HMS Grasshopper (1813)
HMS Pelorus, a sister-ship also converted to a ship-sloop
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| History | |
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 United Kingdom
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| Name: | HMS Grasshopper |
| Ordered: | 6 January 1812 |
| Builder: | Master Shipwright Nicholas Diddams, Portsmouth Dockyard |
| Laid down: | August 1812 |
| Launched: | 16 February 1813 |
| Fate: | Sold on 30 May 1832 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Cruizer-class brig-sloop (ship-sloop from 1822) |
| Tons burthen: | 382 41⁄94 (bm) |
| Length: |
100 ft 0 in (30.5 m) (overall) 77 ft 3 1⁄2 in (23.6 m) (keel) |
| Beam: | 30 ft 6 in (9.3 m) |
| Draught: |
6 ft 10 in (2.1 m) (unladen) 11 ft 0 in (3.4 m) (laden) |
| Depth of hold: | 12 ft 9 in (3.9 m) |
| Sail plan: | Brig (full-rigged ship from 1822) |
| Complement: | 121 |
| Armament: |
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100 ft 0 in (30.5 m) (overall)
6 ft 10 in (2.1 m) (unladen)
HMS Grasshopper was a Royal Navy 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop launched in 1813. She was the second ship of the class to bear the name; the first Grasshopper had been stranded at Texel and surrendered to the Batavian Republic on Christmas Day 1811. The present Grasshopper remained in service until sold in 1832.
On 6 October 1813, Grasshopper recaptured the Dryades, Humphries, Master.Dryades had been sailing from Dublin to London when she was captured. After Grasshopper recaptured Dryades, Dryades arrived at Portsmouth on 7 October.
From 1814 Grasshopper served in the Mediterranean. On 29 April and 18 May 1815, she captured the Maruccia, Madonna del Montalleggro, and the Immaculata Concezione. Another report expands on this, crediting Grasshopper with detaining the Concession, sailing from Gallipoli, Apulia to Marseilles, the Madame de Monte Allegro, from Naples, the Majorca, from Naples, the Concizione, from Capo Danza and Messina to Naples, and the Concizime, from Leghorn and Civitavecchia to Naples.
Unfortunately, Grasshoper's prize agents, Messers Lark and Woodhead, went bankrupt in 1816. As a result, the last of the prize money from these captures did not arrive until 1850, and then was minor.
More importantly, on 13 May was part of the squadron that was present at the surrender of Naples during the Neapolitan War, though she herself was not actually there. A British squadron, consisting of Grasshopper, the 74-gun Tremendous, the frigate Alcmene, and the sloop Partridge blockaded the port and destroyed all the gunboats there. Parliament voted a grant of £150,000 to the officers and men of the squadron for the property captured at the time, the grant being paid in 1816. Initially, Grasshopper was excluded from the payment as she was not actually present, having been sent on an errand. However, Sir Charles Barrard sued and eventually the court agreed that there had been a blockade and that Grasshopper had been part of the blockade and so was entitled to share in the grant. The money was paid in May 1819, with the other officers and crew of the other three vessels being required to repay part of their grant.
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Wikipedia