USS Nautilus (1799)

''Nautilus'' was a schooner launched in 1799. The United States Navy purchased her in May 1803 and commissioned her USS ''Nautilus''; she thus became the first ship to bear that name. She served in the First Barbary War. She was altered to a brigantine. The British captured ''Nautilus'' early in the War of 1812 and renamed her HMS ''Emulous''. After her service with the Royal Navy, the Admiralty sold her in 1817.

Origins

Henry Spencer built ''Nautilus'' on 1799 as a merchant vessel on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The Navy purchased her at Baltimore, Maryland, from Thomas Tennant. She was commissioned on 24 June 1803, under Lieutenant Richard Somers.

First Barbary War

''Nautilus'' sailed to Hampton Roads, whence she got underway on 30 June for the Mediterranean, carrying dispatches for the U.S. Mediterranean Squadron stationed there assigned to protect the interests of the United States and its citizens residing or trading in that area, and threatened at that time by the Barbary States.

''Nautilus'' arrived at Gibraltar on 27 July and departed again on the 31st to deliver dispatches to Captain John Rodgers in , then returned to Gibraltar to await the arrival of Commodore Edward Preble, in , and join his squadron. ''Constitution'' arrived at Gibraltar on 12 September, and after provisioning, the squadron, less , sailed 6 October with vessels of Capt. Rodgers's squadron to Tangier. This display of naval strength induced the Emperor of Morocco to renew the treaty of 1786.

On 31 October 1803, the Tripolitans captured ''Philadelphia'' and the squadron's interests came to focus on Tripoli and Tunis. Using Syracuse as their rendezvous point, the vessels appeared off Tunis and Tripoli at different times between November 1803 and May 1804. In February 1804, while Lieutenant Stephen Decatur daringly sailed into Tripoli harbor and burned the captured ''Philadelphia'', ''Nautilus'' cruised off Tunis. On 16 February she captured Maltese brigantine Mominato Crucifisso (or St. Crucifiso) 4-5 leagues off Tripoli. The vessel has a pass allowing her to travel to Tripoli in ballast to receive bullocks, and only bullocks, purchased for use of the British garrison at Malta. When stopped inbound she had cargo onboard in violation of the pass. Court later ordered her to be released.

Toward the end of the month ''Nautilus'' retired to Syracuse, returning to Tripoli in mid-March. On 20 March she collided with , causing damage to Nautilas that she had to return to port. Sometime after being repaired and before 16 April, 1804 she shipped water in a gale off Tripoli causing serious damage And necessitating throwing 4 guns overboard to save the ship. During May and June she repaired at Messina. June 30, 1804 she is reported to be almost wholly rebuilt at a cost upwards of $3,000. On May 28 Lt. Sommers was ordered to take command of six gunboats borrowed from the King of Naples & most of her crew manned the gunboats. She was left in charge of Lt. Reid and a small crew and Marines. Departing 5 July, she joined ''Constitution'' off Tripoli on 25 July. During August and early September, she took part in the siege of Tripoli and saw action in five general attacks between 3 August and 3 September. After Somer's death commanding the fireship USS Intrepid Lt. John H. Dent was order to take command in a letter dated 4 September. On 16 September, 1804 Master Commander Dent took command. For the next five months, she continued to cruise off Tripoli and Tunis, retiring periodically to Syracuse and Malta, whence in February 1805, she sailed to Livorno to acquire a new mainmast.

On 27 April 1805, she arrived off Derna to participate in the attack, capture, and occupation of that town. She remained until 17 May, during which time she provided cover for the forces of Hamet Caramanli, former Bashaw of Tripoli, as they went into action against the army of Hamet's brother Yusuf ibn Ali Karamanli, who had overthrown Hamet and assumed his title. Departing on the 17th, ''Nautilus'' retired to Malta with dispatches and casualties. At the end of the month, she returned to Tripoli and on 10 June hostilities ceased with the signing of a peace treaty.

''Nautilus'' remained in the Mediterranean for a year after the treaty went into effect, conducting operations from Malta and Gibraltar. In the spring of 1806 she was assigned to Algiers for dispatch duty, sailing in June for the United States.

Between wars

Arriving at Washington, D.C., in mid-July, ''Nautilus'' entered the Washington Navy Yard there and was placed in ordinary. Reactivated in 1808, she was employed on the East Coast until entering the Navy Yard again in 1810. The Navy then altered her to a brig, giving her a battery of twelve 18-pounder (8 kg) carronades. The Navy recommissioned ''Nautilus'' in 1811 and she joined Stephen Decatur's squadron.

Capture

After the War of 1812 with Britain broke out on 18 June 1812, ''Nautilus'' gained the dubious distinction of being the first American warship to be lost. A squadron built around the Third Rate (64 guns) and the two Fifth Rate frigates, (38 guns) and (32 guns), captured her off northern New Jersey. ''Nautilus'' was 24 hours out on a cruise from New York when ''Shannon'' and ''Aeolus'' captured her on 17 July. At the time of her capture she mounted 16 guns, had crew of 106 men and was under the command of Lieutenant William M. Crane.

HMS ''Emulous''

The British immediately but informally took ''Nautilus'' into service under the name ''Emulous'', having just lost the on 2 August. On 29 August the Admiralty formally purchased ''Nautilus''/''Emulous'' for £3,252 17 s 2 d. On 2 February 1813 ''Emulous'' was commissioned under Commander William Mackenzie Godfrey, on the Halifax station.

''Emulous'' proceeded to capture a number of American privateers or merchant vessels listed below:

* On 25 August 1812, ''Emulous'' captured the American ship ''Gossamer''. That same day, ''Emulous'' captured the American privateer schooner ''Science'', under the command of Captain W. Fernald. ''Science'', of 74 tons, five guns, and 52 men was on a cruise out of Portsmouth.
* On 17 September 1812, ''Emulous'' was among the vessels sharing in ''Spartan''s capture of the ''Melantho'' on 17 September. ''Melantho'' of 402 tons, William Davidson, master, had been sailing from Chile to Boston with a cargo of 229 tons of copper, nine bales of furs, and $48,000.
* On 21 September 1812, and captured the brig ''Ambition'', sailing from Baltimore to Boston on 21 September 1812. ''Emulous'' and shared in the prize money. ''Ambition'', Benjamin Shaw, of 139 tons (bm), master, had been carrying 804 barrels of flour.
* On 5 April 1813, she captured the American schooner privateer ''Cossack''. ''Cossack'', of Salem, 48 tons (bm), was pierced for 10 guns but carried only one long 18-pounder and had a crew of 40 men. ''Cossack'' arrived at Saint John, New Brunswick on 8 April. ''Cossac'', a schooner, had been under the command of Jonathon Upton.
On 18 April ''Emulous'' captured the American ship ''Bird''. ''Bird'', J.Hammond, master, was a schooner of 80 tons (bm), and carrying a cargo of 3,700 "hhd" of staves and 20,000 shingles. She had been sailing from Frenchman's Bay to the Spanish Main when ''Emulous'' captured her; ''Emulous'' took her into New Brunswick.
* On 5 May, ''Emulous'', ''Shannon'', , and captured the schooner ''Ann'', of 142 tons, sailing from New Orleans to Bordeaux. ''Ann'', J.B.Allison, master, was carrying a cargo of cotton, lead, and skins. That same day ''Nymphe'', together with the same three other British ships, captured the American privateer ''Montgomery'', of 12 guns and a crew of 75 (or 90) men. She was on her way home after a two-month cruise off the coast of Ireland. ''Montgomery'', of Salem, was under the command of J.Strout.
* On 4 August 1813, ''Emulous'' recaptured the schooner ''Four Brothers'', of 330 tons (bm), R. Sinclair, master.
* On 21 or 24 September 1813, the Canadian privateer ''Dart'' drove the American privateer ''Orange'', a chebacco boat of two guns and 11 men, on to Fox Island in Machias Bay on the coast of Maine. There the boats of ''Emulous'' and , under the command of Lieutenant Wright of ''Emulous'', destroyed her.
* On 10 October 1813, ''Emulous'' destroyed two small American privateers in Passamaquaddy Bay, between Maine and New Brunswick. One was the schooner ''Orion'', of one gun and 16 men; the other was the row boat ''Camelion'', with 17 men and small arms.

Post-war and fate

On 22 July 1814, Godfrey removed to . Commander John Gore then took command on 23 July 1814 and remained until 3 February 1815. On 13 June 1815 Lieutenant John Undrell was promoted to the rank of Commander. He took command of ''Emulous'', still on the Jamaica station. His replacement was the newly promoted Commander Thomas Wrenn Carter, who removed to in April 1816. Her last commander was Lieutenant Caleb Jackson (acting). He sailed ''Emulous'' to Deptford and paid her off there on 19 June 1816; she was then laid up there. The Admiralty sold her for £900 in August 1817.

''Emulous'' may have become the mercantile ''Nautilus'', a snow of 230 tons (bm), and built in America. ''Nautilus'', D.Coff, master, Tofl, owner, and trade Cowes-St Thomas.''LR'' (1818), Seq.No.N110.
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See also

*List of ships captured in the 19th century

Notes

Citations

References

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External links

*Phillips, Michael: ''Ships of the Old Navy'' – ''Emulous'' (1812)


{{DEFAULTSORT:Nautilus (1799)
Schooners of the United States Navy
Brigs of the United States Navy
Barbary Wars American ships
Vessels captured from the United States Navy
War of 1812 ships of the United States
War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom
Ships built in Maryland
1799 ships
Captured ships
Brigs of the Royal Navy