Capture of East India Company ship Nautilus

The capture of East India Company ship Nautilus took place on June 30, 1815. Although part of the Anglo-American War of 1812, it took place long after the war ended, as the commander and crew of the United States Sloop of war USS Peacock were not aware that the war had ended some months earlier.

The Peacock fired on and severely damaged the East India Company brig Nautilus, before boarding the brig and holding its surviving crew prisoner until proof that the war had ended was shown. This proved to be the last action of the war.

Peacock prior to capture of Nautilus
Peacock departed New York on January 23, 1815 with USS Hornet and USS Tom Bowline and rounded the Cape of Good Hope into the Indian Ocean, where she captured three valuable prizes.

Capture of Nautilus by Peacock
On 30 June, Peacock, commanded by Master Commandant Lewis Warrington, encountered the 16-gun brig Nautilus, under the command of Lieutenant Charles Boyce of the Bombay Marine of the East India Company in the Sunda Straits. When hailed, Boyce informed Warrington that the war had ended. Warrington suspected a ruse and ordered Boyce to surrender. When Boyce refused, Warrington opened fire, killing one seaman, two European invalids, and three lascars, mortally wounding the Nautilus's first lieutenant and wounding Boyce and five lascars. American casualties amounted to some four or five men wounded.

Aftermath
When Boyce provided documents proving that the Treaty of Ghent ending the war had been ratified, Warrington released the prize, though at no point did he in any way inquire about Boyce's condition or that of any of the injured on Nautilus. Peacock returned to New York on 30 October. A court of inquiry in Boston a year later exonerated Warrington of all blame. In his report on the incident, Warrington reported that the only British casualties had been lascars.