-0-415-97872-9 , url={{GBUrl, fyk6ocYiVvwC 1799 ships Brigs of the United States Navy Captured ships War of 1812 ships of the United States Packet boat Falmouth Packets