The Wasp

[Capt. Flint]

Now I know this isn't exactly piratical, but, it is nautical.... Has anyone ever heard of any information on the lost ship The Wasp. It was a Ship used very effectively during the war, taking over 15 prizes. One day she set out and simply dissappeard. There are various theories on what happen to her, but, I never heard anything difinitive. Has anyone ever heard of any research or wreckage etc..... Let me know.... The Capt.

[captweaver65]

hi Capt.Flint,

which war and which wasp?

a schooner (1775-1777)

a sloop of war (1806-1813)

another schooner (1810-1814)

a tender sloop (1813-1814)

a ship-rigged sloop of war (1814)

an iron-hulled sidewheel steamer (1865-1876)

a steam yacht (1898-1921)

two aircraft carriers, CV-7 (1940-1942) and CV-18 (1943-1972).

Capt Weaver

[Capt. Flint]

Th war of 1812.. As best I can tell from my reading, it is the one from 1810 to 1814.... It,s been a while since I read about it and I just cannot pin it down. It could very well be the ship rigged sloop of war in 1814. Let me do some more research and get back to you with the specific. The one thing I do know is that the first Wasp is definetley not it. I'll get back to you..... The Capt.

[Coastie04]

I did a quick search online and found this book on the subject at Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/155...6737351-4138201

From what I can gather, the boat first sailed in 1814 and was commanded by Captain Johnston Blakeley.

Coastie04

[captweaver65]

from what I've read it would be either 2 or 5.here's some basic info on them from the online dictionary of American fighting ships;

Wasp 2

(SlpW: t. 450; lbp. 106'7"; b. 30'1"; dph. 14'1-5/8"; cpl. 11O; a. 2 12-pdrs., 16 32-pdr. car.)

The second Wasp, a sloop of war constructed in 1806 at the Washington Navy Yard, was commissioned sometime in 1807, Master Commandant John Smith in command. Wasp's movements in 1807 and 1808 remain unrecorded, but, by 1809, she was cruising the eastern seaboard of the United States. By the close of 1810, she was operating from the ports of Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Ga., presumably concentrating on the waters along the southern portion of the country's eastern coast. In 1811, she moved to Hampton Roads Va., where she and brig Nautilus joined frigates United States and Congress in forming a squadron commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur.

She continued to operate along the coast of the middle states after the United States went to war with Great Britain in June of 1812. Her single action of that war came in October 1812. On the 13th, she exited the mouth of the Delaware River and, two days later, encountered a heavy gale which carried away her jib boom and washed two crewmen overboard. The following evening, Wasp came upon a squadron of ships and in spite of the fact that two of their number appeared to be large men-of-war, made for them straight away. She finally caught the enemy convoy the following morning and discovered six merchantmen under the protection of a 22-gun sloop-of-war, HBM brig Frolic. At half past eleven in the morning, Wasp and Frolic closed to do battle, commencing fire at a distance of 60 to 60 yards. In a short, but sharp, fight, both ships sustained heavy damage to masts and rigging, but Wasp prevailed over her adversary by boarding her. Unfortunately for the gallant little ship, a British 74-gun ship-of-the-line, Poietiers, appeared on the scene, and Frolic's captor became the final prize of the action. Wasp's commanding officer, Master Commandant Jacob Jones, had to surrender his small ship to the new adversary because he could neither run nor hope to fight such an overwhelming opponent. Wasp served briefly in the Royal Navy as Peacock but was lost off the Virginia capes in 1813.

Wasp3

(Sch.: t. 66; l. 69'; b. 17'3"; dr. 6'3"; cpl. 40; a. 1 long 6-pdr.)

The third Wasp-a schooner built in 1810 at Baltimore, Md.-received a privateer's warrant from the United States government in July 1812 when she put to sea for a privateering foray into the West Indies. During that cruise, she stopped three British merchantmen, allowed one to continue due to the fact that she carried nothing of value, and took the other two as prizes. While putting a prize crew on board the last of the three, the schooner Dawson, Wasp was surprised by the British sloop-of-war Garland. Both captor and prize hoisted full sail and got underway. The prize crew easily took Dawson to safety at Savannah, Ga., because HMS Garland chose to chase Wasp. The latter managed to outsail her would-be captor and, after sailing through a hurricane which cost her both her masts, finally returned to Baltimore on 28 November 1812.

At Baltimore, her owners sold her to a group of businessmen who refitted and rearmed her with a long 9-pounder and then chartered her to the United States Navy as a dispatch boat during the summer of 1813. She passed her brief period of naval service without incident, and the Navy returned her to her owners that autumn. On 1 October 1813, she was sold at auction at Baitimore. The two merchants who purchased her, Mr. Joseph Lane and Mr. Thomas White, refitted her, rearmed her with a long 4-pounder, and sent her to sea as a privateer. Her second cruise appears to have met with even less success than her first for the last reference to her career was an advertisement the Baltimore American ran on 4 August 1814 which called her owners to a meeting on the 11th to settle accounts. Presumably, she was sold.

Wasp4

(Slp.: a. 2 12-pdrs.)

The fourth Wasp, a sloop chartered on Lake Champlain late in the summer of 1813, served as a tender for Commodore Thomas Macdonough's fleet during the latter part of 1813 and into 1814. Small and a poor sailer, Wasp saw no combat. She was returned to her owners early in 1814; and her battery was transferred to the newly launched schooner, Ticonderoga.

Wasp 5

(SlpW: t. 609; lbp. 117'11"; b. 31'6"; dph. 14'6"; cpl. 173; a. 2 long 12-pdrs., 20 32-pdr. car.)

The fifth Wasp-a ship-rigged sloop-of-war constructed in 1813 at Newburyport, Mass., by Cross & Merrill-was commissioned early in 1814, Master Commandant Johnston Blakeley in command. She remained at Portsmouth, N.H., until late spring awaiting sailing orders and, upon receipt of them, put to sea on 1 May 1814 for a war cruise to the western approaches to the English Channel. She captured her first vessel, the 207-ton bark Neptune, on 2 June, embarked her crew as prisoners, and burned the prize at sea. Eleven days later, she took William, a 91-ton brig, and burned her as well. Wasp encountered the 131-ton, armed brig, Pallas, on the 18th and captured her-apparently without resistance-and scuttled her. Her fourth victim which she took on the 23d-the 171-ton galiot Henrietta, was given up to the prisoners she had thus far taken. Three days later, she captured and scuttled the 326-ton ship Orange Boven.

On 28 June, she came upon the 21-gun sloop-of war Reindeer some 226 miles west of Plymouth and brought her to battle. The fight lasted only 19 minutes; but, during that brief span of time, the two ships traded a murderous fire of grape and solid shot. Several times Reindeer's crew tried to board Wasp; but the American crew repulsed them on each occasion. In the end, Wasp's own ship's company boarded Reindeer and carried the day. Wasp suffered six hits in her hull, and some of her rigging was shot away, but she remained sailable. After taking prisoners on board, setting fire to Reindeer, and watching her explode, Wasp set course for L'Orient, France. En route, she took two more prizes, the 112-ton brig Regulator on Independence Day and the 161-ton schooner Jenny two days later. Not long thereafter, she entered L'Orient for repairs, provisions, and care for her wounded.

Wasp remained in L'Orient until she again put to sea on 27 August. On her third day underway, she captured the brig Lettice and, the following day, took another, Bon Accord. Early in the morning of 1 September, she encountered a convoy of 10 ships escorted by the 74-gun ship-of-the-line Armada. Wasp made for the convoy and singled out the brig Mary which she quickly took as a prize, carrying off her crew as prisoners and burning her. The American sloop then attempted to take another ship in the convoy, but Armada chased her off.

That evening, she spied another sail on the horizon and gave chase. By 2130, she had the brig under her lee bow and opened fire. The enemy returned fire until 2200 at which time her battery seemed to cease fire. When Wasp did the same and called for the stranger's surrender, the British ship answered with another cannonade. Wasp again opened fire on the ship, now known to have been the 18-gun, 477-ton brig Avon. Some broadsides later, Avon's guns fell silent once more and Wasp repeated the call for surrender. Avon, at this point a battered hulk, had no choice but to comply.

However, just as Wasp began to lower the boat for the prize crew, the lookout sighted another enemy brig standing toward the two adversaries. Wasp's crew manned their battle stations immediately in hope of taking the newcomer as well. Just then, two more British ships appeared on the horizon; and Wasp was forced to give up the destruction of Avon and see to her own salvation. The lead British ship, however, failed to engage Wasp. Instead, she hauled in close to Wasp's stern and loosed a broadside into the American's rigging which damaged sails, sheets, and braces considerably and then came about to rendezvous with the other two ships following her and the sinking Avon. Although the Americans didn't know it at the time, Avon sank soon after Wasp left her.

The American warship continued her ravages of the British merchant marine. On 12 September, she encountered Three Brothers, a brig, and scuttled her. Two days later, she sank the brig Bacchus. On the 21st, an eight-gun brig, Atlanta, ran afoul of Wasp, and she, too, suffered the ignominy of capture. Deemed too valuable to destroy, Atlanta was placed under the command of Midshipman Geisinger and was sent home to the United States. She entered Savannah, Gal, safely on 4 November. From the time Wasp and Atlanta parted company, nothing was heard from the former. She was last seen by a Swedish merchantman bound from Rio de Janeiro to Falmouth, England, about three weeks after the Atlanta capture and was said to be headed for the Caribbean. Wasp apparently sank in a storm.

Capt Weaver

[Dorian Lasseter]

Greetings,

I'll put my piece of eight in on this one...

I think the #5 Wasp be th' one...

Ta follow another topic, "Borders Away", in that fine set o' books, book one, Borders Away - With Steel, on page 15 there is that description o' the fight 'tween Wasp an' Reindeer...

It covers th' boardin' action quite nicely...

They describe th' Wasp as a ship-sloop of 22 guns and 173 men, commanded by Master Commandant Johnstone Blakely.

[Capt. Flint]

In the book... The Naval War of 1812.. by Theodore Roosevelt..... He goes into great detail of the Wasp and her encounters including what you have said here. He also goes into great detail about a lot of the ships and sloops etc... and the battles they were in. He gives info. on tonage and guns. fire power etc... Its a bit of a slow read, but, gives incredible detail about the battles and ships..... if you interested....

I know about the Wasp being lost and the theories about how and why; I was just wondering if any research has ever been done in locating her remains. I never heard of anything and thought mabye someone here did. Thanks for your help..... The Capt.

[captweaver65]

I did a pretty thorough web search on copernic and didn't find anything on anybody ever even trying to find it.

did find a reference to a book that may have more info;

pirates,privateers and rebel raiders of the carolina coast by lindley s. bulter.

Capt Weaver