USS Scourge (1812)
Sail plan of the USS Scourge.
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| History | |
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 Canada
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| Name: | Lord Nelson |
| Builder: | James Crooks |
| Launched: | Niagara-on-the-Lake, Upper Canada, May 1, 1811 |
| Fate: | Illegally seized by US Navy |
 United States
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| Name: | USS Scourge |
| Acquired: | by custom seizure, June 9, 1812 |
| Fate: | Sunk in squall, August 8, 1813 |
| Status: | 50 crew |
| Notes: | 42 lost; 8 saved |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Schooner |
| Tonnage: | 110 long tons (112 t) |
| Complement: | 45 to 50 |
| Armament: |
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USS Scourge was an American warship converted from a confiscated Canadian merchant schooner. She foundered along with the American warship Hamilton during a squall on Lake Ontario at 2:00am on Sunday, August 8, 1813,. during the War of 1812.
Scourge began its career as the schooner Lord Nelson, named after the famous British Admiral Horatio Nelson. The schooner was built at Niagara-on-the-Lake in Upper Canada for merchant James Crooks and launched on May 1, 1811 as an unarmed merchant schooner to carry freight between Upper Canadian ports. Lord Nelson was illegally seized by the US Navy on June 9, 1812, almost two weeks before the War of 1812, on suspicion of smuggling. The schooner was on a voyage from Prescott, Upper Canada to Niagara, Upper Canada (then known as Newark) carrying freight and personal luggage when it was stopped and searched by Lt. Melancthon T. Woolsey in command of the American warship USS Oneida. Woolsey accused the Lord Nelson of smuggling American goods in violation of the Embargo Act of 1807, which forbid trading between the United States and British colonies. The schooner was taken to the US naval base at Sackets Harbor, New York. Although there was no proof of smuggling and the schooners owner James Crooks immediately went to Sackets Harbour to dispute the seizure, the onset of war prevented the return of his vessel.
The schooner was commissioned into the US Navy at Sackets Harbor, where it was renamed USS Scourge. For naval service it was armed with four 6-pounder cannons, four 4-pounder cannons and fitted with bulwarks. The schooner was placed in Captain Isaac Chauncey's squadron and patrolled Lake Ontario during the War of 1812.
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