HMS Charybdis was a Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

  built by Mark Richards and John Davidson at Hythe, and launched in 1809. She captured two American prizes during the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

 before she was laid up in 1815 and sold in 1819.

Service

She was commissioned in September 1809 under Commander Robert Fowler, who sailed her for the Leeward Islands

Leeward Islands

The Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...

 on 22 January 1810. On 20 April 1811 Commander James Clephan

James Clephan

James Clephan was a lieutenant in the Royal Navy who took part in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. He rose from the ranks to become a Captain...

 took command.

On 8 October 1812 Charybdis recaptured the brig William Rathbone. The Saucy Jack, an American privateer out of Charleston

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

, had captured the William Rathbone, which had been armed with 14 guns and had a crew of 30 men. The Americans put a prize crew aboard. When Charybdis recaptured William Rathbone she returned the vessel to her officers and crew.The Niles Weekly register (Vol.3, p. 157), reported that Saucy Jack had taken the prize in the port of Demerara

Demerara

Demerara was a region in South America in what is now Guyana that was colonised by the Dutch in 1611. The British invaded and captured the area in 1796...

, and that the William Rathbone had been armed with 14 18-pounder and two 6-pounder guns. She had also had a cargo worth ₤40,000.

Then on 31 October Charybdis captured the American privateer schooner Blockade and her 66 man crew in the Sombrero Passage

Sombrero, Anguilla

Sombrero, also known as Hat Island, is the northernmost island of the Lesser Antilles in position 18° 60'N, 63° 40'W. It lies north west of Anguilla across the Dog and Prickly Pear Passage. The distance to Dog Island, the closest island of Anguilla, is . Sombrero is long north-south, and wide....

 near Saba Rock

Saba Rock

Saba Rock is a small island of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, approximately an acre and a half in size.-Geography:It sits entirely within the North Sound of Virgin Gorda. Saba Rock is among the cluster of serene, scarcely inhabited Islands that form the North Sound of Virgin Gorda in...

. During the five-hour chase Blockade threw nine of her 10 guns overboard in an attempt to gain speed.James mentions this engagement in passing as an example of lurid and exaggerated American accounts of actions.

In September Charybdis sailed from Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

 with a convoy for Cork

Cork (city)

Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

, and then went on to America via Halifax

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

. She was present at the Battle of New Orleans

Battle of New Orleans

The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815 and was the final major battle of the War of 1812. American forces, commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson, defeated an invading British Army intent on seizing New Orleans and the vast territory the United States had acquired with the...

 and then sailed back to Britain with despatches.

Fate

Charybdis sailed from Portsmouth on 10 August 1815 and shortly thereafter was paid off at Deptford

Deptford

Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...

in 1815. She was laid up at Deptford until 1819. She was sold to Thomas Pittman on 3 February 1819 for £1,100.