Countess of Harcourt (1811 ship)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
|
|
| Name: | Countess of Harcourt |
| Owner: | George Frederick Young |
| Builder: | Chiene,Prince of Wales's Island |
| Launched: | 9 January 1811 |
| Captured: | June 1814 |
 United States of America
|
|
| Name: | Sabine |
| Acquired: | Purchased October 1814 |
| Captured: | 15 January 1815 |
|
United Kingdom
|
|
| Name: | Countess of Harcourt |
| Acquired: | By capture 15 January 1815 |
| Fate: | Wrecked in December 1830 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 491, or 501, or 502, and later 517, or 517 74⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: | 112 ft 6 in (34.3 m) |
| Beam: | 32 ft 10 in (10.0 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Complement: | 90 (1814) |
| Armament: | 2 × 4-pounder guns + 6 × 12-pounder carronades |
Countess of Harcourt was a two-decker, teak merchant ship launched at Prince of Wales's Island in 1811, and sold in Great Britain in 1814. An American privateer captured her in 1814, but the British recaptured her in 1815. Later, she made five trips transporting convicts to Australia. Between the third and fourth of these, she undertook a voyage to China and Nova Scotia while under charter to the British East India Company (EIC). She was wrecked in late 1830.
Countess of Harcourt was built in 1811 at Prince of Wales's Island, one of only three major vessels built there between 1810 and 1814.
She participated as one of the transports in the British reduction of Java. She then traded around India briefly. On 7 May 1813 she sailed from Isle de France (Mauritius) to Madras, where she arrived on 4 June. On that voyage she carried the American Baptist missionaries Adoniram Judson and his wife, who were endeavouring to reach Penang, but ended up in Burma instead.
Countess of Harcourt then sailed to England where she was sold. This was apparently a way for the EIC to remit money back to England. She was admitted to the registry in Great Britain on 23 April 1814.
The Register of Shipping for 1814 shows Countess of Harcourt with F. Metcalf, master, Dixon & Co., owner, and trade Portsmouth—India.
The American privateer Sabine, of Baltimore, captured Countess of Harcourt, Davis, master, in June 1814 in the Channel while she was on her way to Isle of France (Mauritius) from London.Countess of Harcourt was carrying dry goods, brandy, rum, gin, etc., when she separated from the fleet in a gale. Sabine sent her into St. Marys, Georgia.
At St Marys, Countess of Harcourt was tried at the Court of Admiralty and found a lawful prize. She was offered at auction and on 5 August the Baltimore merchants Diego Williams, Juan Gooding, and Juan Donnell purchased her, named her Sabine, and appointed John Brown as her master. He then moved her into Spanish waters, i.e., up a creek connected with the Spanish river that fed into St. Marys River. Brown's intent was to place Sabine in neutral waters to keep her safe from seizure by the British. The river was then part of the international border between the U.S. and Spanish Florida; it now forms part of the boundary between Georgia and Florida.
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