HMS Pickle was an 8-gun schooner of the Royal Navy. She was originally the 6-gun merchantman Sting that Lord Hugh Seymour purchased to use as a ship's tender on the Jamaica Station. She was present at the Battle of Trafalgar, and though too small to take part in the fighting she was the first ship to bring the news of the British victory to England. Pickle also participated in a notable single-ship action when she captured the French privateer Favorite in 1807. Pickle was wrecked in 1808 without loss of life.

Origins

Originally named Sting, Pickle was built in 1799 in Bermuda, where this type of vessel was known as a Bermuda sloop. Vice-Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour, the commander in chief on the Jamaica Station, formally purchased Sting in December 1800 for £2,500, after having leased her for some time at £10 per day. His purchase was in defiance of orders not to purchase vessels. However, faced with a fait accompli, the Admiralty issued an order in February 1801 that her name be changed to Pickle. The Admiralty admonished Stings commander after September 1801, Lieutenant Thomas Thrush, to cease referring to her as Sting and to refer to her as Pickle.

French Revolutionary Wars

On 9 April 1800, the tenders Pickle and recaptured the schooner Hero. Hero had a crew of seven men and was of 136 tons burthen (bm). She was out of Guadeloupe, sailing from Pointe Petre to Saint Bartholomew with a load of cordwood. A week later, the same two vessels captured the Dutch schooner Maria. She had a crew of 19 men, armed with small arms, and was of 35 tons burthen (bm). She was from Curaçao, sailing from Curaçao to Guadeloupe with a cargo of dry goods. The French privateer Brilliant had captured the John, which had been sailing from Boston to Martinique. Lastly, on 30 June, Pickle and the tender captured the French privateer schooner Fidelle, which was armed with four guns and had a crew of 61 men. She was from Guadeloupe and on a privateering cruise when the two British vessels captured her. Sting apparently acted as a tender to the flagship there. Lowestoffe and five merchant vessels were wrecked, with little loss of life, on 10 August. The subsequent court martial of Captain Robert Plampin of Lowestoffe, which exonerated him and his officers, took place in Kingston, Jamaica on 3 September.

Then on 25 September 1801 a privateer hoisting the Spanish flag unsuccessfully engaged Pickle in a single-ship action that resulted in the death of her commander, Lieutenant Greenshields, and the wounding of Midshipman Pierce, the master, Thomas Hayer, and seven others of her crew.

Thomas Thrush, a lieutenant on Sans Pareil, next assumed command. He then received the duty of bringing Seymour's body back to England,

Napoleonic Wars

thumb|Miniature portrait of Lapenotière

In 1803, Pickle was attached to Admiral William Cornwallis' Inshore Squadron, where she reconnoitered enemy harbours during the blockade of Brest, Rochefort and Lorient. On 1 June, Pickle was in company with when they took the French brig Euphrosiné. Then on 9 July, Pickle captured the Prudent. Pickle sailed from Plymouth on 15 October, to cruise in the Channel and on 22 October, she detained the American vessel Resolution. Pickle sailed from Plymouth again on 28 December, and returned on 31 January 1804, having lost her main-topmast and fore-yard in a gale on the 19th. On 25 March 1804, Pickle went to the assistance of , which had run onto a shoal off Brest. Pickle and the frigate came alongside soon after Magnificent struck, as did and . The vessels then rescued Magnificents crew before she foundered.

On 26 July, the flagship in the Hamoaze made a signal, at which a seaman from Pickle, attended by the boats of the fleet, manned and armed, was flogged around the fleet in the Hamoaze and the Sound. Lapenotière had charged the man with mutiny, a charge the court martial board dismissed. However they did find the man guilty of insolence, desertion, and disobedience. The two French vessels may have been Marie Française from Bordeaux and Desirée from Quimper.

Pickle was in company with on 9 July 1805, when they captured the brig Argo and the sloop Nelly. Then on 19 July, Pickle found herself becalmed in the Straits of Gibraltar. Two Spanish gunboats came up and fired on her until there was enough wind for Pickle to be able to maneuver to bring her broadsides to bear, at which point she was able to chase the gunboats towards Tarifa. However, the wind faltered, and seven Spanish gunboats came out to harass Pickle. Pickle was able to tack to the shelter of Fort Tangier, though one gunboat continued to harass her until the wind was strong enough for Pickle to sail away and return to the British fleet. Despite the duration of the engagement, Pickle suffered only one man wounded. Then on 9 October, Pickle accompanied (or Weazle) when they went to assist Captain Henry Blackwood in watching the coast off Cádiz, and to provide reconnaissance services for the fleet. Pickle managed to sail close enough to the coast to provide an exact count of the enemy warships in Cádiz harbour. Also, Pickle apparently managed to capture a Portuguese settee carrying bullocks from Tangiers to Cádiz.

One of the women was floating, completely naked, holding onto an oar; she was brought on board the schooner wearing a pair of seaman's trousers that a seaman on the boat that picked her up had taken off and given to her. Later she recounted how she had had to fight off a number of men who had tried to take her oar.

On 3 January 1807 was chasing a cutter some 15 miles south of The Lizard. Pickle came on the scene, made all sail, and succeeded in catching up with the quarry, with whom she exchanged two broadsides.

Out of her crew of 70 men, had lost one man killed and two wounded. Pickle had suffered two men severely and one man slightly wounded. When Scorpion caught up, she took off 69 prisoners who she then landed at Falmouth.

  • The historic 1805 journey was commemorated in 2005, the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar, by the New Trafalgar Dispatch and the Trafalgar Way.
  • Five replica Baltic packet schooners known as Grumant 58 were built between 1992 and 1996 in the Varyag shipyard in St Petersburg. These schooners are based on a design by Swedish marine architect AF Chapman. One, named Alevtina & Tuy, was later renamed Pickle and took part as a representation of HMS Pickle in the anniversary celebrations of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005. The vessel was offered for sale in 2008 for £350,000. In 2010 it featured as part of a BBC program about 'The Boats that Built Britain' (episode 2 of 6). The vessel is currently moored in Hull Marina, [East Yorkshire]. She is a close replica of HMS Pickle based on available knowledge.

See also

  • Bermuda sloop
  • Dispatch boat
  • HMS Whiting (1805)

Notes

Citations

References

  • Hore, Peter (2005) "John Richards Lapenotiere and HM Schooner Pickle and their fifteen minutes of fame". Mariner's Mirror 91 (2), pp284–293.
  • Howarth, David (1969) Trafalgar: The Nelson Touch. (Atheneum).
  • [http://www.varyag-onego.ru/suda/2/29/?lang=eng]
  • Historic Motor and Sail