HMS Vulture (1776)

For other ships with the same name, see HMS Vulture.

HMS Vulture was a 14 to 16-gun ship sloop of the Swan class, launched for the Royal Navy on 18 March 1776. She served during both the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary War, before the Navy sold her in 1802. Vulture is perhaps best known for being the warship to which Benedict Arnold fled on the Hudson River in 1780 after unsuccessfully trying to surrender the Continental Army fort at West Point, New York to the British.

Plans of the Vulture
History
Great Britain
Name	HMS Vulture
Ordered	30 October 1775
Builder	John and William Wells, Deptford
Laid down	November 1775
Launched	18 March 1776
Commissioned	April 1776
Fate	Sold August 1802
General characteristics
Tons burthen	30458⁄94 bm
Length	96 ft 9+1⁄2 in (29.5 m) (gundeck) 79 ft 2 in (24.1 m) (keel)
Beam	26 ft 10+3⁄4 in (8.2 m)
Depth of hold	12 ft 11 in (3.9 m)
Complement	125
Armament	14 × 6-pounder guns; 2 more added ca. 1780

Career

Vulture was commissioned in April 1776 under Commander James Featios. She then sailed for North America on 9 September.

In May 1777, she captured Hannah in the Bay of Fundy. On 16 October 1777 she captured Polly in the River St. Johns.^[1]

On 5 May 1779, Vulture and Hope shared in the proceeds of the capture of General Gates.^[2] General Gates was a Massachusetts privateer brig or schooner of eight guns and 40 men, under the command of Captain William Carleton. Hope took General Gates into Halifax where she was condemned and sold.^[3]

On 29 May 1779, Vulture was part of Admiral George Collier's small flotilla that sailed up the Hudson River and captured Stony Point, two months later the site of the American victory in the Battle of Stony Point. After dark, Collier sent Vulture and the galley Cornwallis further up the river past Fort Lafayette to prevent the Americans from escaping by water, in which task the British were successful.^[4]

Vulture shared with Iris, Galatea, and Delight in the proceeds from the capture on 21 April 1780 of the American privateer General Reed. Vulture's captain at the time was Andrew Sutherland.^[5] General Reed was a Philadelphia brig armed with 16 guns, with a crew of 120 men under the command of Samuel Davidson.

The highpoint of Vulture's career occurred in the action of 21 July 1781. Vulture was one of three Royal Navy ships and two armed vessels escorting a convoy of 13 unarmed merchant vessels carrying coal. The escorts comprised frigate Charlestown, the two sloops Vulture and Allegiance, the armed transport Vernon, and Jack, another small armed ship. Vernon was carrying troops from the 70th Regiment of Foot, who were to work in the coal mines.^[6]

Two French frigates Astrée (38), commanded by La Pérouse, and Hermione (34), commanded by Latouche Tréville, attacked the convoy.^[7] The French severely damaged Charlestown, which lost her mainmast and a number of her officers, including Captain Francis Evans. The French also significantly damaged Jack, which also lost her captain, and subsequently struck her colors. The engagement ended at nightfall. Captain Rupert George of Vulture led the damaged escorts into a safe harbor.^[8] Six French sailors were killed.^[8] Among the British, Captain Evans and seven sailors were killed, 14 were wounded on Charlestown. Vulture had one man killed and two wounded, and Vernon had six killed and seven wounded.^[9]

Engagement at Teller's Point (1780)

Vulture is famously remembered as the warship upon which American traitor Benedict Arnold escaped. But it also brought British spy Major Andre to Haverstraw Bay and later abandoned him there due to an exchange of fire with two American soldiers, John "Jack" Peterson and Moses "George" Sherwood^[10][11] The engagement took place at a spot called Teller's Point, known today as Croton Point, on September 21 and 22. A plaque commemorating Vulture's battle with American rebels was erected in 1967 and reads "Commemorating the defense of Teller's Point by George Sherwood and Jack Peterson who repulsed the landing of British troops from the "Vulture" September 21, 1780, aiding in the capture of Major Andre."^[12]

Other battles

Vulture and HMS Otter captured the brig Granada on 28 November 1781.^[13]

On 21 April 1782, Narcissus, Vulture, and Savage captured the Virginia privateer brig Grand Turk, of 12 guns and 75 men. Vulture was under the command of Lieutenant John Laugharne.^[14]

After her service on the North American Station, Vulture was paid off at Portsmouth in November 1783. At that time she received copper sheathing, but was laid up.

In May 1790, Lieutenant Timothy Bird commissioned Vulture as a storeship. Lieutenant Samuel Short recommissioned her as slop ship in April 1791, but she was not fitted for that role until December 1792. Lieutenant William Crosbe recommissioned her that month. In 1799 Lieutenant Jeffrey Gawen replaced Crosbe.

Disposal

The Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy offered the "Vulture, 304 Tons, laying at Portsmouth" for sale on 11 August 1802.^[15] She sold in August.

Citations

1. "Naval Documents of The American Revolution Volume 11 AMERICAN THEATRE: Jan. 1, 1778–Mar. 31, 1778 EUROPEAN THEATRE: Jan. 1, 1778–Mar. 31, 1778" (PDF). U.S. Government printing office via Imbiblio. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
2. "No. 12243". The London Gazette. 17 November 1781. p. 2.
3. American War of Independence at Sea - Granville Hough's list of ships: General Gates.
4. "No. 11995". The London Gazette. 10 July 1779. p. 3.
5. "No. 12419". The London Gazette. 1 March 1783. p. 3.
6. Tennyson & Sarty (2000), p. 18.
7. Gwyn (2004), p. 155.
8. "Battle off Spanish River". www.awiatsea.com. 12 September 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
9. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List. No. 1304. 21 September 1781. hdl:2027/uc1.c3049061.
10. G.P. Wygant (19 October 1936). "Peterson and Sherwood, Local Men Real Heroes of "Vulture" Episode". Peekskill Evening Star.
11. "Revolutionary Incidents". Skaneatles, New York: Skaneateles Democrat. 13 October 1859.
12. "Commemorating the Defense of Teller's Point". Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
13. "No. 12467". The London Gazette. 16 August 1783. p. 2.
14. American War of Independence at Sea - Granville Hough's list of ships: Grand Turk.
15. "No. 15503". The London Gazette. 3 August 1802. p. 818.

References

• Gwyn, Julian (2004). Ashore and Afloat: The British Navy and the Halifax Naval Yard Before 1820. University of Ottawa Press. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-7766-3031-1.
• Tennyson, Brian; Sarty, Roger (2000). Guardian of the Gulf: Sydney, Cape Breton, and the Atlantic Wars. University of Toronto. ISBN 978-0802044921.
• Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-246-7.

39.578°N 74.300°W / 39.578; -74.300