| Back to H |
 |
Pennsylvania Privateer Sloop Harlequin |
|
| Harlequin | Commander John Earle |
| Armed Sloop | 7 August 1782-18 September 1782 |
| Pennsylvania Privateer Sloop |
| Commissioned/First Date: | 7 August 1782 |
| Out of Service/Cause: | 18 September 1782/captured by British Privateer Boats Kidnapper and Ranger |
| Owners: | James Caldwell, Thomas Truxtun and Thomas Randall, all of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Tonnage: |
| Battery: | Date Reported: 7 August 1782 Number/Caliber Weight Broadside 4/ Total: 4 cannon/ Broadside: 2 cannon/ Swivels: Date Reported: 18 September 1782 Number/Caliber Weight Broadside 4/3-pounder 12 pounds 6 pounds Total: 4 cannon/12 pounds Broadside: 2 cannon/6 pounds Swivels: |
| Crew: | (1) 7 August 1782: 18 [total]
|
| Description: |
| Officers: | (1) First Mate Joseph Bennet, 7 August 1782-18 September 1782 |
| Cruises: | (1) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Havana, Cuba, [10] August 1782-[25] August 1782
|
| Prizes: |
| Actions: | (1) Action with Kidnapper and Ranger, 18 September 1782 |
Comments:
Pennsylvania Privateer Schooner Harlequin was commissioned on 7 August 1782 under Commander John Earle of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Joseph Bennet of Philadelphia served aboard as First Mate. Harlequin's battery was listed as four guns and her crew was listed as sixteen men. Her $20000 bond was signed by Earle and by Thomas Randall of Philadelphia.1
Harlequin made a voyage to Havana, Cuba and was returning to Philadelphia in September 1778, with a cargo of sugar and *5000 in gold and silver.2 On 18 September, after a ten day passage from Havana, Harlequin arrived in Delaware Bay, near Bombay Hook. At 1900 she was attacked by three “refugee” galleys3 or whaleboats, near Reedy Island. These were the Kidnapper (Kid or Kidd), the Ranger (Jones), and another vessel.4 Each galley was armed with a 6-pounder in the bows and ten swivels and cohorns, and their crews totaled thirty men. Harlequin mounted four 3-pounders and had a crew of eighteen men aboard.5 A “smart Engagement” followed,6 which lasted two hours, when the Harlequin surrendered, with one killed and five wounded.7
The British had suffered badly in the action. Kidd was wounded, shot through the thigh, and Jones was shot through the body. Two lieutenants and six men were killed, and fourteen or fifteen “badly” wounded. The British sailors, possibly angered over the stiff fight, killed Bennet and wounded Earle in three places with lances, after the surrender. A passenger, one Paschall, was run through the body and cut around the head with cutlasses.8 Some reports mistakenly state that Earle was also killed.9
 |
General area of the action of 18 September 1782. |
The prize was sent into New York, New York, where she arrived on 24 September.10 Harlequin was tried in the Vice Admiralty court at New York and condemned.11
1 NRAR, 327; Emmons, 144
2 The New-York Gazette; and The Weekly Mercury, Monday, September 30, 1782
3 The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser [Philadelphia], Tuesday, September 24, 1782
4 The New-York Gazette; and The Weekly Mercury, Monday, September 30, 1782
5 The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser [Philadelphia], Tuesday, September 24, 1782
6 The New-York Gazette; and The Weekly Mercury, Monday, September 30, 1782
7 The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser [Philadelphia], Tuesday, September 24, 1782
8 The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser [Philadelphia], Tuesday, September 24, 1782
9 The New-York Gazette; and The Weekly Mercury, Monday, September 30, 1782
10 The New-York Gazette; and The Weekly Mercury, Monday, September 30, 1782
11 HCA 32/348/15/1-27
| Posted 25 May 2009 |
|
|
|
|
|