HMS Levant (1813)
Encyclopedia
HMS Levant was a 20-gun Cyrus-class
Cyrus class post ship
The Cyrus-class sixth rates of the Royal Navy were a series of sixteen post ships built to an 1812 design by Sir William Rule, the Surveyor of the Navy. The first nine ships of the class were launched in 1813 and the remaining seven in 1814. The vessels of the class served at the end of the...
sixth rate of 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...
built by William Courtney, of Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
. She was one of five British warships that were captured or destroyed by in 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...
. She was soon recaptured, and after 1817 was reclassified as a sloop of war.
Career
Levant was one of 16 ships of the Cyrus class that were constructed after the French prize Bonne CitoyenneHMS Bonne Citoyenne (1796)
Bonne Citoyenne was a 20-gun corvette of the French Navy, which the Royal Navy captured and recommissioned as the sloop-of-war HMS Bonne Citoyenne. Her most famous action was her capture of the French frigate Furieuse on 6 July 1809 for which her crew would earn the Naval General Service Medal. Her...
. Levant was launched in December 1813. Her first commander was Captain Alexander Jones who was replaced by George Douglas on 28 April 1814. Under Douglas, Levant travelled from England to Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and then to Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
.
While escorting two British convoys together with , a Banterer-class
Banterer class post ship
The Banterer-class sailing sixth rates were a series of six post ships built to an 1805 design by Sir William Rule, which served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic War...
sixth rate vessel, the two warships were attacked by USS Constitution under Captain Charles Stewart on 20 February 1815. Although peace had already been declared Constitution had not received official information about the Treaty of Ghent
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent , signed on 24 December 1814, in Ghent , was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
. Cyane and Levant were able to fire heavier broadsides than Constitution but were still out-gunned by range and gunpower by the American vessel. With excellent seamanship Constitution outmanoeuvred both ships and forced Cyane to surrender first. After placing a prize crew on board Cyane, Stewart chased Levant down. The sloop surrendered after two broadsides fired by the American vessel and was also taken a prize. With the help of the British prisoners all three ships set course for the Cape Verde Islands. There on 12 March the three ships were surprised by a British squadron under Commodore
Commodore (Royal Navy)
Commodore is a rank of the Royal Navy above Captain and below Rear Admiral. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-6. The rank is equivalent to Brigadier in the British Army and Royal Marines and to Air Commodore in the Royal Air Force.-Insignia:...
George Collier
Sir George Collier, 1st Baronet
Sir George Ralph Collier, 1st Baronet KCB was an officer of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and the War of 1812. He had an eventful early life, being shipwrecked early in his career and later captured by the French...
. Cyane and Constitution managed to escape from superior British forces, Levant was chased back into Porto Praya and retaken. Since Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
was unable to maintain its neutrality on its (former) soil the United States was compensated for the loss of Levant by the Portuguese government. Levant was commanded by John Sheridan
John Sheridan (Royal Navy officer)
Vice-Admiral John Sheridan was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service in most of the major conflicts of the early nineteenth century, including the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the Anglo-Russian War and the War of 1812.Sheridan had risen to lieutenant by the end of the French...
from June 1815 until being laid up in Chatham
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
in November that year. She was intended to be repaired and returned to service in August 1820, but this was not carried out and she was broken up by 9 October 1820.