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Atlantic Ocean
East Coast
Great Lakes / Saint Lawrence River
West Indies / Gulf Coast
Pacific Ocean
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The
Battle of Rappahannock River
[2]
was fought in 1813 during the
War of 1812
. A
British
force
blockading
the
Rappahannock River
of
Virginia
sent several hundred men in boats to attack four
American
privateers
. Ultimately the British were victorious and the American ships were captured.
[3]
Background
[
edit
]
On April 1, 1813, a British squadron consisting of the
ships-of-the-line
San Domingo
and
Marlborough
, four
frigates
Acasta
,
Narcissus
,
Maidstone
and
Statira
, two
brigs
,
Mohawk
and
Fantome
and one
schooner
,
Highflyer
blockaded the Rappahannock from
Lynnhaven Bay
. They held several American prizes and were out to capture more so the British commanders prepared a
cutting out
expedition, where small boats attempt to capture larger vessels at anchor. On the following day, the British dispatched seventeen,
pinnaces
,
barges
,
launches
, and other boats with a few carronades to sail around the bay. Each boat carried up to fifty marines or sailors mainly armed with steel,
Lieutenant
James Polkinghorne was in command. While abreast of
Windmill Point
at about 4:00 pm, the expedition sighted five American vessels and chased them all through the night until losing sight as they passed a turn in the river. The British had difficulty in rowing up the Rappahannock so during the descent twelve of the boats fell far behind leaving only five British craft, one 12-pounder and 105 officers and men to make the attack.
[4]
Four of the pursued ships were armed schooners under
Captain
William S. Stafford
in the twelve gun
Dolphin
. The others were
Lynx
of six guns,
Racer
of six guns and
Arab
of seven guns. In all, the American schooners mounted 30 guns with 160 men.
[5]
Most or all of these vessels were built in
Baltimore
. Captain Stafford had little alternative but to
scuttle
the schooners or fight. He decided to offer resistance and anchored his ships in line of battle with portside guns facing the mouth of the Rappahannock where the British would originate.
[6]
Battle
[
edit
]
The largest of the American ships was
Arab
of over 380 tons but with a crew of only forty-five men, she was sternmost in line and was considered to be the most "war like" of the four.
Dolphin
of 300 tons was headmost and she was Captain Stafford's
flagship
, carrying ninety-eight men into battle. When the British came within sight of the American line, they first stopped to wait for the wind and the remaining twelve boats to come up so Polkinghorne took the time to rally his men. After a few more minutes the wind was still calm so the lieutenant ordered an attack in order to deny the Americans time to prepare defenses or escape. Polkinghorne sent a boat with the 12-pounder forward to commence an artillery duel with the intention of delaying the Americans but this failed when Stafford's ships all opened fire with a combined broadside. Lieutenant Polkinghorne decided to stop waiting at this point and he led his boats directly for the center two American ships,
Racer
and
Lynx
, each of 280 tons and with crews totaling seventy-six men. As the British closed range the Americans fired another broadside so Polkinghorne had his men alter course and head for
Arab
. When the British boats drew near there were three left, two having been hit and sunk by American fire.
[7]
The remaining Britons boarded while shouting various phrases,
Arab
tacked to try to bring her starboard guns into battle but she was boarded before achieving this and so her commander ran her aground on the riverbank.
Racer
and
Lynx
were quickly taken, their crews surrendered as the British climbed on deck, others jumped over the side and escaped capture. When Polkinghorne went for
Dolphin
, Captain Stafford put up a stubborn fight and it reportedly took fifteen minutes to secure the vessel. Five Americans were wounded before
Dolphin
struck her colors and ended the battle, though casualties from the other privateers amounted to six killed and five more wounded. By the time the fighting was over the remaining British boats arrived and assisted in taking over 100 prisoners.
[8]
[9]
[10]
Aftermath
[
edit
]
Polkinghorne reported that only two of his men were killed and eleven wounded, including himself.
[11]
American newspaper reports in
Niles Register
at first claimed that fifty Britons had been killed,
[12]
later reducing that claim to nineteen dead.
[13]
A review by British and American historians later put the British losses at two dead and eleven wounded with American losses as sixteen killed and wounded.
[14]
The battle lasted in between fifteen minutes and two hours according to various accounts. Captain Stafford later returned to Baltimore. He was treated well in captivity partly due to his good treatment towards British prisoners from his captured prizes.
Lynx
was taken into British service as
Mosquidobit
and was sold out of the
Royal Navy
in 1820. A replica of
Lynx
now spends its time on an educational mission sailing back and forth between the Great Lakes and Florida's Gulf Coast.
Racer
became
Shelburne
and
Dolphin
retained her name as
Dolphin
. It was difficult for the British to free
Arab
and though they eventually succeeded, the vessel was apparently badly damaged and was not commissioned for British service.
[15]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Theodore Roosevelt, "The War with the United States" in
The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to the Present
, William Laird Clowes ed, London: Sampson, Lowe Marston & Co., Vol. VI (1901) pg. 98
- ^
"History of the War of 1812"
. Archived from
the original
on 2007-02-19
. Retrieved
2010-12-13
.
- ^
Scott, pg. 78-90
- ^
Scott, pg. 78
- ^
Roosevelt, pg. 98
- ^
Scott, pg. 79
- ^
Scott, pg. 79-82
- ^
Scott, pg. 82
- ^
"No. 16732"
.
The London Gazette
. 22 May 1813. p. 995.
- ^
Maclay, pg. 467
- ^
Scott, pg. 82
- ^
Niles Weekly Register
Vol. IV, April 10, 1813, pg. 119, cited by editor in Scott, pg. 94
- ^
Niles Weekly Register
Vol. IV, May 1, 1813, pg. 149, cited by editor in Scott, pg. 94
- ^
Roosevelt, pg. 98
- ^
Dudley, pg. 339
- Scott, Sir James (1834).
Recollections of a naval life, Volume 3
. London, England: R. Bently Publishing.
- Maclay, S. Stanton (1899).
A history of American privateers
. London, England.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
- Dudley, William S. (1992).
The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History
. Washington, DC: United States Navy Publications.