Kitty (1810 ship)

Kitty was a French vessel taken in prize c. 1810. She became a West Indiaman and then, following a change of ownership, a privateer. She was one of only two British privateers to target slave traders. She captured three off Sierra Leone before one of her targets captured her in 1814, killing her master, enslaving some of her crew, and setting fire to her.

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

History
France
Launched: 1805
Captured: c.1810
United Kingdom
Name: Kitty
Owner:
  • 1810: "Crutchlw"
  • 1811:Roach & Co.
Acquired: 1810, by purchase of a prize
Fate: Captured and burnt 1814
General characteristics
Type: Brig
Tons burthen: 115, or 116[1] (bm)
Complement: 18[1]
Armament:
  • 1811:6 × 6-pounder guns[2]
  • 1812:10 × 6-pounder guns[1]

British career

Kitty enters Lloyd's Register in 1810.

Year Master Owner Trade
1810[3] R. Banks "Crutchlw" London-Barbados
1811[2] R.Banks
J. Gibbs		 "Crutchlw"
Roach & Co.		 London-Barbados
Liverpool-Africa
1812[4] J.B.Gibbs
Roach		 Roach & Co. Liverpool-Africa
1813[5] J. Roach Roach & Co. Liverpool-Africa
1814[6] J. Roach Roach & Co. Liverpool-Africa

John Roach acquired Kitty in 1811. He received a letter of marque for her on 2 October 1812.[1]

In early 1813 Kitty captured three slave ships off Sierra Leone, all of which she took into Freetown where the Vice admiralty court condemned them:[7]

Date Name Nationality Type Slaves landed
1813 Amelia 85
4 June 1813 San Jose Triumfo Spanish Brig 96
4 June 1813 Phoenix Portuguese Brig 1

The need to put prize crews aboard San Jose Triumfo and Phoenix strained Roach's resources. Instead, at the cost of sharing the proceeds, he arranged for HMS Thais to take them into Freetown.[8]

Fate

Lloyd's List reported on 27 May 1814 that Kitty had been totally lost sometime in February off the coast of Africa while chasing a Spanish vessel.[9] An English slave trader called Crawford was working with a Spanish schooner carrying slaves that Crawford had gathered. The schooner captured Kitty and the schooner's master murdered Roach. The Spaniards plundered Kitty before scuttling her.[10] The schooner also enslaved the black crew on Kitty, including two freed Negroes from Sierra Leone, and sold them into slavery at Havana.[11] HMS Spitfire rescued the surviving crew members and captured Crawford's launch and trade goods, but was unable to capture either Crawford or the Spanish schooner.[10]

Citations and references

Citations

  1. "Register of Letters of Marque against France 1793-1815"; p.72 Archived July 9, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Lloyd's Register (1811), Seq.№K62.
  3. Lloyd's Register (1810), Supplement Seq.№K1.
  4. Lloyd's Register (1812), Seq.№K71.
  5. Lloyd's Register (1813), Seq.№K71.
  6. Lloyd's Register (1814), Seq.№K75.
  7. Grindal (2016), Appendix A: "Suspected Slave Vessels Detained 1807-39 by Royal Navy Cruisers, Colonial Vessels and Letters of Marque Vessels".
  8. Grindal (2016), Kindle locations 3899-3901.
  9. Lloyd's List.
  10. Grindal (2016), Kindle locations 3987-3992.
  11. Edwards (1819), Vol. 4, p.492.

References

  • Edwards, Bryan (1819) The History, Civil and Commercial, of the British West Indies. (G. and W.B. Whittaker).
  • Grindal, Peter (2016) Opposing the Slavers: The Royal Navy’s Campaign against the Atlantic Slave Trade. (I.B.Tauris). ASIN: B01MYTNUEH
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