HMS Colibri (1809)
| History | |
|---|---|
 France
|
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| Name: | Colibri |
| Ordered: | 17 November 1807 |
| Builder: | François-Toussaint Gréhan, Le Havre |
| Laid down: | 15 January 1808 |
| Launched: | 8 August 1808 |
| Captured: | 1809 |
 United Kingdom
|
|
| Name: | HMS Colibri |
| Acquired: | by capture 1809 |
| Fate: | wrecked 23 August 1813 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Curieux-class |
| Type: | Brig |
| Displacement: | 290 tons |
| Tons burthen: | 365 15⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: |
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| Beam: | 29 ft 5 in (9.0 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 13 ft 5 in (4.1 m) |
| Sail plan: | brig |
| Complement: |
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| Armament: |
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HMS Colibri was the French naval Curieux-class brig Colibri, launched in 1808, that the British captured in 1809 and took into the Royal Navy under her existing name. She spent her time in British service on the North American station based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. During the War of 1812, Colibri served mostly in blockading the American coast and capturing privateers and merchant ships. She foundered in 1813 in Port Royal Sound, South Carolina, but without loss of life.
Between 1 October and 14 December 1808, Colibri was under the command of lieutenant de vaisseau Deslandes, who sailed her from Havre to Cherbourg. In December or January he then left Cherbourg for San Domingo.
On 16 January 1809 Melampus, under Captain Edward Hawker, captured Colibri off Barbuda, after her captain had the "temerity" to put up a fight as Melampus was sailing alongside. Colibri was armed with fourteen 24-pounder carronades and two 8-pounder guns, and had a crew of 92 men. In the engagement, Colibri had three men killed and 11 wounded before she struck. She was sailing from Cherbourg with a cargo of 570 barrels of flour and a great quantity of gunpowder intended for the relief of San Domingo. On her way she had captured and sunk two British brigs that had been sailing from Newfoundland to Lisbon, the Hannibal and the Priscilla, both of Dartmouth. The Royal Navy took Colibri into service under her existing name.
The British commissioned Colibri in October under Lieutenant Henry Jane. He received his promotion to Commander, a rank more in keeping with the size of his vessel, on 10 May 1810. In October 1809, Commander John Thomson replaced Jane. He remained in command until her loss in August 1813 apart from a short period between December 1812 and February 1813 when he acted as Port Captain in Halifax and George Brooke-Pechell held acting command.
Colibri was in company with Melampus on 9 October 1810 when she captured the Fortuna. On 15 March 1811, Colibri captured the American slaver Carolina (alias Atrevido) off Amelia Island with some 200 slaves. Atrevido, de Leon, master, was sailing from Loanga to Amelia Island; Colibri sent her into Nassau. Later, the Vice Admiralty Court in Bermuda appears to have decided that the vessel’s putative Spanish nationality was fraudulent and that she was, in fact, American. The number of slaves freed at Nassau turned out to be 204
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Wikipedia