%3b_Cygnet_(1776)%3b_Hound_(1776)%3b_Vulture_(1776)%3b_Spy_(1776)%3b_Hornet_(1776)%3b_Alligator_(1780)._RMG_J4431.jpg) Plans of theVulture | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Great Britain | |
| Name | HMSVulture |
| Ordered | 30 October 1775 |
| Builder | John and William Wells,Deptford |
| Laid down | November 1775 |
| Launched | 18 March 1776 |
| Commissioned | April 1776 |
| Fate | Sold August 1802 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 30458⁄94bm |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 26 ft10+3⁄4 in (8.2 m) |
| Depth of hold | 12 ft 11 in (3.9 m) |
| Complement | 125 |
| Armament |
|
HMSVulture was a 14 to 16-gunship sloop of theSwan class, launched for theRoyal Navy on 18 March 1776. She served during both theAmerican Revolutionary War and theFrench Revolutionary War, before the Navy sold her in 1802.Vulture is perhaps best known for being the warship to whichBenedict Arnold fled on theHudson River in 1780 after unsuccessfully trying to surrender theContinental Army fort atWest Point, New York to the British.
Vulture was commissioned in April 1776 under Commander James Featios. She then sailed for North America on 9 September.
In May 1777, she capturedHannah in the Bay of Fundy. On 16 October 1777 she capturedPolly in the River St. Johns.[1]
On 5 May 1779,Vulture andHope shared in the proceeds of the capture ofGeneral Gates.[2]General Gates was a Massachusetts privateer brig or schooner of eight guns and 40 men, under the command of Captain William Carleton.Hope tookGeneral Gates into Halifax where she was condemned and sold.[3]
On 29 May 1779,Vulture was part of AdmiralGeorge Collier's small flotilla that sailed up theHudson River and capturedStony Point, two months later the site of the American victory in theBattle of Stony Point. After dark, Collier sentVulture and thegalleyCornwallis further up the river past Fort Lafayette to prevent the Americans from escaping by water, in which task the British were successful.[4]
Vulture shared withIris,Galatea, andDelight in the proceeds from the capture on 21 April 1780 of the American privateerGeneral Reed.Vulture's captain at the time was Andrew Sutherland.[5]General Reed was a Philadelphia brig armed with 16 guns, with a crew of 120 men under the command of Samuel Davidson.
The highpoint ofVulture's career occurred in theaction of 21 July 1781.Vulture was one of three Royal Navy ships and two armed vessels escorting a convoy of 13 unarmed merchant vessels carrying coal. The escorts comprisedfrigateCharlestown, the twosloopsVulture andAllegiance, the armed transportVernon, andJack, another small armed ship.Vernon was carrying troops from the70th Regiment of Foot, who were to work in the coal mines.[6]
Two French frigatesAstrée (38), commanded byLa Pérouse, andHermione (34), commanded byLatouche Tréville, attacked the convoy.[7] The French severely damagedCharlestown, which lost her mainmast and a number of her officers, including Captain Francis Evans. The French also significantly damagedJack, which also lost her captain, and subsequentlystruck her colors. The engagement ended at nightfall. CaptainRupert George ofVulture led the damaged escorts into a safe harbor.[8] Six French sailors were killed.[8] Among the British, Captain Evans and seven sailors were killed, 14 were wounded onCharlestown.Vulture had one man killed and two wounded, andVernon had six killed and seven wounded.[9]
Vulture is famously remembered as the warship upon which American traitor Benedict Arnold escaped. But it also brought British spyMajor Andre to Haverstraw Bay and later abandoned him there due to an exchange of fire with two American soldiers,John "Jack" Peterson and Moses "George" Sherwood[10][11] The engagement took place at a spot called Teller's Point, known today as Croton Point, on September 21 and 22. A plaque commemoratingVulture's battle with American rebels was erected in 1967 and reads "Commemorating the defense of Teller's Point by George Sherwood and Jack Peterson who repulsed the landing of British troops from the "Vulture" September 21, 1780, aiding in the capture of Major Andre."[12]
Vulture andHMS Otter captured the brigGranada on 28 November 1781.[13]
On 21 April 1782,Narcissus,Vulture, andSavage captured the Virginia privateer brigGrand Turk, of 12 guns and 75 men.Vulture was under the command of Lieutenant John Laugharne.[14]
After her service on the North American Station,Vulture was paid off at Portsmouth in November 1783. At that time she receivedcopper sheathing, but was laid up.
In May 1790, Lieutenant Timothy Bird commissionedVulture as a storeship. Lieutenant Samuel Short recommissioned her as slop ship in April 1791, but she was not fitted for that role until December 1792. Lieutenant William Crosbe recommissioned her that month. In 1799 Lieutenant Jeffrey Gawen replaced Crosbe.
The Principal Officers and Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy offered the "Vulture, 304 Tons, laying at Portsmouth" for sale on 11 August 1802.[15] She sold in August.