Argo (1804 ship)

Argo was launched in 1802 in France, possibly under another name, and captured c.1804. She became a whaler in the British Southern Whale Fishery and made two complete whale hunting voyages. A US Navy frigate captured her on her third voyage.

For other ships with the same name, see Argo (ship).

History
United Kingdom
Name: Argo
Namesake: Argo
Acquired: 1804 by purchase of a prize
Fate: Captured late 1812
General characteristics
Tons burthen: 221,[1] or 281[2] (bm)
Complement:
  • 1804:25[1]
  • 1807:40[1]
  • 1814:28
Armament:
  • 1804:4 × 9-pounder guns + 6 × 12-pounder guns "of the New Construction"[2]
  • 1804:18 × 6&12-pounder cannons[1]
  • 1807:18 × 12&6&4-pounder cannons[1]
  • 1813:4 × 6-pounder guns + 6 × 12-pounder carronades

Career

Argo first appeared in Lloyd's Register (LR) with John Bader, master, Hulet & Co., owners, and trade London–South Seas.[2]

1st whaling voyage (1804–1807): Captain John Bader acquired a letter of marque on 17 August 1804.[1] Captain Bader sailed from Gravesend on 23 October 1804, bound for New South Wales.[3] Argo sailed via Rio de Janeiro and arrived at Port Jackson on 7 January 1805.[4] From there she sailed to the Bay of Islands and the waters off New Zealand.[5] She returned to Port Jackson and then sailed for England in February 1807.[4] She arrived back in England on 29 September 1807.[5]

Privateer: Captain Edward Hamson acquired a letter of marque on 3 December 1807.[1] The size of Argo's crew suggests that she may have made a cruise as a privateer. On the one hand there is no corroborating SAD data from Lloyd's List. On the other, Lloyd's List reported on 29 March 1808 that the "Argo privateer" had sent into Plymouth Concord, from New Orleans.[6] There is no other contemporary Argo with a letter of marque.[1]

2nd whaling voyage (1808–1811): Captain Charles Gardner sailed from England on 18 July 1808, bound for Peru. Argo arrived back at Gravesend on 24 February 1811 with a full cargo of 2500 barrels of whale oil.[5]

Lloyd's Register for 1813 gave the name of Argo's master as Anderson, her owner as Blythe & Co., and her trade as London–South Seas.[7] It is not clear what Argo was doing in the 14 months between her return in 1811 and her departure in 1812 on her third whaling voyage.

3rd whaling voyage (1812–loss): Still, it was Captain J. Walker who sailed from England on 2 April 1812, bound for Peru.[5] While Argo was homeward bound, she fell prey to an American frigate.

On 27 September 1812, Argo had left St Helena with the whalers Admiral Berkley and Frederick, under escort by HMS Galatea, returning from the Indian Ocean. Frederick separated from the other three ships on 27 October, off Ascension. On 31 October the convoy encountered the USS President and the USS Congress at 33°10′N 20°28′W. The Americans gave chase and Congress captured Argo, but Galatea escaped and arrived at Portsmouth.[8]

Fate

The frigate Congress captured Argo on 1 November 1813 off the Western Islands and sent her into the United States.[9] Lloyd's List reported on 16 February 1813 that Argo, Walker, master, prize to Congress and President, arrived in Norfolk, Virginia on about 15 December 1813.[10]

Citations
  1. "Letter of Marque, p.50 - accessed 25 July 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  2. LR (1804), Supple. pages "A", Seq.№A152.
  3. Lloyd's List (LL) 23 October 1804, №4499, Ship arrival and departure (SAD) data.
  4. "Arrival of Vessels at Port Jackson, and their Departure". Australian Town and Country Journal, Saturday 3 January 1891, p.16. Retrieved 28 April 2012.
  5. British Southern Whale Fisheries – Voyages: Argo.
  6. Lloyd's List 29 March 1808, №5241.
  7. LR (1813), Seq.№1124.
  8. Lloyd's List №4720.
  9. Middlebrook, Louis F. (1927). Essex Institute historical collections. Essex Institute. pp. Vol. LXIII. OCLC 6140167.
  10. Lloyd's List 16 February 1813, №4747.
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