BRITON HMS 1812

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Built as a 5th Rate by the Chatham Dockyard for the Royal Navy.
28 September 1808 ordered.
February 1810 keel laid down.
11 April 1812 launched as the HMS BRITON one of the Leda Class.
Tonnage 1,079 ton (bm), dim. 45.45 x 12.25 x 3.81m., length of keel 38.22m., draught maximum 4.29m.
Armament: upper deck 28 x 18pdrs., quarter deck 8 x 9pdrs. and 6 x32pdr. carronades. Forecastle deck 2 x 9pdrs. and 2 x 32pdr carronades.
Crew 284.
April 1812 commissioned under command of Capt. Henry Whitby, he died May 1812.
22 June 1812 completed.

After completing joined the Channel Fleet under command of Capt. Sir Thomas Staines.
11 December together with HMS ANDROMACHE she took the American brig LEADER from Boston, underway loaded with fish and bound for Bordeaux.
15 December 1812 took the 14 gun French privateer Le SANS_SOUCI and 120 men from St Malo.
17 December the two frigates captured the American brig COLUMBIA, loaded with coffee and sugar from Philadelphia to Bordeaux and the brig STEPHEN loaded with cotton, potash and skins from New York to Bordeaux.
20 December they took the brig EXPECTATION, loaded with cotton and underway from Philadelphia to Bordeaux.
06 January 1813 with the HMS ROTA and ANDROMACHE the three vessels captured the brig BRUTUS loaded with cotton, coffee and sugar from New York to Bordeaux. A prize crew was put on board, but the prize was not seen again, and it was assumed that she had either been recaptured or had foundered as sea.
03 July 1813 she captured the American letter of marquee schooner JOEL BARLOW armed with 2 guns and with 18 men on board off Bordeaux.

09 September 1813 after a chase of seven hours she took the fast sailing 4 gun French privateer La MELANCE and 26 men off Bordeaux. She was American built and underway from New Orleans to Bordeaux.
31 December 1813 sailed from Spithead for the East Indies as part of an escort for a convoy of 49 merchant ships.
She was detached at Madeira to assist a disabled East Indiaman and escort her to Rio de Janeiro where both ships arrived on 19 March 1814.
After arrival at Rio de Janeiro she received orders to proceed to the Pacific around Cape Horn where HMS PHOEBE and CHERUB were hunting the American frigate ESSEX

When the BRITON arrived in the Pacific the two other ships had already captured the ESSEX at Valparaiso.
After arrival in Valparaiso the BRITON and TAGUS escorted the PHOEBE and ESSEX as far as Juan Fernandez, before BRITON and TAGUS headed for Callao, Peru.
Thereafter she searched for an other American frigate in Paita, the Galapagos and the Marquises Islands, but their search was fruitless, noting was found.
28 August 1814 Capt. Staines took formal possession of NULU-HIVA, one of the Marquise Archipelago, which Capt. Porter of the ESSEX before had claimed for the United States and renamed Madison Island. He was building a fort and a villa there, which was destroyed by the natives after the ESSEX left.

When the two ships returned to Valparaiso they were surprised by the sighting of an island on 17 September 1814 early in the morning in a position of 24 40S and 130 24W, in the charts on board of this area not any island was given.
When daylight came the two ships bore up and ran for the island to find out if it was inhabited. When in a position about three miles from shore, they observed that some canoes came through the heavy surf and came paddling to the two ships.
Two men came on board who spoke good English, and from this two men they heard the history of the island and that one old man on the island John Adams did known more.
The two captains landed and did talk to Adams, but decided not to take him from the island or try him for mutiny

After the two vessels left Pitcairn Island the BRITON stayed in the Pacific until the end of April 1815, when she left the Pacific she headed for Rio de Janeiro before she returned home.
08 July 1815 she arrived in Plymouth and in August 1815 paid off in Portsmouth.

December till April 1823 fitted out again for sea in Portsmouth.
November 1822 re-commissioned under command of Capt. Sir Maxwell Murray.
After fitting out was completed the sailed for the South America Station.
September 1826 till May 1827 fitted out at Woolwich for sea and to carry an Ambassador to his new appointment.
March 1827 re-commissioned under command of Captain William Gordon for service in Home waters.
Repaired at Portsmouth from November 1828 till March 1829.
April 1830 re-commissioned under command of Capt. John Markland.
February 1833 laid up in Portsmouth.
1841 Used as a convict ship in Portsmouth.
February 1860 used as a target ship.
Broken up in Portsmouth the work was completed on 18 September 1860.

Pitcairn Island 1988 15c sg317, scott317. 1990 $1.30 sg384, scott342. 1998 $1.80 sg532, scott?

Source: http://www.ageofnelson.org/MichaelPhill ... p?ref=0404 British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793-1817 by Rif Winfield. The Pitcairners by Robert Nicolson