''Teazer'' was an 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 ...

schooner in 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 ...

that the British captured and destroyed in January 1813. She is best known as the predecessor of the ill-fated schooner . A small schooner based out of New York, ''Teazer'' was one of the first American privateers to put to sea in the war. On her first voyage she quickly captured six brigs and six schooners that she sent in to US ports as prizes. However, her career was short-lived. On 17 January 1813, captured her. British sailors then boarded ''Teazer'' and set her afire. The British allowed ''Teazer''s officers to go home on

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

: that is, they were freed upon their promising that they would not sail against Great Britain until an equivalent British prisoner had been exchanged. One of the privateer officers was Lieutenant Frederick Johnson. ''Teazer''s owner, Samuel Adams of New York, quickly built a larger replacement schooner named ''Young Teazer'', and Johnson joined ''Young Teazer'', breaking his parole. When the British cornered ''Young Teazer'' at

Mahone Bay Mahone Bay is a bay on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada along the eastern end of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, Lunenburg County. The bay has many islands (potentially 365), and is a popular sailing area. Since 2003 the M ...

on 27 June 1813, Johnson was serving as her

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 ...

. Known for his violent temper, and vowing to avoid capture, he set off an explosion that killed almost the entire crew of ''Young Teazer''.

Prizes

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References

* * {{1813 shipwrecks War of 1812 ships of the United States 1810s ships Teazer Maritime incidents in 1813