Vesuvius, 1839
Type: 1st class sloop ; Armament 6 (reduced to 3 by 1846)
Launched : 11 Jul 1839 ; Disposal date or year : 1866
BM: 970 tons ; Displacement: 1283 tons
Propulsion: Paddle
Machinery notes:280 h.p.
Notes:

10 Aug 1839 Portsmouth, recently launched at Sheerness, anchored at St. Helen's last evening, on her way to Port Glasgow, to have her machinery fitted.

21 Dec 1839 Portsmouth, arrived here yesterday from Glasgow and Plymouth, on her way to Woolwich, to be fitted for sea.

8 May 1840 Spithead, earlier in the week transported the depot of the 11th Regiment to Plymouth, returning the following day with the depot of the 15th Regiment, arriving here today.

14 May 1840 Spithead, departed for Cork to bring over a part of the 60th Regiment back to Portsmouth.

4 Jun 1840 Spithead, departed to Liverpool to take parts of the 20th and 86th Regiments to Ireland.

24 Jun 1840 Portsmouth, departed for Dartmouth, with Sir James Gordon and the committee appointed to decide upon the port for the West India mail packets on board, and returned to here on the 25th.

2 Jul 1840 Portsmouth, departed for Woolwich, with the invalids brought here from Canada in the Sapphire troop-ship.

21 Jul 1840 departed from Chatham on Saturday with troops for Cork.

14 Aug 1840 Plymouth, arrived on Saturday from Cork, with the depot of the 65th Regiment. departed again for Cork on Tuesday with the 1st Royals.

22 Aug 1840 Commander Thomas Henderson, appointed to the Vesuvius.

24 Aug 1840 arrived Plymouth from Cork.

26 Aug 1840 Plymouth, is now in dock, making good some defects occasioned by taking the ground on entering Cork harbour in a thick fog on the 2d, having recently arrived from Pembroke and Cork. She is expected to sail shortly to Sheerness to return the men of the Ocean, Hermes, and Poictiers, which compose her crew, and from thence to Woolwich to be commissioned by Captain Henderson, late of the Hermes.

5 Sep 1840 Assistant Surgeon I. J. L. Donnell ; Clerk Charles Colman, appointed to the Vesuvius.

25 Sep 1840 Woolwich, will call at Chatham in a few days to embark detachments of the 1st and 92d Regiments for Gibraltar.

28 Sept 1840 departed from Chatham to-day for Gibraltar.

1 Oct 1840 Portsmouth, arrived from the river, and has embarked men of the Royal Marine Artillery for herself and the Stromboli.

5 Oct 1840 Portsmouth, departed for Plymouth, Gibraltar and Malta.

6 Oct 1840 Plymouth, arrived from Portsmouth and embarked marines to fill up vacancies in the Mediterranean fleet.

13 Oct 1840, arrived Gibraltar and proceeded to Malta having disembarked the troops.

Aug - Nov 1840 Capture of Acre and operations on the coast of Syria. Turkish Medals awarded to the Officers and Men employed during the Campaign. 16 Oct 1844 those onboard between 9 Sep - 10 Oct 1840, and at the bombardment of St. Jean D�Acre, on the 3 Nov 1840, will be paid their respective proportions of the grant voted by Parliament for the said services.

2 Jan 1841 Lieutenant James M. Boxer ; Commander Granville Loch, appointed to the Vesuvius steamer;

21 Apr 1841 Malta, left for Candia and Beyrout.

16 Jul 1841 remains at Candia.

5 Aug 1841 reported to be in the Roads at Suda, Candia.

4 Sep 1841 Commander Granville G. Loch (1837), of the Vesuvius, promoted to captain.

25 Sep 1841 Commander Erasmus Ommanney, appointed to the Vesuvius steam-frigate

21 Sep 1841 arrived Malta, from Suda, Candia.

2 Nov 1841 departed Malta for Piraeus with provisions for the Beacon.

C. 2 Dec 1841 remains in the Levant.

5 Jan 1842, departed Beyrout for Sidon and Jaffa.

2 Feb 1842, arrived Malta from Beyrout, in 6 days.

8 Feb 1842 departed to Larnaca with a view to assisting the Scout to Malta, but failed to find her and returned to Malta on the 16th inst., the Scout having arrived Malta on the 11th inst.

1 Mar 1842 in harbour at Valetta.

21 Mar 1842 departed Malta for Barcelona.

22 Apr 1842 arrived Malta from Barcelona in 5 days.

16 May 1842 departed Malta for Tripoli to order back the Howe and Thunderer, which have been standing off and on for several days, being in contact with the shore and consul via the Savage.

20 May 1842 departed Valetta with the squadron, including the Queen (flag V.-Adm. Owen) Howe (flag R.-Adm Mason), Vanguard, Calcutta, Thunderer, Cambridge, Impregnable, Devastation and Vesuvius, on a cruize.

16 Jun 1842 the Phoenix departed to the Ionian Islands and Greece with the mail which would normally have been taken by the Vesuvius which was sent to Marseilles.

22 Jun 1842 it was reported at Malta that a seaman from the Vesuvius had been condemned to death at a Court Martial for using threatening language to the First Lieutenant. Having been recommended for mercy the execution was delayed pending the pleasure of the Lords of the Admiralty is known.

29 Jun 1842 arrived Malta, from Marseilles, Genoa and Leghorn.

14 Jul 1842 departed Malta for Beyrout, with Mr. Young, consul at Jerusalem..

5 Aug 1842 the Hecate is expected shortly at Malta having replaced the Vesuvius.

C 16 Aug 1842 arrived Malta unexpectedly from Beyrout with mail, which was forwarded the same evening to England, via Marseilles in the Locust.

25 Aug 1842 returned to Beyrout.

15 Sep 1842 on the coast of Syria.

27 Sep 1842 at Beyrout.

10 Nov 1842 at Beyrout.

1846 West Indies and North America Station.

20 Dec 1848 Steam sloop. Woolwich.

11 May 1854 Tiger, Niger and Vesuvius detached to cruise off Odessa resulting in the loss of the Tiger on the following day, due to the fog - see p. 403-> at www.archive.org/details/royalnavyhistory06clow

End of June, 1854 - 17 Jul 1854, operations in the mouths of the Danube, by the Firebrand, Spitfire, and Vesuvius - see p. 405-> at www.archive.org/details/royalnavyhistory06clow

Circa 14 Sep 1854 Samson, Fury, Vesuvius, and some French steamers with troops on board, sent to the mouth of the Katcha to deter the Russians from advancing northward - see p. 412-> at www.archive.org/details/royalnavyhistory06clow

Later in Oct 1854, Leander, sent to Eupatoria to assist in the defence of that town, followed later by the Firebrand, Vesuvius, with other vessels.- see p. 437 at www.archive.org/details/royalnavyhistory06clow

17 Oct 1854 1st Bombardment of Sebastopol - see p. 437 at www.archive.org/details/royalnavyhistory06clow

26 Feb 1855 at Balaklava.

25 May 1855, Kertch and Yenikale were captured, along with thousands of tons and coal and provisions, along with factories etc., by some 60 French and British vessels, and allied troops, for which no prize money appeared to be payable, contrary to the Queen's instructions. See Hansard for more details, and approval for a Parliamentary Grant in lieu.

29 Jan 1856 Master A Brown apptd. For service on the Mediterranean station.

23 Apr 1856 Present at Fleet Review, Spithead ; Commander Hore

21 Sep 1856 salvage services rendered to the Brothers.

10 June 1857 departed England for anti-slavery duties on the West Coast of Africa.

20 Sep 1857 at the mouth of the River Congo. 4.00 a.m. departed to provide assistance having learned that a large fully laden slave ship, supposed Charles, had driven herself on shore when being chased by the paddle ship Alecto. At 12.20 p.m. met the Sappho and received 311 slaves from her, who had been rescued from the wreck, whilst being fired on by slave traders. 2.00 p.m. altered course for the Congo. From a distance of about 3 miles the wreck was seen to be on fire and 4 rockets were fired to disperse natives who were attempting to pillage the wreck. 8 p.m. arrived back at the mouth of the Congo.

6 Oct 1857 was in communication at Lat. 7� 6' S., with the Myrmidon, who instructed the Myrmidon to sail to Loanda to replenish her non-existent coal stocks, and to rejoin the commodore's ship (the Vesuvius) as soon as possible between Lat. 6� 40' and 7� S., where he was going to cruize about 6 miles off-shore.

7 Oct 1857 chased and boarded a vessel which turned out to be the American brigantine whaler Amelia, of New Bedford, which was allowed to proceed. Continued to cruise in the region of Snake's Head, eventually anchoring about 10 miles to the South and 7 miles off the land.

8 Oct 1857 in the morning observed a vessel in the offing, which appeared to have been signalled from shore to remain out at sea. Assuming that the Vesuvius wasn't seen under the land remained at anchor until the middle watch on the 9th and made her way to the offing under steam and was pleased to see the above vessel at about 5.45 a.m. and chased her for over 2 hours, eventually firing 2 guns to bring her to. She turned out to be the Braman, boarded by the Myrmidon on 3 Oct.

9 Oct 1857 the Vesuvius, with the Brune in company, chased and detained a slave brigantine, Name Unknown, supposed Bramen, in Lat. 6� 35' S. Long. 12� 13' E. The master, Andrew Spence, asked if he surrendered the vessel with no nationality if he would be treated as a pirate, and being advised in the negative his crew threw the American ensign overboard, along with the ship's papers and painted out the ship's name. The hatches were then lifted and it was discovered that the vessel was almost ready to embark her human cargo. The vessel was sent under a prize crew under the command of Mr. Withers, mate, for adjudication to the Vice-Admiralty Court at Sierra Leone, and on 10 Nov 1857 sentenced to be forfeited. 20 Sep 1859 distribution of proceeds received, and tonnage bounty awarded.

10 Oct 1857 steamed up the River Congo to land the crew of the prize, excepting 3 who accompanied her to Sierra Leone, and then departed to Snake's Head.

12 Oct 1857 rendez-voused with the American corvette Dale and the Myrmidon.

13 Oct 1857 anchored in Cabinda Bay and detached the Alecto to order the Sappho to join the Commodore in the Vesuvius in Cabinda Bay.

13 Oct 1857 the ship's cutter and galley were manned and armed and sent to intercept 3 boats full of slaves, following the Vesuvius under the land from Cabinda to Loango, where a Portuguese vessel was waiting to take them across the Atlantic. The boats returned at 4 a.m. the following morning with 2 boats. The slaves had been tied together in pairs with ropes around their necks tied to the bottom of the boats. It was later reported that the third boat had been wrecked on the shore and most of her human cargo had perished. The rescued slaves were taken on board and the 2 boats were sunk, the Vesuvius heading to the point were the slaves were being taken with a view to detaining the slave ship, if possible.

14 Oct 1857 further to the last paragraph, detained in lat. 5� 30' S. Long. 12� 5' E., a slave vessel, Name Unknown, which was not seaworthy and was destroyed and the case sent for adjudication to the Vice-Admiralty Court at Sierra Leone and on 17 Nov 1857 sentenced to be forfeited.

28 Oct 1857 departing for Fernando Po to coal ; then to Sierra Leone to land the slaves captured on 13th ; from thence to Lagos. It is reported that the Vice Admiralty Court and establishment at St. Helena and all that went with it has been broken up.

9 Nov 1857 arrived at Sierra Leone and landed 94 slaves, 8 having died on the passage.

16 Nov 1857 at Sierra Leone, has recruited 6 African boys from the missionary schools to learn the trades of carpenter, blacksmith, and sailmaker, and to be trained in the management of marine steam engines, in accordance with instructions from the Lords of the Admiralty. They are to be borne as boys second class for wages and victuals and are not to be employed as servants. One wonders if this could be classified as the first instance of recruiting what were to become known as "Locally Entered Personnel," which used to take place in Hong Kong, Malta, British Somalia, Goa, and probably elsewhere ?

9 Jan 1858 at Sierra Leone. Carrying the Commodore's Pennant. Writes to the Admiralty confirming that there does not appear to be any re-appearance of the slave trade in the Rivers Nunez and Pongas.

30 Mar 1858 at sea, the Commodore writing a Report of Proceedings to R.-Adm. Sir F. Grey.

9 Apr 1858 anchored off Ambriz only to discover that the English merchants had moved to Kinsembo due to problems with the Portuguese interfering with trade inland, and that the US merchants were expected to follow shortly. A heavy surf exists at Kinsembo and a clerk belonging to one of the merchant's had been drowned the previous day.

11 Apr 1858 anchored at St. Paul de Loanda.

24 Apr 1858 anchored at Cabenda and visited the local King and other dignitaries regarding the movement of slaves in the area and the need for their papers to be in order, if they didn't want their boats to be sent to Loanda for adjudication.

3 May 1858 anchored at Londono, a new slaving station, where 5 new slave barracoons had been built ashore : on our arrival the slaves were let out, many having been branded with the No. 8 on their left shoulder. Departed Londono and anchored for the night at Malembo.

10 May 1858 a native or Cabenda boat carrying a French flag was observed in the twilight, with a European on board, not wearing uniform and a boat was sent away to inspect the boat. The boarding officer was warned off the boat, but nevertheless boarded her to confirm the right of the vessel to wear the French flag, the European proving to be a French emigration officer. During the evening a French launch came alongside to complain to the Commanding Officer about being boarded earlier in the evening, and it was necessary to explain why it was it was considered necessary in those circumstances.

1 Jul 1858 weighed and got a few miles nearer Loango, where she arrived the following morning under steam, to find the French Commodore, Protet, and 4 French vessels. Called on the Commodore who returned the call the following morning. Then departed for Londono and Cabinda, where the Antelope was at anchor, until sent to communicate with the Viper and Teazer off the Congo and pass on provisions.

6 Jul 1858 the Viper arrived with the schooner St. Andrew as a prize, as she was about to enter the Congo equipped for the slave trade.

17 Jul 1858 the Heron arrived having detained the barque Governor of Paris, off Killongo, and the Mary Elizabeth off Black Point. They bring news from Havana that the Telegraph, Lydia Gibbs, and Venus are on their way.

19 Jul 1858 at Fernando Po. The Commodore writes to the Secretary of the Admiralty regarding the French dealings whilst scouring the coast from Monrovia to the Congo for so-called emigrant negroes, which is more akin to slave trading IMHO, since they are paying for them, and are thus competing with the slave traders, with whom they cannot compete and are thus moved to acquiring the natives by using devious means and not telling them the truth, which in one instance led to the slaves, oops sorry, emigrants rising up and killing most of the crew of the Regina Coeli.

6 Aug 1858 at Cabinda.

13 Aug 1858 sent the cutter and whaler to cruise between Malembo and Loango, whilst proceeding in the Vesuvius off Killoo and Killongo.

17 Aug 1858 fell in with and communicated with the Heron, Cdr. Truscott, regarding any news with respect to the slave trade in the area, which included news from a whaler that a vessel under American colours, the Ellen, had loaded water, and had supposedly gone south to pick up her human cargo.

19-20 Aug 1858 off Loango and was rejoined by her boats. Cdr. Truscott of the Heron came on board and reported that he had arrested the Ellen, but that in the absence of a US naval vessel it was impossible to confirm the validity of some of her documents and whilst absolutely sure that the Ellen was a slaver, as stated in Lloyds Weekly Paper of 18 Aug 1858, but there were still doubts and the most prudent course was to release her, rather than possibly incur a large bill for damages.

24 Aug 1858 off Red Point in Lat. 5� 29' S. Long. 11� 43' E., chased and eventually stopped a suspicious vessel, which from her papers was supposed to be the E. A. Chase, and with a deck cargo which would appear to confirm the fact that she was a slave vessel, which was bound for Punta da Lenha, up the River Congo, and whilst she was only supposed to have a crew of 7 men, there were at least 14 on board, the second crew and Master, of Spanish origin, will take over just before the slaves arrive on board.

26 Aug 1858 off Loango Point. The Commodore writes to the Secretary of the Admiralty regarding the prostitution of the American flag and its use by slave traders with little or no attempt being made by the US Government to resolve the situation, thus allowing thousands of Negro slaves to be exported to Cuba and elsewhere, probably including the Southern States of the US, who will no doubt import them from Cuba, and at the same time totally ruining any economy that the African countries may have created in recent years.

9 Sep 1858 at St. Paul de Loanda.

28 Oct 1858 off Lagos, where the Commodore wrote another letter to the Secretary of the Admiralty regarding the current prostitution of the American flag by the slave trade, having just been advised that the Ellen has just left the River Congo trailing the stench of death, disease and misery in her wake as she passed HM Ship Medusa en route for Cuba, and that the Wanderer will follow shortly, both vessels whose documentation has been examined and appears to be correct despite the smell that tells you otherwise, but which cannot be examined in detail due to the US government's unwillingness or political inability to sign a treaty allowing each other's vessels to examine the other's shipping where it is suspected that they might be involved in the slave trade, and whilst the US, in accordance with the current treaty, fails to devote sufficient resources to solve the present problem, and the vessels that are sent are never sufficiently supported in order that they can spend more than a few weeks on station, before they need to disappear to the Cape Verde islands or wherever to re-provision etc.

15 Jan 1859 at Sierra Leone.

2 Feb 1859 off Pongas, the Commodore writes a report to the Admiralty and Flag Officer on the state of the slave trade on the West Coast of Africa, for the year ending 31 Dec 1858.

18 Feb 1859 at Sierra Leone.

19 Feb 1859 departed for the Gambia.

23 Feb 1859 arrived in the Gambia.

26 Feb 1859 departed for Goree.

27 Feb 1859 arrived at Goree.

11 Mar 1859 off Sierra Leone. The Commodore writes to the Secretary of the Admiralty regarding the boarding of the French emigrant vessel Phoenix by Commander Hunt of the Alecto and a discussion he has had with Commodore Protet, in charge of French Naval forces on the station.

15 Mar 1859 at Sierra Leone. the Commodore writes to the Flag Officer with a report of proceedings regarding the worsening state of the slave trade etc. in the area.

9 May 1859 off Cape Lopez, the Commodore writes to the Governor of Fernando Po regarding the theft of slaves from the mainland by certain residents of Fernando Po, their subsequent cruelty to those same slaves, and the use of the British flag by those same residents to transport their slaves, and the steps that will be taken should those residents, who are well known, and in some instances claim to be British, continue to commit their various crimes.

14 May 1859 in the River Congo, reporting that an officer boarded the American brigantine H. E. Sampson in Mayumba Bay, who, whilst her documents appeared to be in order, was in the act of receiving her water when the boarding party hove in sight, but which had been rafted ashore by the time the ship's boat arrived alongside.

16 May 1859 off Cabinda.

18 May 1859 off Loango.

9 Jun 1859 off the River Congo.

12 Jul 1859 detained 3 Felluca rigged vessels, Names Unknown, off Red Point, for having a cargoes that were for fostering the slave trade, namely farinha, plank, and calavances, which were destroyed as being unseaworthy, which case was sent for adjudication and on 31 Oct 1859 sentenced to be condemned.

14 Jul 1859 off Black Point boarded an American barque whose papers showed her to be the Isla de Cuba of New York.

16 Jul 1859 at daylight the boats of the Pluto and Vesuvius detained a slave brig Name Unknown, supposed Esperanza, off Cabenda, having no papers or colours and fitted out in all respects for the slave trade : she had been hovering off the coast for more than a month and was sent to the Vice-Admiralty Court at St. Helena for adjudication and on 8 Aug 1859 sentenced.

20 Jul 1859 at lat. 5� 33' S., long. 10� 25' E., the Commodore writes a report to the Flag Officer regarding the state of the slave trade for the half year ended 30 Jun 1859.

8 Aug 1859 spoke to the Triton to the south of Snake's Head, regarding her various meetings with the American ship Memphis, which when first visited was supposedly disguised as a whaler, whilst plainly engaged in the slave trade, and that her movements were being closely watched.

27 Aug 1859 in Black Point Bay again boarded the American barque Isla de Cuba of New York, but despite the fact that she was obviously destined for the slave trade her papers were proved to be correct and she was permitted to go about her business.

23 Sep 1859 at lat. 0� 4' S., long. 7� 53' 40" E., reported to the Flag Officer and to the Secretary of the Admiralty the conduct of the Commander of the US corvette Vincennes, who failed to examine the American slave ship Memphis, this being the second instance it had been necessary to write a similar report regarding the conduct of Commander B. J. Totten, the earlier report being regarding the escape off the coast of the Isla de Cuba, which, whilst wearing US colours, was in fact a Portuguese owned slaver. It was felt that had the papers for both vessels been examined the fraudulent use of the U.S. flag would have been clearly apparent.

4 Oct 1859 off Cape St. Catherina, the Commodore writes to the Captain of the U.S. ship of war Portsmouth offering the assistance of steam vessels to tow U.S. ships and boats if required, having heard positive news from Lieut. Burton of the Triton regarding the attitude of the Commanding Officer, Commander Colhoun.

22 Oct 1859 at St. Helena, the Commodore writes to the Flag Officer regarding the capture of the American slaver Emily by the U.S. ship Portsmouth, along with news that relations with the U.S.N. appear to be improving.

22 Oct 1859 at St. Helena, the Commodore Chas. Wise writes to the Secretary of the Admiralty regarding the deteriorating state of the slave trade on the station for the period 1 Jan - 30 Sep 1859, due to the almost universal use of the U.S. flag by slavers, being on the point of giving up his command on the station.

23 Nov 1859 at Ascension, whilst writing to the Flag Officer regarding the state of the slave trade, which appears, from the large number of reports received, to be deteriorating in the Bights, probably due to the tribal leaders in the region being in breach of their treaties with England.

24 Dec 1859 at Ascension, Commodore Wise writes to the Flag Officer 6 Feb 1860 returned to England from the West Coast of Africa.

14 May 1862 Woolwich. Commissioned.

1 Jan to 8 Nov 1864 North America and West Indies Station. Report of dysentery onboard. Number of Cases of Disease and Injury.

8 Nov 1864 Paid off.