Hired armed cutter Duke of Clarence
His Majesty's hired armed cutter Duke of Clarence, named for William Henry, Duke of Clarence, served the British Royal Navy under two contracts, one during the French Revolutionary Wars, and one at the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars. She was lost on 25 November 1804, but without loss of life.
Duke of Clarence served the Royal Navy under contract from 12 June 1794 until 11 November 1801. She was of 65 41⁄94 tons (bm), and carried eight 3-pounder guns.
Duke of Clarence served from 14 June 1803 until her loss on 25 November 1804. From early 1804, Lieutenant John Harper commanded her for many months on the Jersey and Guernsey station. He had transferred from the hired armed cutter Admiral Mitchell.
From 1803 on Africaine maintained a blockade at Hellevoetsluis where there were two French frigates. One day while Africaine was maintaining this blockade, the French general at Scheveningen had four boys shrimping in Africaine's jolly boat fired upon. Captain Thomas Manby of Africaine immediately seized sixty fishing boats that he then sent to Yarmouth. This cost The Hague its supplies of fish for some weeks. (In late 1799 Britain and The Netherlands had agreed to leave, within limits, each other's fishing boats unmolested.) In July 1807 Africaine was awarded prize money for sundry fishing boats captured in May 1803. She shared the prize money with Duke of Clarence.
On 26 September 1804 Duke of Clarence left Portsmouth with a convoy for Guernsey.
On 5 October 1804, the brig Polante, arrived at Portsmouth. Polante had been sailing from Lisbon to "Charleburg" when Duke of Clarence detained her.Lloyd's List gave the brig's name as Volante, and her destination as Cherbourg.
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