HMS Levant (1813) facts for kids

Levant
Quick facts for kids History
United Kingdom
Name	HMS Levant
Ordered	18 November 1812
Builder	William Courtney, Chester
Laid down	January 1813
Launched	8 December 1813
Completed	By 22 April 1814
Fate	Broken up by 9 October 1820
General characteristics
Class and type	Rated 20-gun Cyrus-class sixth rate
Tons burthen	464 42⁄94 bm
Length	116 ft (35 m) (overall) 98 ft 1+1⁄4 in (29.9 m) (keel)
Beam	29 ft 10 in (9.09 m)
Draught	9 ft 6 in (2.90 m)
Depth of hold	8 ft 6 in (2.59 m)
Complement	135
Armament	2 x 6-pounders bow chasers + 20 x 32 pounder carronades

HMS Levant was a British warship with 20 guns. She was part of the Royal Navy and was built in Chester. Levant was a Cyrus-class post ship, which was a type of smaller warship.

During the War of 1812, the American ship USS Constitution captured or destroyed five British warships, and Levant was one of them. However, the British soon recaptured her. After 1817, she was called a sloop of war, which is another type of small warship. Levant was taken apart in 1820.

Life of HMS Levant

This picture shows the capture of Cyane and Levant by the American ship Constitution.

Levant was one of 16 ships in her class. These ships were designed based on a French ship the British had captured. Levant was launched in December 1813.

Her first captain was Alexander Jones. Later, Captain George Douglas took command on April 28, 1814. Under Captain Douglas, Levant sailed from England to Quebec in Canada, and then to Gibraltar.

Battle with USS Constitution

On February 20, 1815, Levant was sailing with another British warship, HMS Cyane. They were protecting two British groups of merchant ships, called convoys. The American ship USS Constitution attacked them.

Even though the Treaty of Ghent had officially ended the War of 1812, Constitution had not yet received the news. Both Cyane and Levant had powerful guns. However, Constitution had guns that could shoot farther and hit harder.

The American captain, Charles Stewart, was very skilled. He used his ship's movements to outsmart both British ships. He forced Cyane to surrender first. After putting some of his crew on Cyane, Captain Stewart chased Levant. Levant surrendered after two more rounds of cannon fire from the American ship. Both British ships were now prizes of the Americans.

With the help of the British prisoners, all three ships sailed towards the Cape Verde Islands.

Recapture of Levant

A British group of warships, led by Commodore George Collier, saw Constitution and her two captured ships on March 11, 1815. This happened near Porto Praya during bad weather.

Because of the stormy weather and some confusion, Constitution managed to get away from the British ships.

However, fire from HMS Leander forced Levant to go ashore. There, another British ship, HMS Acasta, captured her back. Commodore Collier continued to search for Constitution, but she had already returned to port. This meant they avoided another battle.

The country of Portugal was not able to stay neutral in this situation. Because of this, the Portuguese government paid the United States for the loss of Levant.

Captain John Sheridan commanded Levant from June 1815. The ship was then placed in storage at Chatham in November of that year.

End of Service

Levant was supposed to be repaired and put back into service in August 1820. However, this never happened. She was taken apart by October 9, 1820.

The flag that was captured from Levant was displayed at the U.S. Naval Academy. It was removed on February 27, 2018, to help preserve it.