HMS Fairy (1812) was a , built by William Taylor at Bideford and launched in 1812. She escorted convoys 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...

 and participated in the 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...

’s campaign incursion up the Potomac in 1814, the Raid on Alexandria

Raid on Alexandria

The Raid on Alexandria was a British victory during the War of 1812, which gained much plunder at little cost but may have contributed to the later British repulse at Baltimore by imposing delay on their main forces.-Background:...

. She was broken up in 1821.

Service

Fairy was commissioned in August 1812 under Commandeer Edward Grey for South America. On 25 December she recaptured the Viagante. While on the South America station she escorted convoys. For instance, in June 1813 she joined a convoy of over 500 merchant vessels bound for Spain, Portugal, the Mediterranean, Brazil, North America and the West Indies.

Commander Henry Loraine Baker took command on 18 April 1814. On 20 April Fairy left Portsmouth for the West Indies. Between 20 and 31 August she carried dispatches from Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane

Alexander Cochrane

Admiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane GCB RN was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:...

. She fought her way up the Potomac River

Potomac River

The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...

 to recall Captain James Alexander Gordon, in the , and his squadron, who had taken Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...

 two days before. The British had also captured 21 merchant vessels and looted stores and warehouses of 16,000 barrels of flour, 1,000 hogsheads of tobacco, 150 bales of cotton and some $5,000 worth of wine, sugar and other items.

The Americans had a battery of five guns that fired on Fairy as she sailed to reach Gordon.

The battery was situated high on a bluff at White House Plantation (modern day Fort Belvoir

Fort Belvoir

Fort Belvoir is a United States Army installation and a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Originally, it was the site of the Belvoir plantation. Today, Fort Belvoir is home to a number of important United States military organizations...

), and on 1 September, Gordon sent Fairy, Meteor and several smaller vessels, to engage the battery to impede its completion. However, they were unsuccessful. In all, the Americans had emplaced a total of 11 guns - five naval long guns and eight artillery field pieces - as well as a furnace for heating shot.

The British spent most of 2 September mustering their ships and prizes for the run down river while awaiting favorable winds. At the same time they were working to free the bomb vessel

Bomb vessel

A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannon —although bomb vessels carried a few cannon for self-defence—but rather mortars mounted forward near the bow and elevated to a high angle, and projecting their fire in a...

 , which had run aground.

On 3 September the bomb vessel and rocket ship

Congreve rocket

The Congreve Rocket was a British military weapon designed and developed by Sir William Congreve in 1804.The rocket was developed by the British Royal Arsenal following the experiences of the Second, Third and Fourth Mysore Wars. The wars fought between the British East India Company and the...

  joined in the effort to silence the American batteries. That same day, Commodore John Rodgers

John Rodgers (naval officer, War of 1812)

John Rodgers was a senior naval officer in the United States Navy who served under six Presidents for nearly four decades during its formative years in the 1790s through the late 1830s, committing the greater bulk of his adult life to his country...

, with four U.S. gunboats and some fire ships, made an unsuccessful attempt to destroy Devastation. Sniping and gunfire continued throughout September 4 and 5, as the Virginia militia arrived to block British landings at the batteries or Alexandria.

On 6 September the frigates Seahorse and came down the river and joined Fairy. All three vessels shifted their ballast to the port side to enable their combined 63 starboard guns to elevate sufficiently to engage the batteries. They then opened fire and within 45 minutes silenced the American cannon.

All eight British warships and 21 merchant vessel prizes moved back to the main fleet. During the run down the river the British had suffered only seven dead, though one was Charles Dickson, Fairys second lieutenant. Fairy also had seven men badly or severely wounded. The Admiralty issued the Naval General Service Medal with the clasp "The Potomac 17 Augt. 1814" to those members of the vessels' crews that had survived to 1847.

On 30 October Fairy captured the schooner Commodore Decatur.

In 1815 Fairy was in the West Indies where, on 22 and 27 July, she, together with Barbadoes and Dasher, captured the French vessels Belle Victoire and Somnambule. Fairy then took part in the seizure of Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...

in August 1815. There she helped cover the landing and with her fire helped silence a battery.

Fairy arrived at Plymouth on 16 September with dispatches.