HMS Maria (1805)

Career (UK)
Name: HMS Maria (or Marie)
Acquired: By capture 21 June 1805
Commissioned: 1806
Fate: Foundered October 1807
General characteristics [1]
Class and type:[[<p class="error wikibase-error">Failed to render property ship class: Property not found for label 'ship class' and language 'en'</p>]] Imported from Wikidata (?)
Type:Schooner
Tonnage:130 bm
Length:72 ft 0 in (21.95 m) (overall)
c.60 ft 6 in (18.4 m) (keel)
Beam:20 ft 1 in (6.12 m)
Depth of hold:8 ft 4 in (2.54 m)
Propulsion:Sails
Sail plan:Schooner
Complement:46
Armament:12 x 12-pounder carronades
For other ships of the same name, see HMS Maria.

HMS Maria (or Marie) was the French privateer schooner Constance (or Constanza) that the Royal Navy captured in 1805 and that foundered in 1807. During her brief career in the Leeward Islands she participated in the capture of five small prizes.

Capture

On 21 June 1805, Circe captured the privateer Constance in the Leeward Islands. Constance was armed with 10 guns and had a crew of 75 men.[2] She was just out of Guadeloupe. However, she may have been the same Constance that Circe had earlier captured off the coast of Spain.[3]

Service

The Admiralty registered her on 10 November and purchased her on 2 December.[1] The Admiralty named her Maria and she was commissioned under Lieutenant John Henderson.[1][4]

On 9 June 1806 Maria was in company with a small squadron that also included Galatea, Africaine, Circe, Hippomenes, and Amelia when they captured the brig Hiram.[5] At the time, Maria was under the command of Lieutenant James Fitzpatrick, apparently temporarily.[Note 1]

On 26 July 1807, His Majesty's schooners Maria, under Henderson's command, and Grouper captured the schooner Atlantic.[7][Note 2] On 2 August, Maria was in company with the sloop Pert when they captured the schooner Governor M‍ '​Kean.[9] Four days later, Maria was in company with Jason, Hart, and the schooner Tobago when they captured the Hercules.[10] Then on 4 October, Maria was in company with Jason, Hart, and Pert when they captured the schooner Rebecca.[11][Note 3] However the prize money for these vessels arrived in 1809, too late to be of much use to Maria‍ '​s crew.

Fate

Maria was under Henderson's command when she foundered during a hurricane among the Leeward Islands on 16 October 1807. There were no survivors.[13]

Footnotes

Notes
  1. ↑ A petty officer's share of the prize money was £1 11s 2¼d; a seaman's share was 6s 7¾d.[6]
  2. ↑ Each ordinary seaman's share of the prize money was 15s 9¾d, or a little over two weeks' wages.[8]
  3. ↑ A seaman's share of the prize money amounted to 17s 11¾d.[12]
Citations

References