HMS Sultana
Encyclopedia
HMS Sultana was a small Royal Navy
schooner
that patrolled the American coast from 1768 through 1772, preventing smuggling and collecting duties. She was retired when unrest in Britain's American colonies
required larger, better armed patrol craft.
The Sultana was built in the yard of renowned Boston Shipwright Benjamin Hallowell in 1767, probably as a yacht. She made one voyage from Boston to England before she was purchased by the Royal Navy, named HMS Sultana, and sent back to the colonies as a coast guard vessel. At the time of purchase, her lines were taken off and a draught of the hull filed at the Admiralty.
His Majesty’s Schooner Sultana left Dungeness on the morning of August 27, 1768, carrying a crew of twenty-five men and eight half pound swivel guns. Her assignment was to enforce the Townshend Acts (and to enforce tea taxes) by stopping smugglers. The Sultana's logbook began on July 15, 1768. Her commander was Lieutenant John Inglis. Inglis would end his service to the crown as Vice Admiral of the Blue.
The schooner’s master was David Bruce.
The Sultana's first assignment once she reached Halifax was to proceed to Boston to help land General Gage’s troops in Boston for the protection of customs officials. Following that, she sailed up and down the coast of the Colonies, visiting Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia and many spots in the lower Chesapeake tidewater region. On October 10, 1772 the Sultana set off to England where she was sold at auction for a meager 85 pounds.
, Maryland in 2001 serves as an educational vessel for schoolchildren as it travels around the Chesapeake Bay. Each year there are public excursions out of Chestertown and other ports. Downrigging Weekend in Chestertown is always the first weekend in November. Replica sailing ships from all around the mid-Atlantic participate in sailing excursions and allow the public on board.
The replica vessel is not an exact reconstruction. It has a diesel auxiliary engine and otherwise conforms to Coast Guard regulations in order to carry passengers. The modern version is framed with osage orange and planked with oak; there is a lead ballast keel which the original did not have. It has only six guns, rather than the original eight. All work and can be fired. Given modern safety requirements, however, she was built following traditional methods as much as possible.
The Howard I. Chapelle
drawings of Sultana, traced from the Admiralty draughts, also inspired another modern vessel, Larinda. She was junk-rigged
, however, and featured whimsical details like a frog for a figurehead.
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...
schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
that patrolled the American coast from 1768 through 1772, preventing smuggling and collecting duties. She was retired when unrest in Britain's American colonies
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
required larger, better armed patrol craft.
The Sultana was built in the yard of renowned Boston Shipwright Benjamin Hallowell in 1767, probably as a yacht. She made one voyage from Boston to England before she was purchased by the Royal Navy, named HMS Sultana, and sent back to the colonies as a coast guard vessel. At the time of purchase, her lines were taken off and a draught of the hull filed at the Admiralty.
His Majesty’s Schooner Sultana left Dungeness on the morning of August 27, 1768, carrying a crew of twenty-five men and eight half pound swivel guns. Her assignment was to enforce the Townshend Acts (and to enforce tea taxes) by stopping smugglers. The Sultana's logbook began on July 15, 1768. Her commander was Lieutenant John Inglis. Inglis would end his service to the crown as Vice Admiral of the Blue.
The schooner’s master was David Bruce.
The Sultana's first assignment once she reached Halifax was to proceed to Boston to help land General Gage’s troops in Boston for the protection of customs officials. Following that, she sailed up and down the coast of the Colonies, visiting Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia and many spots in the lower Chesapeake tidewater region. On October 10, 1772 the Sultana set off to England where she was sold at auction for a meager 85 pounds.
Modern replicas
A new Sultana launched in ChestertownChestertown
Chestertown may refer to a community in the United States:*Chestertown, Maryland, a town in Kent County*Chestertown, New York, a hamlet in the Adirondacks in upstate New York...
, Maryland in 2001 serves as an educational vessel for schoolchildren as it travels around the Chesapeake Bay. Each year there are public excursions out of Chestertown and other ports. Downrigging Weekend in Chestertown is always the first weekend in November. Replica sailing ships from all around the mid-Atlantic participate in sailing excursions and allow the public on board.
The replica vessel is not an exact reconstruction. It has a diesel auxiliary engine and otherwise conforms to Coast Guard regulations in order to carry passengers. The modern version is framed with osage orange and planked with oak; there is a lead ballast keel which the original did not have. It has only six guns, rather than the original eight. All work and can be fired. Given modern safety requirements, however, she was built following traditional methods as much as possible.
The Howard I. Chapelle
Howard I. Chapelle
Howard Irving Chapelle was an American naval architect, and curator of maritime history at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.. In addition, he authored many books and articles books on maritime history and marine architecture.-Biography:...
drawings of Sultana, traced from the Admiralty draughts, also inspired another modern vessel, Larinda. She was junk-rigged
Junk Rig
The Junk rig, also known as the Chinese lugsail and Sampan rig, is a type of sail rig in which rigid members, called battens, span the full width of the sail and extend the sail forward of the mast....
, however, and featured whimsical details like a frog for a figurehead.
See also
- Ship replicaShip replicaA ship replica is a reconstruction of a no longer existing ship. Replicas can range from authentically reconstructed, fully seaworthy ships, to ships of modern construction that give an impression of an historic vessel...
(including a list of ship replicas) - Gaspée AffairGaspée AffairThe Gaspée Affair was a significant event in the lead-up to the American Revolution. The HMS Gaspée, a British customs schooner that had been enforcing unpopular trade regulations, ran aground in shallow water on June 9, 1772, near what is now known as Gaspee Point in the city of Warwick, Rhode...
. The schooner HMS Gaspée was purchased into the Royal Navy for the same purpose as Sultana. In 1772, Rhode Islanders burned the vessel. A Gaspée Days celebration is held every year.