HMS Poictiers (1809)

HMS Poictiers was a 74-gun Royal Navy third rate. This ship of the line was launched on 9 December 1809 at Upnor. She played a small role in the War of 1812. She was broken up in 1857.

Active service
On 28 July 1810, Poictiers shared with Seine and HMS Shannon (1806) in the recapture of the Starling. On 22 April 1811, Poictiers, HMS Caledonia (1808) and the cutter HMS Nimrod (1812) captured the French vessel Auguste. They removed her cargo of casks of wine and destroyed the ship.

On 24 March 1812, Poictiers was in company with HMS Tonnant (1798), HMS Hogue (1811), HMS Colossus (1803) and HMS Bulwark (1807) when they captured the Emilie.

On 18 October 1812, Poictiers participated in an action where she rescued HMS Frolic (1806) by capturing USS Wasp (1807), commanded by Jacob Jones. Four hours after Wasp had captured Frolic, Capt Sir John Poo Beresford hove in sight and captured Wasp and recaptured Frolic. He then brought both to Bermuda. Frolic returned to duty and Wasp became HMS Loup Cervier. In November 1818 the proceeds of the sales of ordnance stores and head-money for the men captured on board the Wasp, also for ordnance stores recaptured on board Frolic was paid.

Thereafter, Poictiers captured a number of merchant vessels, alone or with other ships.
 * 29 October: the brig Little William, of the Isle of Mayo and sailing to Philadelphia;
 * 3 November: the brig Logan, from Boston, sailing to Baltimore;
 * 25 November: the ship Rebecca, from Philadelphia and sailing to Madeira;
 * 11 December: schooner Betsy, from Providence (Rhode Island), sailing to Norfolk;
 * December: ship Pekin, from Boston sailing to Alexandria (Poictiers in company with HMS Acasta (1797));
 * 17 January 1813: ship Lydia, from Rhode Islands sailing to Norfolk (Poictiers in company with Acasta and HMS Maidstone (1795)); and,
 * January: schooner Rhoda (Poictiers and Acasta).
 * 24 February: American brigs Gustavus and Staunch (Poictiers shared with six other British ships);
 * 24 February: American brig Hannah (Poictiers with the same six other British ships).
 * 13 March 1813: Swedish brig, from Martinique.
 * 29 March 1813: American ship Montesquieu (Poictiers in company with HMS Belvidera (1809) and the actual captor, the schooner HMS Paz (1807)).
 * 17 April: Portuguese schooner Alliance, sailing from Philadelphia to Jamaica with a cargo of flour, and sent in to Bermuda;
 * 28 April: English schooner Bermuda recaptured while sailing from Bermuda to Philadelphia, and used as a tender to Poictiers;
 * 1 May: American sloop Providence sailing from Philadelphia to Boston with a cargo of flour and corn, and sent in to Bermuda; and
 * 10 May: American sloop Factor sailing from Philadelphia to Boston with a cargo of cotton, cargo removed and vessel set adrift.

Poictiers was part of a squadron of 12 ships that shared in the capture on 13 and 14 March of the Christina and the Massatoit.

On 4 (or 5) July 1813 the American smack Yankee captured the brig Eagle, which was serving as a tender to Poictiers. The Americans put a 40 militiamen on board Yankee and sailed her where Eagle was known to be patrolling. The militiamen concealed themselves while on Yankee's deck there were three men dressed as fishermen, and a calf, a goose and a sheep were tethered. When Yankee encountered Eagle, Eagle fell for the bait of fresh meat and came alongside. The Americans, under Sailing-Master Percival, came out of hiding and fired their small arms. Although Eagle carried a brass 32-pounder howitzer loaded with canister, she was unable to get off a shot. The Americans then took Eagle into New York. Eagle had two men killed, including her commander Master's Mate H. Morris, and Midshipman W. Price mortally wounded. The remaining eight seamen were taken prisoner.

Poictiers in company with Maidstone and Nimrod captured several vessels.
 * 13 August 1813: brig Anna, of 125 tons, Diego Martinez, master, sailing from Newhaven to Laguira.
 * 18 August: ship Manchester.

Poictiers alone captured:
 * 29 August: brig Mariner; and
 * 3 September: brig Watson.

In addition to these commercial prizes, Poictiers took three American armed vessels. The first, on 25 December, was the brig Herald, a 10-gun letter of marque. Herald was pierced for 16 guns and had a crew of 50 men. She had been sailing from Bordeaux to Baltimore. Poictiers was again in company with Acasta and Maidstone. Herald, prior to herself being captured, had taken a ship, a brig, and a schooner. The cargo of the ship Friendship alone had an estimated value of US$400,000.

Next, Poictiers took the American schooner HMS Highflyer (1813), of five guns and 72 men, on 9 January 1813. She was on her return from the West Indies, where she had made several captures. Under the command of Captain Jeremiah Grant, Highflyer, of Baltimore, had captured two ships, four brigs, one schooner and one sloop; three of these vessels had been armed. The Royal Navy took Highflyer into service under her existing name.

The third privateer was the Yorktown, of 20 guns and 140 men. The actual captor of York Town was Maidstone, with Poictiers and Nimrod in company. Yorktown, under Captain T. W. Story, had taken 11 prizes before Maidstone captured her on 17 July 1813 after a four-hour chase. The British sent Yorktown and her crew into Halifax.

These incidents aside, Poictiers had an uneventful war, though there is a record of one humorous incident. The exhibit center of the town of Lewes, Delaware, has a framed copy of a handwritten letter from Captain Beresford to the town's chief magistrate. Dated 16 March 1813, the letter says:

Sir, As soon as you receive this, I request you will send 20 live bullocks with a proportionate quantity of vegetables and hay to the Poictiers for the use of Britannic Majesty's squadron now at this anchorage, which will be immediately paid for at the Philadelphia prices. If you refuse to comply with this request I shall be under necessity of destroying your town. I have the honor to be, sir, your very obedient servant,

J. P. Beresford Commodore and commander of the British Squadron in the Mouth of the Delaware.

Col. Samuel Boyer Davis, commander of American troops in Lewes, refused the demand, so on 6 and 7 April Beresford shelled the town, killing a chicken and wounding a pig. There is a cannonball from Poictiers lodged in the stone foundation of Lewes's Marine Museum.

Fate
After arriving in Sheerness on 20 December 1848, Poictiers then went to Chatham Dockyard where she served as a Depot Ship in ordinary. In 1857 she was sold out of service and broken up.

Postscript
Poictier's figurehead went to the small museum in Chatham Dockyard. In the 1920s, the figurehead was moved to Sheerness and placed on display inside the dockyard but towards the 1980s, the condition of the wood was such that the figure fell apart, leaving no single piece that could reasonably be salvaged for purposes of reconstruction.

The pieces were therefore used, in conjunction with archive photographs, to carve a replica. Andy Peters was commissioned to analyse samples of the paint and to carry out the carving. He then created a sculpture that provides a record of the figure's former glory, complete with gold leaf detailing. Since 2008, the replica has been on display for public viewing at the Blue Town Heritage Centre alongside the original figurehead from HMS Scylla (1809) after Peel Holdings donated the pair.

Citations and references

 * Citations


 * References
 * Emmons, George Foster (1853) The navy of the United States, from the commencement, 1775 to 1853; with a brief history of each vessel’s service and fate ... Comp. by Lieut. George F. Emmons ... under the authority of the Navy Dept. To which is added a list of private armed vessels, fitted out under the American flag ... also a list of the revenue and coast survey vessels, and principal ocean steamers, belonging to citizens of the United States in 1850. (Washington: Gideon & Co.)
 * Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-252-8.
 * Maclay, Edgar Stanton (1900), A history of American privateers. (Sampson, Low, Marston & co,).
 * Rif Winfield (2008) British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793&-1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 1-86176-246-1.