Post by hi224 on Apr 22, 2019 6:20:52 GMT
HMS Sappho was a Royal Navy Brig that gained public notoriety for causing a diplomatic incident over the slave trade with the United States of America and then went missing off the Australian coast in 1857–58.
The Ship:
Sappho, one of a class of nine-second-class brigs, was built at the Plymouth Dockyard and over her 20-year career she was variously armed with 16 and later 12 larger guns.
Sappho was one of a large number of warships designed with the intention to be both very fast under sail and carry heavy firepower. One of the main drivers for their design was the suppression of slavery. She sailed for 20 years during which she held 4 different stations around the world.
Notable Diplomatic Incident:
Sappho left Portsmouth in March 1856 with a crew of about 140 under the command of Commander Fairfax Moresby, to be part of a British squadron patrolling the coast of West Africa to suppress the slave trade.
On 9 May 1857, Sappho seized the American barque Panchita at Porto de Lenha on the Congo river. Lieutenant Ireland and 12 men were transferred to Panchita and she was sailed to New York under arrest, arriving on 9 July. On the following day, the owner – J. P. Weeks – brought suit against the prize crew on the grounds of unlawful seizure, as a result of which they were arrested, and held in bail to $15,000. Ultimately, the American courts found for the owners, although compensation had not been settled over two years later. The incident was also raised in the United States Congress at a time of heightened tensions between the US and British Empire.
On 10 September Sappho legally intercepted a 150 long tons Schooner preparing to board slaves, and burned her. On 18 September Sappho legally engaged a much larger slaver, the 1,088-long-ton full-rigged ship Charles of New Orleans, about 40 miles from Loanda, Portuguese West Africa, and drove it ashore – about 380 slaves were rescued but about 150 were drowned. The Royal Navy later awarded prize money to the crew of Sappho for this capture.
The Disappearance:
Commander Moresby was censured for his handling of the Panchita incident and Sappho was ordered to proceed to the Australian Station. She sailed from the Cape of Good Hope for Sydney on 8 January 1858 but failed to arrive. As she was not expected in Sydney, her non-appearance caused no concern until late in the year. In October 1858, Admiral W Loring in Sydney was informed that Sappho had been seen by the crew of the schooner Yarrow off Cape Bridgewater, Victoria at the western entrance to the notorious Bass Strait on 18 February. Extensive searches by a number of vessels failed to find any trace of the missing vessel.
Many in the international press ran sensational stories of mutiny and madness on the high seas leading to the loss of the ship but none of this was substantiated and was simply passed around from paper to paper.
Modern Developments:
It is suggested by modern investigators that Sappho was likely lost shortly after she was last seen in heavy Gales that were recorded as having hit the Bass Strait the day after. It is likely she capsized or ran afoul of a reef and broke up with the loss of all hands. Other vessels of similar size disappeared in the area at the time and it's widely accepted this was also the most likely cause of their loss.
Some still claim the crew could have survived a disaster at sea and made it ashore, in fact many of the residents of Wye River and Kenneth River townslands that run into the Bass Strait claim to be descended from a shipwrecked crew of the Royal Navy though this has not been confirmed.
What do you believe happened to HMS Sappho? Was she lost near Australia or was affected by something else long before arriving at her assigned station?
Wikipedia Link
The Ship:
Sappho, one of a class of nine-second-class brigs, was built at the Plymouth Dockyard and over her 20-year career she was variously armed with 16 and later 12 larger guns.
Sappho was one of a large number of warships designed with the intention to be both very fast under sail and carry heavy firepower. One of the main drivers for their design was the suppression of slavery. She sailed for 20 years during which she held 4 different stations around the world.
Notable Diplomatic Incident:
Sappho left Portsmouth in March 1856 with a crew of about 140 under the command of Commander Fairfax Moresby, to be part of a British squadron patrolling the coast of West Africa to suppress the slave trade.
On 9 May 1857, Sappho seized the American barque Panchita at Porto de Lenha on the Congo river. Lieutenant Ireland and 12 men were transferred to Panchita and she was sailed to New York under arrest, arriving on 9 July. On the following day, the owner – J. P. Weeks – brought suit against the prize crew on the grounds of unlawful seizure, as a result of which they were arrested, and held in bail to $15,000. Ultimately, the American courts found for the owners, although compensation had not been settled over two years later. The incident was also raised in the United States Congress at a time of heightened tensions between the US and British Empire.
On 10 September Sappho legally intercepted a 150 long tons Schooner preparing to board slaves, and burned her. On 18 September Sappho legally engaged a much larger slaver, the 1,088-long-ton full-rigged ship Charles of New Orleans, about 40 miles from Loanda, Portuguese West Africa, and drove it ashore – about 380 slaves were rescued but about 150 were drowned. The Royal Navy later awarded prize money to the crew of Sappho for this capture.
The Disappearance:
Commander Moresby was censured for his handling of the Panchita incident and Sappho was ordered to proceed to the Australian Station. She sailed from the Cape of Good Hope for Sydney on 8 January 1858 but failed to arrive. As she was not expected in Sydney, her non-appearance caused no concern until late in the year. In October 1858, Admiral W Loring in Sydney was informed that Sappho had been seen by the crew of the schooner Yarrow off Cape Bridgewater, Victoria at the western entrance to the notorious Bass Strait on 18 February. Extensive searches by a number of vessels failed to find any trace of the missing vessel.
Many in the international press ran sensational stories of mutiny and madness on the high seas leading to the loss of the ship but none of this was substantiated and was simply passed around from paper to paper.
Modern Developments:
It is suggested by modern investigators that Sappho was likely lost shortly after she was last seen in heavy Gales that were recorded as having hit the Bass Strait the day after. It is likely she capsized or ran afoul of a reef and broke up with the loss of all hands. Other vessels of similar size disappeared in the area at the time and it's widely accepted this was also the most likely cause of their loss.
Some still claim the crew could have survived a disaster at sea and made it ashore, in fact many of the residents of Wye River and Kenneth River townslands that run into the Bass Strait claim to be descended from a shipwrecked crew of the Royal Navy though this has not been confirmed.
What do you believe happened to HMS Sappho? Was she lost near Australia or was affected by something else long before arriving at her assigned station?
Wikipedia Link