HMS Canceaux (1764) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids History |
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|---|---|
 Great Britain |
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| Name | HMS Canceaux |
| Operator | Royal Navy |
| Acquired | February 1764 |
| Commissioned | 1764 under Lt. Henry Mowatt |
| Recommissioned | 1776 under Lt John Shank |
| Out of service | 1782 |
| Refit | February–May 1771 |
| Fate | Sold out of service, Quebec, 1783 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 183 77⁄94 (bm) |
| Length |
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| Beam | 23 ft 1 in (7.0 m) |
| Depth of hold | 10 ft 9 in (3.3 m) |
| Propulsion | Sail |
| Complement | 55 |
| Armament |
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HMS Canceaux was a small but important sloop ship. She was used by the Royal Navy (the British navy) for two main jobs. First, she helped explore and map the coastlines of Atlantic Canada and New England. Second, she played a big part in the American Revolutionary War. This war was when the American colonies fought for their freedom from Britain. Canceaux was especially important in the fighting for control of Maine, including a major event called the Burning of Falmouth.
Canceaux started as a merchant ship, carrying goods for trade. Later, she was changed into a military ship for the Royal Navy. She was then ready to help destroy towns and settlements. After leaving the Saint Lawrence River in 1771, Canceaux became very involved in the sea history of the American Revolution.
Contents
Trouble at Fort William and Mary
In December 1774, HMS Canceaux was commanded by Lieutenant Henry Mowat. He tried to bring order back to Fort William and Mary. This happened after American colonists, led by Paul Revere, took supplies from the fort. The fort was on New Castle Island, near Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The British saw it as key to getting control back from the colonists.
The colonists had taken sixteen cannon and about one hundred barrels of gunpowder. This worried the British. So, Canceaux quickly left Boston for Portsmouth. She arrived four days after the colonists had taken the supplies. A local maritime pilot then caused her to get stuck in an estuary of the Piscataqua River. She was stranded there for many days.
Canceaux in Thompson's War
In early spring of 1775, Canceaux was patrolling the New England coast. Her job was to stop smuggling and make sure British laws were followed. She anchored in Casco Bay in March. She wanted to stop colonists from following the First Continental Congress boycott. This boycott meant not buying goods from Britain.
The local militia from Brunswick, Maine, led by Samuel Thompson, wanted to force Canceaux and her crew away. They wanted to regain control of their city. The militia tried to board the ship in small boats. But Canceaux fired grapeshot from her cannons, stopping them.
The militia then changed their plan. Instead of attacking the whole ship, they focused on Lieutenant Henry Mowat. While Mowat was trying to arrange church services for his crew, he was kidnapped by Thompson’s militia. This act angered the British Navy crew and loyal British people.
The highest-ranking officer left on Canceaux threatened to shell the city if Mowat was not released. The crew first fired cannons with only gunpowder, as a warning. Thompson replied that for every shell fired at Falmouth, Mowat would lose a finger. By now, the cannon fire had brought local minutemen to Falmouth. They started to loot the homes of loyal British supporters.
The problem was finally solved when local people convinced Thompson to release Mowat. Mowat returned to Canceaux but could not arrest anyone for his kidnapping. This made him very angry. Canceaux eventually left Casco Bay and went back to Boston. She continued her usual duties of patrolling and stopping smuggling.
Summer 1775 Patrols
After the events at Fort William and Mary and Thompson's War, HMS Canceaux went back to her normal duties. These were typical for a Royal Navy ship at that time. Her main jobs were patrolling the coastline and stopping illegal trade. This trade was supported by the American colonists.
Throughout the summer, she worked to enforce British laws. She also tried to weaken the American efforts to rebel. She captured many ships during this time. These included ships smuggling goods between colonial ports and even those trading illegally with other countries. She often escorted captured ships and forced crewmen to join the British navy.
This period was more successful for Canceaux in controlling the region. However, it also led to more anger between the British and the colonists. The practice of forcing enemy crews to join the navy and taking their property made colonists hate the British navy. It also created strong dislike between Henry Mowat and the colonial forces.
The Burning of Falmouth
To stop the rebellion, British Vice Admiral Samuel Graves was ordered to "crush the daring rebellion." Admiral Graves put Lieutenant Mowat in charge of a plan to destroy several seaports. These included Marblehead, Salem, Gloucester, Ipswich, Newburyport, Portsmouth, Saco, Falmouth, and especially Machias.
Mowat was given command of a group of five ships. These included Canceaux, the Cat, HMS Halifax, HMS Symmetry, and HMS Spitfire. These ships were a 20-gun ship, a 12-gun schooner, a supply ship, and a bomb sloop. The supply ship carried ammunition for the bomb sloop. For safety, special fire-starting ammunition was moved by a small boat from the supply ship to the bomb sloop only when needed. The exact weapons on Canceaux are not fully known, but she likely had six ship guns.
The fleet sailed north as Graves had ordered. They decided to focus on Falmouth. Mowat wanted to get revenge for the insults he faced during Thompson's War. So, he decided to destroy the city. On October 18, 1775, he ordered a nine-hour bombardment of the settlement. Falmouth was home to two thousand people.
The ships fired incendiary ammunition, which means it was designed to start fires. This alone would have scared the colonists. Mowat also ordered his men to raid the area. They regularly went ashore to set more fires. During the attack, the British captured four ships and destroyed eleven more. This caused great damage to the community, which depended on the sea.
The mission successfully terrorized the people. However, it was bad for the British war effort overall. The expedition used up a lot of British resources. It also kept Graves’ forces busy and unable to do other things.
Final Years of Service
After her experiences in the summer of 1775, HMS Canceaux needed repairs. She was sent back to the Royal Dockyards on the Thames River in England. She reached Gallion’s Reach in January 1776. The extensive damage from her time in Falmouth was fixed, making Canceaux like new again.
She returned to America in April of that year. For the rest of her time in service, she continued patrolling and surveying the coastlines of New England and the Maritimes. She was eventually sold out of service in Quebec in 1783.
