HMS Paz (1807)

History
Spain
Name:	Paz
Laid down:	c.1804
Captured:	By the Royal Navy, February 1807
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Paz
Acquired:	By capture, February 1807
Fate:	Sold, 1816
General characteristics (in Spanish service)
Type:	Schooner
Armament:	10 guns
General characteristics (in British service)
Type:	Schooner
Tons burthen:	141 (bm)
Complement:	40
Armament:	2 × long 6-pounder bow chasers + 10 x 12-pounder carronades

HMS Paz was a Spanish naval schooner that the British Royal Navy captured at Monte Video on 3 February 1807. She served on the River Plate, North Sea, and North American Stations, where she captured numerous privateers and merchant vessels. The Navy sold her in 1816.

The time of her capture, the British described Paz as being "pierced for 10 Guns, about 3 Years old, Sails on Shore, is coppered, and pretty well found." In June Paz was on the River Plate in the squadron under Admiral George Murray supporting General John Whitelocke's soldiers in the operations to capture Buenos Aires.

HMS Paz was registered on 4 June 1808. However, she was already commissioned in February 1807 under Lieutenant George Mitchenor. In April, Lieutenant John Pierie replaced Mitchenor, still on the River plate station. Pierie had been a pressed man, an unusual background for an officer. He quarreled with his sailing master and froze him out of the running of the vessel. During Pierie's command, 14 of his 31 crewmen deserted. This may not have been entirely due to Pierie. When captains of four other vessels on the station were asked to provide crew to man Paz, they naturally sent over "the clumsy, the stupid, the violent, and the disobedient", and these men represented over half of her crew.

Paz sailed to the Cape of Good Hope. There Lieutenant Daniel Pring took command and sailed her to England. There she was refitted at Portsmouth between 24 April 1808 and 6 June 1808. In 1809 in the North Sea. Still under Pring's command, on 23 May 1809, Paz was in company when the gun-brig Exertion when they destroyed two Danish privateers, one was the Elsigneur and the other Sylt.Exertion, Paz, and Censor then captured the French privateer Fortune on 16 June.Paz destroyed the privateer Betsey on 20 July.

Some three weeks later, on 10 August, Paz was in company with the gun-vessel (and ex-Dutch schuyt) Patriot at Hocksyl. There they captured the Danish privateer Blankanaise, a sloop laden with linen, a lugger in ballast, and sundry goods. Two weeks later, Patriot, Paz, and the gun-vessels Censor and Jahde captured property at Harlinger Zyl, together with a Danish privateer and a mutt in ballast. The next month, on 11 September, Pincher, Patriot, Paz, and Jahde shared in the capture of vessels referred to in the prize-money announcement as Young Pincher, Young Paz, and Young Patriot. Then on 3 November Paz and Blazer detained Twee Gebroders and Jonge Jeltzie.

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Wikipedia