HM Hired armed cutter Tartar served the Royal Navy from 14 July 1794 to 11 November 1801. She was of 9063/94 tons burthen and was armed with twelve 4-pounder guns.[1]
Tartar was a popular name for British privateers with some 23 letters of marque being issued between 1793 and 1815. Among these there was one 90-ton cutter. She was armed with eight 2-pounder guns and six swivel guns. Her crew of 24 men was under the command of Benjamin Jelly Worthington, and her letter was dated 25 February 1793.[2][Note 1]
While not His Majesty's Hired armed cutter Tartar, a privateer named Tartar made a notable capture in 1804. This Tartar received her letter of marque on 6 February 1804.[2] Her letter describes her as a lugger, under the command of Francis Pironet, Master, of 116 tons and armed with eight 4- and 6-pounder guns. Writing to Admiral Sir James Saumarez from Guernsey on 18 March 1804, the owners Peter Maingy and Sons reported that on 9 March their lugger Tartar had captured the French privateer brig Jeune Henry.[3]
Tartar had encountered and captured the French brig after a fight of two hours. Jeune Henry was from Bordeaux and under the command of Rio Delagesse. She had sailed from Viverro in Spain two days earlier but had not yet captured anything. The owners of Tartar described Jeune Henry as a fine, British-built and coppered vessel. Both vessels had 50 men on board; Jeune Henry had two wounded in the engagement. What made the capture noteworthy though, was that Jeune Henry was armed with twelve 12-pounder guns and two 4-pounders, whereas Tartar had ten 4-pounders, giving the French brig a broadside of almost four times the weight of that of her captor.[3]