Hired armed lugger Lark
Encyclopedia
The hired armed
lugger Lark served the Royal Navy
from 3 January 1799 to 6 November 1801. She was armed with 2 4-pounder guns and 12 12-pounder carronade
s. She had a burthen of 17013/94 tons (bm
), and a crew of 50 men and boys. At the end of her contract the Admiralty returned her to her owners.
roads along the inside of the barrier islands.
Then on 25 April Lark captured the French privateer cutter Impregnable. Lark ran the Impregnable on shore on Vlie Island
where Impregnable's crew got ashore under the protection of about 100 troops who had gathered there. Wilson then sent his small boat to get Impregnable off. Lark's sailors came under musket fire from the troops on shore so Wilson sent his large boat, which cleared away the soldiers. The Impregnable turned out to have been armed with 12 3-pounder guns and two 9-pounder guns, and to have had a crew of 60.
Circa 12 March 1801 the British fleet under Admiral Sir Hyde Parker sailed from Yarmouth roads for Copenhagen, with Lark among the "gun-brigs, cutters, etc." On 30 March Vice-admiral Lord Nelson
, and Rear-admiral Graves, accompanied by Captain Domett and the commanding officer of the troops, sailed in Lark to reconnoiter the Danish defenses at Copenhagen. The Battle of Copenhagen then took place on 2 April; on 12 April the fleet sailed into the Baltic.
In May Nelson sent Lark to Latona to await the arrival of Lord St Helens
from his mission to arrange a peace treaty with Russia.
Hired armed vessels
right|thumb|250px|Armed cutter, etching in the [[National Maritime Museum]], [[Greenwich]]During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Royal Navy made use of a considerable number of hired armed vessels...
lugger Lark served 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...
from 3 January 1799 to 6 November 1801. She was armed with 2 4-pounder guns and 12 12-pounder carronade
Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
s. She had a burthen of 17013/94 tons (bm
Builder's Old Measurement
Builder's Old Measurement is the method of calculating the size or cargo capacity of a ship used in England from approximately 1720 to 1849. It estimated the tonnage of a ship based on length and maximum beam...
), and a crew of 50 men and boys. At the end of her contract the Admiralty returned her to her owners.
Service
In 1800 she was under the command of Lieutenant Thomas Henry Wilson, in the North Sea. On 21 April she engaged with an unknown French cutter that she drove on shore. He was not, however, able to destroy her. A neutral vessel that came out on 23 April informed Wilson that the cutter carried 10 guns and 36 men, and that after she got off the shore she had sailed to the TexelTexel
Texel is a municipality and an island in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the biggest and most populated of the Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea, and also the westernmost of this archipelago, which extends to Denmark...
roads along the inside of the barrier islands.
Then on 25 April Lark captured the French privateer cutter Impregnable. Lark ran the Impregnable on shore on Vlie Island
Vlieland
Vlieland is a municipality in the northern Netherlands. The municipality of Vlieland has only one major town: Oost-Vlieland . It is the second-least densely populated municipality in the Netherlands ....
where Impregnable's crew got ashore under the protection of about 100 troops who had gathered there. Wilson then sent his small boat to get Impregnable off. Lark's sailors came under musket fire from the troops on shore so Wilson sent his large boat, which cleared away the soldiers. The Impregnable turned out to have been armed with 12 3-pounder guns and two 9-pounder guns, and to have had a crew of 60.
Circa 12 March 1801 the British fleet under Admiral Sir Hyde Parker sailed from Yarmouth roads for Copenhagen, with Lark among the "gun-brigs, cutters, etc." On 30 March Vice-admiral Lord Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
, and Rear-admiral Graves, accompanied by Captain Domett and the commanding officer of the troops, sailed in Lark to reconnoiter the Danish defenses at Copenhagen. The Battle of Copenhagen then took place on 2 April; on 12 April the fleet sailed into the Baltic.
In May Nelson sent Lark to Latona to await the arrival of Lord St Helens
Alleyne Fitzherbert, 1st Baron St Helens
Alleyne FitzHerbert, 1st Baron St Helens PC was a British diplomat and a friend of explorer George Vancouver, who named Mount St...
from his mission to arrange a peace treaty with Russia.