Capture of East India Company ship Nautilus
| Capture of East India Company ship Nautilus | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the War of 1812 | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States
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.svg){kind=small} East India Company
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Lewis Warrington | Charles Boyce + (POW) | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1 warship 22 guns 140 crew |
1 warship 14 guns 80 crew |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 8 killed 6 wounded 1 warship captured |
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The capture of East India Company brig Nautilus took place on 30 June 1815. Although part of the Anglo-American War of 1812, it took place long after the war ended, as the commander of the United States Sloop of war USS Peacock was unaware that the war had ended six months earlier.
The commander of Nautilus hailed that the war was over but refused to haul down his flag and Peacock opened fire, killing and wounding several of the crew of Nautilus, which then surrendered. Once Nautilus's commander provided proof that the war had ended, the Americans released the brig and its crew. This was the last action of the war.
Towards the end of 1814, the Americans were gathering a squadron in New York, under Commodore Stephen Decatur, which was intended to disrupt British merchant shipping in the Indian Ocean. On 14 January 1815, Decatur took advantage of a blizzard and left harbour in the frigate USS President, while the blockading squadron of the Royal Navy had been blown off station. However, the President went aground on the bar at the harbour mouth. When it was eventually floated off, the damaged frigate encountered the returning British squadron and was captured.
The remaining vessels of Decatur's squadron (the sloops of war USS Peacock, commanded by Master Commandant Lewis Warrington, and USS Hornet and the brig tender USS Tom Bowline) were not aware of the President's fate. On 22 January, a strong north-westerly gale blew up and the three American vessels sortied in thick weather the next day. They reached open sea despite the British blockaders being plainly in sight as the Americans passed the bar.
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