Capture of USS Argus
Encyclopedia
The capture of USS Argus occurred during the Anglo-American War of 1812
. The brig
had been audaciously raiding British merchant shipping in British home waters for a month, when intercepted by the heavier British Cruizer class brig-sloop
Pelican. After a sharp fight during which Arguss captain, Master Commandant William Henry Allen
was mortally wounded, Argus surrendered when the crew of the Pelican were about to board.
on 18 June 1813, eluding the British blockade. The mission was not warlike to begin with; it was to deliver William H. Crawford
to his post as Minister to the First French Empire
. The Argus arrived at Lorient
in Brittany
on 11 July, disembarked Crawford and put out to sea again three days later to begin raiding British shipping in the English Channel
and Irish Sea
. During the next month, Argus captured nineteen ships. Rather than weaken his crew by sending the captured ships to American, French or neutral ports under prize crew
s, Allen set most of the captured ships on fire. The intense operations exhausted the crew of the Argus.
The shipping losses soon caused insurance rates for merchant shipping to be greatly increased. The Admiralty
sent orders to all available ships to hunt down the Argus. H.M. Brig Pelican had just arrived in Cork
in Ireland, having escorted a convoy from the West Indies, and immediately put to sea again on 10 August. The Pelicans captain was Commander John Fordyce Maple, an officer who had joined the Royal Navy aged twelve years old in 1782, two years before William Henry Allen was born.
On 13 August, the Argus took two final prizes. One of them was from Oporto in Portugal and was carrying wine. It is suggested by both American and British historians that the crew of the Argus looted some of the cargo, and that their debauched state affected their performance during the coming battle. As with the Arguss previous captures, the prize was set on fire, but the Pelican was near enough to sight the smoke from the burning vessel, and make for it.
s and a 12-pounder chase gun, against the Pelicans sixteen 32-pounder carronades, and one 12-pounder long gun and two 6-pounder long guns) and Allen could have escaped. Instead, he accepted battle. The wind was from the south, giving the Pelican the advantage of the windward
position. Allen sailed westward on the starboard tack (i.e. with the wind to port) and opposed his port side battery to the Pelican's starboard battery.
Four minutes after the first broadsides were fired, Allen lost a leg. His First Lieutenant was also badly wounded, and the Arguss rigging was badly cut up. The Pelican tried to cross the Arguss stern to deliver raking fire
but the Arguss Second Lieutenant, William Howard Allen
(not related to the commander), threw his sails aback to slow the American brig and instead raked the Pelican. This did not fatally cripple the British vessel, and the two brigs continued to exchange broadsides, with the Pelican now to leeward. After four more minutes, the rigging of the Argus was too badly damaged for the Americans to prevent the Pelican from crossing the stern of the Argus and delivering several raking broadsides.
Finally, three quarters of an hour after the action began, the two vessels came into contact, with the bow of the Argus against the quarter of the Pelican. As British boarding parties mustered but before they could board the Argus, the Americans surrendered.
. Allen died there of his wounds a week after the battle. He was buried with full military honours. The rest of the crew, including sailing master Uriah P. Levy
, was taken prisoner and held in England for the duration of the war.
Unusually for the War of 1812, the American gunnery in this engagement was comparatively ineffective (although Pelicans sides were "filled with grapeshot" and two carronades had been dismounted). British gunnery was "at least of the standard which had brought victory in a hundred victories against the French." Allen's decision to accept battle against a heavier opponent rather than to continue his effective commerce raiding has not been explained.
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...
. The brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
had been audaciously raiding British merchant shipping in British home waters for a month, when intercepted by the heavier British Cruizer class brig-sloop
Cruizer class brig-sloop
The Cruizer class was an 18-gun class of brig-sloops of the Royal Navy. Brig-sloops were the same as ship-sloops except for their rigging...
Pelican. After a sharp fight during which Arguss captain, Master Commandant William Henry Allen
William Henry Allen
William Henry Allen was an American naval officer during the War of 1812.-Quotation [a1]:Influences: "His father, William Allen, on the breaking out of the American Revolution, was appointed a first lieutenant in the army...
was mortally wounded, Argus surrendered when the crew of the Pelican were about to board.
Prelude
The Argus had broken out of New York HarborNew York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
on 18 June 1813, eluding the British blockade. The mission was not warlike to begin with; it was to deliver William H. Crawford
William H. Crawford
William Harris Crawford was an American politician and judge during the early 19th century. He served as United States Secretary of War from 1815 to 1816 and United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1816 to 1825, and was a candidate for President of the United States in 1824.-Political...
to his post as Minister to the First French Empire
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
. The Argus arrived at Lorient
Lorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
on 11 July, disembarked Crawford and put out to sea again three days later to begin raiding British shipping in the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
and Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
. During the next month, Argus captured nineteen ships. Rather than weaken his crew by sending the captured ships to American, French or neutral ports under prize crew
Prize crew
Prize crew is a term used to indicate a number of crew members of a ship chosen to take over the operations of a captured ship.In the early days of sailing and up into the American Civil War, capturing enemy ships was quite common...
s, Allen set most of the captured ships on fire. The intense operations exhausted the crew of the Argus.
The shipping losses soon caused insurance rates for merchant shipping to be greatly increased. The Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
sent orders to all available ships to hunt down the Argus. H.M. Brig Pelican had just arrived in Cork
Cork Harbour
Cork Harbour is a natural harbour and river estuary at the mouth of the River Lee in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational area" . Other contenders include Halifax Harbour in Canada, and Poole Harbour...
in Ireland, having escorted a convoy from the West Indies, and immediately put to sea again on 10 August. The Pelicans captain was Commander John Fordyce Maple, an officer who had joined the Royal Navy aged twelve years old in 1782, two years before William Henry Allen was born.
On 13 August, the Argus took two final prizes. One of them was from Oporto in Portugal and was carrying wine. It is suggested by both American and British historians that the crew of the Argus looted some of the cargo, and that their debauched state affected their performance during the coming battle. As with the Arguss previous captures, the prize was set on fire, but the Pelican was near enough to sight the smoke from the burning vessel, and make for it.
Battle
At 5 a.m. on the morning of 14 August, the Argus and Pelican sighted each other 5 leagues (about 15 miles) west of St. David's Head. The Argus was the faster but more lightly armed vessel (with eighteen 24-pounder carronadeCarronade
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 and a 12-pounder chase gun, against the Pelicans sixteen 32-pounder carronades, and one 12-pounder long gun and two 6-pounder long guns) and Allen could have escaped. Instead, he accepted battle. The wind was from the south, giving the Pelican the advantage of the windward
Windward and leeward
Windward is the direction upwind from the point of reference. Leeward is the direction downwind from the point of reference. The side of a ship that is towards the leeward is its lee side. If the vessel is heeling under the pressure of the wind, this will be the "lower side"...
position. Allen sailed westward on the starboard tack (i.e. with the wind to port) and opposed his port side battery to the Pelican's starboard battery.
Four minutes after the first broadsides were fired, Allen lost a leg. His First Lieutenant was also badly wounded, and the Arguss rigging was badly cut up. The Pelican tried to cross the Arguss stern to deliver raking fire
Raking fire
In naval warfare, raking fire is fire directed parallel to the long axis of an enemy ship. Although each shot is directed against a smaller target profile than by shooting broadside and thus more likely to miss the target ship to one side or the other, an individual cannon shot that hits will pass...
but the Arguss Second Lieutenant, William Howard Allen
William Howard Allen
William Howard Allen was a United States naval officer. He was born in Hudson, New York in 1790; appointed midshipman in 1808 and became a hero during the War of 1812 when he served aboard USS Argus. Later he commanded the Alligator, which was sent to the West Indies to destroy pirates as part of...
(not related to the commander), threw his sails aback to slow the American brig and instead raked the Pelican. This did not fatally cripple the British vessel, and the two brigs continued to exchange broadsides, with the Pelican now to leeward. After four more minutes, the rigging of the Argus was too badly damaged for the Americans to prevent the Pelican from crossing the stern of the Argus and delivering several raking broadsides.
Finally, three quarters of an hour after the action began, the two vessels came into contact, with the bow of the Argus against the quarter of the Pelican. As British boarding parties mustered but before they could board the Argus, the Americans surrendered.
Aftermath
The Pelican and Argus went in to PlymouthPlymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
. Allen died there of his wounds a week after the battle. He was buried with full military honours. The rest of the crew, including sailing master Uriah P. Levy
Uriah P. Levy
Uriah Phillips Levy was the first Jewish Commodore of the United States Navy, a veteran of the War of 1812 and a major philanthropist. At the time, Commodore was the highest rank obtainable in the U.S. Navy and would be roughly equivalent to the modern-day rank of Admiral...
, was taken prisoner and held in England for the duration of the war.
Unusually for the War of 1812, the American gunnery in this engagement was comparatively ineffective (although Pelicans sides were "filled with grapeshot" and two carronades had been dismounted). British gunnery was "at least of the standard which had brought victory in a hundred victories against the French." Allen's decision to accept battle against a heavier opponent rather than to continue his effective commerce raiding has not been explained.