Colpoys (1803 ship)
| History | |
|---|---|
 France
|
|
| Launched: | 1803 |
| Fate: | Sold 1803. |
 Great Britain
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| Name: | Colpoys |
| Namesake: | Admiral Sir John Colpoys |
| Owner: | T. Lockyer |
| Acquired: | 1803 |
| Fate: | No longer listed after 1811 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 158 20⁄94 or 160 (bm) |
| Sail plan: | Schooner, later brig, returned to schooner |
| Complement: | 40 |
| Armament: |
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The hired armed brig Colpoys was a French vessel launched in 1803 that a Briton acquired that year. He chartered her to the Royal Navy from 28 April 1804 until 22 August 1807. She was originally a schooner that apparently was converted to a brig in early 1805. She participated in the blockade of Brest and captured numerous small vessels. After Colpoys's contract ended she is listed until 1811, but there are no other traces of her.
Colpoys was one of four vessels that Mr. T. Lockyer, of Plymouth, owned that the government hired at the same time. In reporting the transaction, the Naval Chronicle described Colpoys as a schooner under the command of Lieutenant Usher (or Ussher), and the two chase guns as 6-pounders. Throughout Colpoys's military career, references to her in the London Gazette and Lloyd's List fluctuated between describing her as a brig, cutter, and schooner. There are no references in Admiralty records of other vessels by that name, and the names of her commander generally assure that all these vessels are one and the same.
In a letter dated 11 February 1805, Ussher refers to his vessel as "Colpoys, hired schooner". Then in a letter dated September 1805, Ussher refers to his vessel as "Colpoys hired brig". That would suggest that she was converted from schooner-rig to brig-rig between those dates. In a letter dated Torbay, 19 March 1805, Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Cotton reported that he had taken command of a number of vessels there that Admiral William Cornwallis had left behind. One of these was the "brig Colpoys". That would suggest that the conversion from schooner to brig had occurred in February–March 1805.
In his biography of Thomas Ussher, Marshall describes Colpoys as having a crew of 40 men.
Lieutenant Thomas Ussher (or Usher) was appointed to command Colpoys on 6 April 1804. She then was attached to Admiral Cornwallis's blockading force off Brest. On 7 May she was at Plymouth when sealed dispatches arrived and she immediately set out to westward, destination unknown but presumed to be for the Streights [sic]. On 30 June, a Spanish brig, the Nombra del Jesus, and her cargo of soap, brandy, and the like, arrived at Plymouth. She had been sailing to Morlaix when Colpoys captured her and sent her in.
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Wikipedia