HMS Jasper (1857) facts for kids
HM ships Styx and Jasper capture the slaver Emilia off the Coast of Cuba on 22 March 1858
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| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom |
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| Name | HMS Jasper |
| Ordered | 22 September 1856 |
| Builder | R & H Green, Blackwall Yard |
| Laid down | 26 September 1856 |
| Launched | 18 March 1857 |
| Commissioned | 28 July 1857 |
| Fate | Sold, 2 August 1862 |
| Lay-Osborn Flotilla | |
| Name |
|
| Namesake | Amoy |
| Acquired | 2 August 1862 |
| Decommissioned | 1863 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Algerine-class gunboat |
| Displacement | 370 long tons (376 t) |
| Tons burthen | 301 bm |
| Length | 125 ft 0 in (38.1 m) |
| Beam | 23 ft 0 in (7.01 m) |
| Draught | 9 ft 2 in (2.8 m) |
| Installed power |
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| Propulsion | Single shaft |
| Speed | 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) |
| Armament |
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HMS Jasper was a small but important warship, called a gunboat, built in Britain in 1857. It was part of the Algerine-class of gunboats. These ships were designed to be fast and powerful for their size, often used for coastal defense or patrolling.
Contents
Ship's Early Life and Missions
The ship was officially launched on March 18, 1857. It began its service on July 28 of the same year. Lieutenant William Henry Pym was its first commander. HMS Jasper was sent to patrol the waters around North America and the West Indies.
Stopping Illegal Slave Trade
One of its most important missions was capturing a ship called Emilia (also known as Marianna). This happened near Cuba on March 22, 1858. The Emilia was illegally carrying enslaved people. HMS Jasper worked with another British warship, HMS Styx, to capture it. Jasper then towed Emilia to a port called Port Royal.
Capturing an American ship caused a big problem between Britain and the United States. This kind of problem between countries is called a 'diplomatic crisis'. Luckily, they solved it when Britain agreed not to search American ships in the future.
Service in China
Later, on August 2, 1862, HMS Jasper was bought by Horatio Nelson Lay. He was a British official working for the Chinese government. He was trying to make China's navy stronger. This was important because China was dealing with a big civil war called the Taiping Rebellion.
Joining the Lay-Osborn Flotilla
After being bought, Jasper was renamed Amoy. It became part of a special group of ships called the Lay-Osborn Flotilla. This fleet was led by a British officer named Sherard Osborn. Lieutenant Arthur Salwey took command of Amoy. The ship sailed to China in April 1863. When it arrived in Tientsin, the Chinese government gave it another new name: Kuang Wan.
End of Service
However, there were disagreements between the Chinese government and Horatio Nelson Lay. They couldn't agree on who should command the ships or how the fleet should be organized. Because of these problems, the Lay-Osborn Flotilla was broken up in 1863.
Amoy was then taken to Bombay by Osborn, probably to be sold. There are different stories about what happened to the ship next. It might have been sold to Egypt in 1865. Another idea is that it was sold to Captain Charles Stuart Forbes. One Chinese record suggests it was eventually sold to a Japanese region called Satsuma Domain.
