Liverpool Packet facts for kids
Quick facts for kids History |
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|---|---|
 Nova Scotia |
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| Name | Liverpool Packet |
| Owner | Enos Collins, John Allison, Joseph Barss |
| Port of registry | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Commissioned | 20 August 1812 |
| Homeport | Liverpool, Nova Scotia |
| Nickname(s) |
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| Honours and awards |
50 captures |
| Fate | Sold to Jamaican owners after 1816 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Privateer schooner |
| Tons burthen | 55, or 67 (bm) |
| Sail plan | Topsail schooner |
| Crew | 40 |
| Armament |
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The Liverpool Packet was a famous ship from Liverpool, Nova Scotia. It started as an American ship named Severn. In 1811, it was captured and later became a privateer schooner. Privateers were like legal pirates, allowed by their government to attack enemy ships during wartime.
During the War of 1812, the Liverpool Packet was very successful. It captured 50 American ships! In 1813, American privateers captured the Liverpool Packet. But it didn't capture any ships for them. After four months, it was recaptured by the British. Its original owners in Nova Scotia bought it back. The ship then went back to raiding American trade. The Liverpool Packet was the most successful privateer ship ever from a Canadian port.
Contents
The Ship's Early Life and Renaming
The Liverpool Packet was built in Baltimore, USA. It was a fast type of schooner called a Baltimore Clipper. In August 1811, a British warship named HMS Tartarus captured the schooner.
A court in Halifax decided that the ship, then called Severn, was an illegal slave ship. This was because both Britain and the United States had recently made the Transatlantic Slave Trade (the forced transport of enslaved people across the Atlantic) against the law. The court ordered the ship to be sold.
Enos Collins and other investors bought the ship in October 1811. They renamed it Liverpool Packet. Sometimes, people called it The Black Joke. At first, the owners used the small, fast schooner to carry mail and passengers. It sailed between Halifax and Liverpool, Nova Scotia.
Role in the War of 1812
When the War of 1812 began, the owners quickly turned the Liverpool Packet into a privateer. Under the command of Joseph Barss Jnr, the ship captured at least 33 American vessels in the first year of the war. Captain Barss's plan was to wait near Cape Cod. He would then quickly capture American ships heading to Boston or New York.
Captured by Americans
The Liverpool Packet was a big problem for New England shipping. But in 1813, Americans captured it. On June 10, an American privateer schooner named Thomas found the Packet. The Thomas had twelve guns and a crew of one hundred men.
The Thomas chased the Packet for about five hours. The wind was light, so the Liverpool Packet could not get away. The Liverpool Packet finally lowered its flags, showing it gave up. But as the American ship came close, the two ships crashed into each other.
As the British crew tried to push the ships apart, the Americans thought they were going to be attacked. So, they quickly boarded the Liverpool Packet. Fighting broke out, and three Americans were killed. The Americans were very angry about the ships the Packet had captured before. Because of this, Captain Barss was treated badly. He was kept in jail for months, eating only bread and water. Later, he was traded for American prisoners held in Halifax.
While the Liverpool Packet was held by Americans, it was briefly renamed Young Teaser's Ghost. This was after an American privateer that had recently been destroyed. The ship did not capture any British ships. So, it was renamed again to Portsmouth Packet. Under this name, it had a short and unsuccessful time. It did not capture a single ship for the Americans.
Recaptured by the British
On October 5, 1813, two British warships, HMS Fantome and HMS Epervier, recaptured the Liverpool Packet. It was sailing under the name Portsmouth Packet near Mount Desert Island, Maine. The British ships chased it for thirteen hours. At that time, the privateer schooner had five guns and a crew of 45. It had sailed from Portsmouth the day before.
The recaptured schooner was brought to Halifax. Its original owners bought it back and gave it its old name, Liverpool Packet. It was officially registered there in 1813.
Under a new captain, Caleb Seeley, the ship captured fourteen more prizes before the end of the year. In 1814, it captured more ships in May and June. In August, it captured two ships while working with HMS Shannon. They were sailing near Bridgeport and New York. The Liverpool Packet continued to work often with British naval ships until the war ended.
The Ship's Final Years
The owners officially registered the Liverpool Packet in Nova Scotia on January 6, 1816. Sometime after that, its owners sold the ship in Kingston, Jamaica. What happened to it after that is not known.
The War of 1812 was the last time the British government allowed privateering. This practice was starting to be seen as less useful. It was also thought to be less important for Britain's strong navy. The Treaty of Paris in 1856 officially banned privateering. However, the United States did not sign this treaty. Americans believed their many merchant ships could become privateers if there was another war.
Legacy of the Liverpool Packet
In total, the Liverpool Packet captured 50 ships in its short but very successful career. Its captures helped Enos Collins become very wealthy. Two steamships from its old homeport of Liverpool, Nova Scotia, were named in its honor in the 20th century.
