Sir John Sherbrooke (Saint John)
| History | |
|---|---|
 Nova Scotia
| |
| Port of registry: | Saint John, New Brunswick |
| Commissioned: | 27 November 1812 |
| Fate: | Taken 30 October 1813 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Brig |
| Tons burthen: | 187 tons bm |
| Sail plan: | brig |
| Crew: | 20 |
| Armament: | 10 cannons |
The Sir John Sherbooke of Saint John, New Brunswick was a letter of marque brig named after Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, Governor of Nova Scotia. Though technically a privateer, she was actually an armed merchantman. She was commissioned on 27 November 1812 and carried ten guns and a crew of 30 men. The smallness of her crew relative to the number of her guns, as well as the small amount of the amount of ammunition that she carried are consistent with her being an armed trader rather than a prize-taker.
Sir John Sherbrooke made several voyages to the West Indies. On 11 January 1813 The American privateer Defiance, under Capt. John P. Chazal, out of Charleston, South Carolina, armed with two guns and carrying a crew of 80 men, captured Sir John Sherbrook, Robson, master, from New Brunswick, at Cow Bay, Jamaica. The Americans abandoned her though and in February she reached Bermuda from Jamaica.[1]
She made several more successful trading voyages. Then she left Richibucto, New Brunswick on 11 October under Captain Thomas Robson with a reduced crew of 20. On 31 October she encountered an American privateer off Cape Maize while sailing the Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti.[2] Sir John Sherbrooke was able to hold her off for some five hours until Robson suffered a severe wound that almost killed him. The two vessels then accidentally ran into each other, and the Americans boarded the Canadian ship, capturing her. Sir John Sherbrooke had lost one man killed and seven wounded, including Robson. Two died later. The American privateer schooner Saucy Jack, again captained by John P. Chazal, out of Charleston, SC, had suffered 15 men wounded. The Americans took Sir John Sherbrooke into Cuba as a prize. Lloyd's List reported that the Saucy Jack was armed with 11 guns [actually 7] and had a crew of 110 men.[2]
References
- Snider, C.H.J. (1928) Under the Red Jack; Privateers of the Maritime Provinces of Canada in the War of 1812. (London: Martin Hopkinson & Co.).