Young Teazer
Young Teazer
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| History | |
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| Name: | Young Teazer |
| Owner: | Samuel Adams |
| Launched: | 1813 |
| Homeport: | New York City |
| Fate: | Destroyed in explosion 27 June 1813 after trapped by HMS Hogue and HMS Orpheus |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Privateer |
| Tonnage: | 124 |
| Length: | 60 ft (18 m) (overall) |
| Sail plan: | Schooner |
| Complement: | 73 |
| Armament: | 5 guns plus 3 wooden dummy guns |
| Notes: | Source for info box dimensions |
Young Teazer was a United States privateer schooner that a member of her crew blew up at Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia during the War of 1812 after a series of British warships chased her and after HMS Hogue trapped her. The schooner became famous for the deadly explosion that killed most of her crew and for the folklore about the ghostly "Teazer Light."
Many American privateers attacked British shipping off the coast of Nova Scotia during the War of 1812. This forced the British to deploy warships to patrol North American waters to forestall attacks and capture the American raiders.
The British naval strategy was twofold. First, the Royal Navy tried to protect British merchant shipping to and from Halifax, Canada and the West Indies. Second, the navy enforced a blockade of major American ports aimed at restricting American trade.
Both sides used privateers in the War of 1812 but the United States made greater use of them due to numerical inferiority of the United States Navy and the larger scale of British merchant trade relative to the United States's merchant trade. The Americans aimed to cause disruption through hit-and-run tactics, such as the capture of prizes and engaging Royal Navy vessels only under favorable circumstances. The American privateers were successful for the first part of the war.
Young Teazer's predecessor was the American privateer schooner Teazer, one of the first to put to sea when the United States declared war. HMS San Domingo captured Teazer in December 1812. Teazer was burnt at sea, but her crew, including her captain Frederick Johnson were released on parole, promising not to serve against the British until they had been exchanged for British prisoners of war. Teazer's owner Samuel Adams of New York, had the schooner Young Teazer built as a replacement.
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Wikipedia