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Maryland Privateer Brig Viper |
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| Viper | Commander John Hanson |
| Armed Brig | 17 August 1780-12 September 1781 |
| Maryland Privateer Brig |
| Commissioned/First Date: | 17 August 1780 |
| Out of Service/Cause: | 12 September 1781/captured by the British Privateer General Conway |
| Owners: | David Stewart et al of Baltimore, Maryland |
| Tonnage: | 150 |
| Battery: | Date Reported: 17 August 1780 Number/Caliber Weight Broadside 14/ Total: 14 cannon/ Broadside: 7 cannon/ Swivels: Date Reported: 12 September 1781 Number/Caliber Weight Broadside 10/4-pounder 40 pounds 20 pounds Total: 10 cannon/40 pounds Broadside: 5 cannon/20 pounds Swivels: |
| Crew: | 17 August 1780: 51 [total] |
| Description: |
| Officers: |
| Cruises: | (1) Nantes, France to sea, [5] September 1781-12 September 1781 |
| Prizes: |
| Actions: | (1) Action with General Conway, 12 September 1781 |
Comments:
The 150-ton Maryland Privateer Brig Viper was commissioned on 17 August 1780 under Commander John Hanson. She was listed as having fourteen guns and fifty men in her crew. Her owners are given as David Stewart and others of Baltimore, Maryland.1 Viper was bonded for $20,000 by Hanson and John Davidson of Annapolis, Maryland.2
In early September 1781 the Viper was in France and sailed from Nantes, France bound for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a cargo of salt and dry goods. Three American schooners sailed with her in company.3 On 12 September 17814 the Viper met the British Privateer vessel General Conway, out of Jersey in the Channel Isles. A two hour action followed before Hanson surrendered with five men wounded. The British reported that she was armed with ten 4-pounders. The three schooners in company had made off during the fight and got away. Viper was taken in to Jersey, where her cargo was valued at *6000.5 Viper was tried in the High Court of Admiralty and condemned. She is listed there as an American merchant vessel.6 Ten of her crew were committed to prison on 7 December 1781.7
1 Archives of Maryland: Journal and Correspondence of the Council of Maryland, 1779-1780, 43:257
2 NRAR, 487
3 The Freeman's Journal: or, The North-American Intelligencer [Philadelphia], December 26, 1781
4 The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser [Philadelphia], Saturday, June 22, 1782
5 The Freeman's Journal: or, The North-American Intelligencer [Philadelphia], December 26, 1781
6 HCA 32/475/4/1-59
7 The Pennsylvania Packet or the General Advertiser [Philadelphia], Saturday, June 22, 1782
| Posted 6 January 2010 |
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