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List of ships captured in the 19th century

Throughout naval history during times of war, battles, blockades, and other patrol missions would often result in the capture of enemy ships or those of a neutral country. If a ship proved to be a valuable prize, efforts would sometimes be made to capture the vessel and to inflict the least amount of damage that was practically possible. Both military and merchant ships were captured, often renamed, and then used in the service of the capturing country's navy or in many cases sold to private individuals, who would break them up for salvage or use them as merchant vessels, whaling ships, slave ships, or the like. As an incentive to search far and wide for enemy ships, the proceeds of the sale of the vessels and their cargoes were divided up as prize money among the officers and the crew of capturing crew members, with the distribution governed by regulations that the captor vessel's government had established. Throughout the 1800s, war prize laws were established to help opposing countries settle claims amicably.

Private ships were also authorized by various countries at war through a letter of marque, which legally allowed a ship and commander to engage and capture vessels belonging to enemy countries. In those cases, contracts between the owners of the vessels, on the one hand, and the captains and the crews, on the other, established the distribution of the proceeds from captures.

Legend

  • Dates of capture are listed chronologically and appear in bold
  • Names of commanders are those in command when ships were captured.
  • The symbol ' ' following a commander's name denotes he was killed in action.
  • Name of ship and flag of country listed are those in use at time of ship's capture and will sometimes link to a page with name and flag used after capture.
  • This list does not include ships captured by pirates.

1800–1809

Quasi-War

The Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought mostly at sea between the United States and French Republic from 1798 to 1800. France, plagued by massive crop failures and desperately in need of grain and other supplies, commissioned numerous French privateers, who both legally and illegally captured cargo from merchant vessels of every flag engaged in foreign trade with Britain. Approximately 300 American ships were captured by the French Navy and privateers under a letter of marque that was issued by the government of France. International law mandated that a ship captured during wartime by a belligerent was lost to the owner and that no compensation was to be made by the country who seized a vessel unless provided for by a treaty that ended that war.

  • Deux Anges | | 27 January 1800<br />A 20-gun French corvette Letter of marque captured by USS Boston commanded by George Little serving in the squadron of Silas Talbot. Deux Anges (sometimes Two Angels in contemporary American accounts) was sent to Boston under Lieutenant Robert Haswell to be condemned by a prize court.
  • Mercator | | May 1800<br />A Danish schooner captured by USS Experiment commanded by Lieutenant Maley entering the Haitian port of Jacmel during the Quasi-War. Maley suspected it to be a French vessel and ordered it to Cape Francois where it was recaptured by the British.
  • Godfrey | | 31 May 1800<br />English registered schooner commanded by H. Atkinson, captured by a French privateer and recaptured by American sloop of war USS Merrimack.
  • Flambeau | | 23 July 1800<br />A French Letter of marque of 12 guns, captured by USS Enterprise, commanded by Captain John Shaw.
  • Berceau | | 12 October 1800<br />A 24-gun French corvette commanded by Capitain de frégate Senez, captured by USS Boston, commanded by Capt. George Little, unbeknown that the Quasi-War had ended several days earlier. She was towed to the United States, repaired and returned to France September 1801.
  • Good Friends | | September 1809<br />An American ship out of Baltimore, commanded by Captain Robert Thompson, captured by the Danes.
  • Helvetius | | September 1809<br />An American ship out of Baltimore, commanded by Captain Ezra Bowen, captured by the Danes.

First Barbary War

The First Barbary War (1801–5), was the first of the First Barbary War and the Second Barbary War fought between the United States and the North African Berber Muslim states known collectively as the Barbary States. For years the Barbary Corsairs had harassed and captured British, French and American shipping, often capturing vessels seizing cargoes and holding crews for large ransoms or enslaving them. Refusing to pay tribute President Thomas Jefferson sent a fleet of ships to the Mediterranean to deal with the constant threats to U.S. and other ships.

French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars

The French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against the French Republic and Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1792 to 1815, involving many often-large-scale naval battles resulting in the capture of numerous ships. Among the most notable of such battles were the Battle of Trafalgar and the Battle of Copenhagen involving hundreds of ships and many thousands of seamen and officers.

  • | | 11 June 1794<br /> A brig originally purchased into Royal Navy service in 1787, she was captured by the . She was then recaptured by on 15 October 1797. She was then captured by the French privateer Vengeance on 2 November 1797 before being captured a fourth time, this time by , four days later. She was renamed HMS Venturer due to Ranger having been reused in her absence. Possibly the most captured warship in history.
  • | | 24 June 1800<br /> A 74-gun ship of the line commanded by Captain Hallowell, captured by the French fleet, commanded by Admiral Ganteaume. She was later recaptured at the Battle of Trafalgar.
  • | | 25 August 1800<br />A of 40 guns, commanded by Capitain de Vaisseau Citizen F. M. Pitot, in the Mona Passage during the French Revolutionary Wars by of the Royal Navy, commanded by Captain David Milne. Renamed HMS Vengeance.
  • | | 10 February 1801<br /> A 16-gun British sloop and fireship, commanded by Captain Richard Dun, captured by the French Navy at Cape de Gat.
  • | | 10 February 1801<br />A 32-gun fifth-rate frigate launched in 1781, captured by the French and recaptured by the British the same year.
  • | | 10 February 1801<br />Captured by the French Navy.

Battle of Copenhagen

The Battle of Copenhagen was a naval battle involving a large British fleet under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, defeating and capturing many of the Danish-Norwegian fleet anchored just off Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson led the main attack.

Napoleonic Wars (continued i)

  • | | 6 July 1801<br />A 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the British Royal Navy, launched on 15 April 1786, named after Hannibal of Carthage. Ran aground and captured during the first part of the Battle of Algeciras Bay.
  • | (Franco-Spanish fleet) | 6–12 July 1801<br />Captured by British at the Second Battle of Algeciras.
  • | | 1803 captured by the privateer slaver Kitty; became Kitty's Amelia, the last vessel to legally undergo a slave trading voyage (27 July 1807) before the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807.
  • Embuscade | | 28 May 1803<br />A 32-gun fifth-rate frigate captured by , commanded by Captain Samuel Sutton in the Atlantic. She was restored to the Royal Navy in her old name, the existing Ambuscade being renamed HMS Seine. First captured by the British during the Battle of Tory Island in 1797, recaptured by the corvette in 1798 to be recaptured by the British again in 1803.
  • | | 25 June 1803<br />A Serpente-class corvette bearing 18 guns. Captured by , off the Azores.
  • | | 25 June 1803<br />A bearing 20 guns. Captured by , commanded by Captain James Wallis in the Bay of Biscay.
  • HMS Minerve | | 3 July 1803<br />A 40-gun frigate under the command of Captain Jahleel Brenton, (re)captured by the French navy after it ran aground chasing other ships. Originally a French ship, captured by British in 1792.
  • | | 24 July 1803<br />A 74-gun ship of the line, commanded by Commodore Quérangal. Captured by British squadron, commanded by Commodore Loring. Vessel was stranded in 1804, broken up 1805.
  • | | 25 November 1803<br />An 18-gun schooner, captured by the Royal Navy after a chase. Later renamed Crafty, and captured by the Spanish in 1807.
  • | British East India Company | 15 September 1804<br />A 24-gun East Indiaman, captured by the French Navy in the Battle of Vizagapatam.
  • | | 25 November 1804<br />A 42-gun Spanish frigate, captured by the Royal Navy in the action of 25 November 1804 off Cádiz.
  • | | 1805<br />An 80-gun ship of the line, broken up in 1816.
  • | | 18 February 1805<br />A 32-gun Amazon-class fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy, commanded by Sir Robert Laurie. Captured by Ville de Milan, commanded by Captain Jean-Marie Renaud.
  • | | 25 September 1805<br />An East Indiaman converted to a 56-gun ship of the line. Captured by 74-gun , later ran aground and recaptured by British and set ablaze 12 April 1809 at the Battle of the Basque Roads.

Battle of Trafalgar

The Battle of Trafalgar was fought on 21 October 1805 off the Spanish coast, near Cape Trafalgar, involving the allied fleets of Spain and France against the Royal Navy of Britain. Britain's answer to Napoleon's threat, it proved to be the turning point of the Napoleonic era and is regarded as the last great sea battle of the period. The battle involved dozens of sailing warships and vessels many of which fell to capture while many were also met with what is considered a worse fate in the storm that followed.

  • | | 21 October 1805<br />A 74-gun French ship of the line. Present at the Battle of Trafalgar, commanded by Captain Louis Alexis Baudoin who was killed in the battle, fired the first shot of the battle. After its capture by British it was wrecked in the storm of 23 October that followed the battle and sunk, taking with her all hands on board.
  • | | 21 October 1805<br />A Téméraire-class 74-gun ship of the line. Commanded by Captain Lucas Redoutable is known for her fiercely fought duel with during the Battle of Trafalgar, killing Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, incurring the highest losses of the battle. Captured by British, she foundered during the storm the next day and sunk, taking with her all hands.
  • | | 21 October 1805<br />An 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. It was the flagship of the French fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar, commanded by Captain Jean-Jacques Magendie. Surrendered to Captain James Atcherly of the Marines from , later wrecked in storm of 23 October 1805.
  • | | 21 October 1805<br />A 74-gun French ship of the line, present at the Battle of Trafalgar, under Rear Admiral Charles Magon who was killed during the boarding attempt when engaged by . Escaped after capture making her way to Cádiz.
  • | () | 21 October 1805<br />A 74-gun third-rate ship of the line, captured at the Battle of Trafalgar and scuttled by British.
  • | | 21 October 1805<br />A 74-gun French ship of the line. took part in the Battle of Trafalgar, captured during the battle. On the following day, her crew rose up turned against her captors and recaptured their ship, however, she was wrecked in the storm of 23 October 1805.
  • | | 21 October 1805<br />An 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. After engaging the British , and she was finally captured. During the storm of 23 October she broke her anchor chains and was wrecked with only about 150 out of 1200 men aboard surviving.
  • | | | 21 October 1805<br />The British HMS Berwick, a 74-gun ship of the line, was captured by the French in 1795. She was recaptured by the British at the Battle of Trafalgar. While in tow her captives cut her cables, she struck a shoal and sank with approximately 200 perishing in the storm.
  • | | | 21 October 1805<br /> A 74-gun ship of the line, originally the British Swiftsure, commanded by Captain Hallowell, captured by the French fleet, commanded by Admiral Ganteaume, on 24 June 1800. Under the command of Captain l'Hôpitalier-Villemadrin she was recaptured at the Battle of Trafalgar and was one of the few captured ships to survive the storm.
  • | | 21 October 1805<br />An 80-gun ship of the line of the Spanish Navy. Present at the Battle of Trafalgar, noted for being the oldest vessel present. Rayo escaped from the battle but was intercepted by fresh out of Gibraltar and then was wrecked 26 October 1805 in the storm that followed.
  • | | 21 October 1805<br />A 112-gun three-decker ship of the line of the Spanish Navy. Captured by British at Battle of Trafalgar. two days later, a squadron under the command of Commodore Cosmao-Kerjulien recaptured her and took her back to Cádiz.
  • | | 21 October 1805<br />An 80-gun ship of the line of the Spanish Navy. Captured at the Battle of Trafalgar, later ran aground and set fire by the British.
  • | | 21 October 1805<br />A 74-gun ship of the line. Present at the Battle of Algeciras in 1801 and the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
  • | | 21 October 1805<br />A first-rate ship of the line, launched in 1769, bearing 112 guns, increased to 130 guns in 1795–96. Commanded by Francisco Javier Uriarte and Rear Admiral Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, present at Battle of Trafalgar, the largest ship in the allied fleet. Captured by British, wrecked in storm following day.
  • | | 21 October 1805<br />A 74-gun ship of the line, commanded by Captain Don Teodoro de Argumosa, present at Battle of Trafalgar. After its capture it was burnt on 26 October 1805.
  • | | 21 October 1805<br />A 74 gun ship of the line, commanded by Commodore Dionisio Alcalá Galiano who lost his life from cannon fire. Captured by , broken up in 1814.
  • | | 21 October 1805<br />A 74-gun ship of the line launched in 1765, commanded by Commodore Don Cosmé Damián Churruca y Elorza who was killed in action, present at Battle of Trafalgar, with half its crew dead or wounded.
  • | | 21 October 1805<br />A 74-gun ship that saw service in French, British and American waters in the late 18th century. Present at the Battle of Trafalgar, commanded by Captain Don Jose Ramón de Vargas y Varáez; captured by the British and renamed HMS Ildefonso, it was one of the few captured vessels that survived the storm following the battle.

Napoleonic Wars (continued ii)

1810–1819

Napoleonic Wars (continued)

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was fought between Britain and the United States. The ships of the two countries were involved in many engagements along the Atlantic coast, the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico and the West Indies with numerous vessels being destroyed or captured on both sides.

  • Alexander (brig) | | Unknown date<br />A civilian brig. Taken as a prize by the British
  • Lord Nelson | | 5 June 1812 | 24 December 1815<br />A schooner commanded by Robert Percy, captured by USS Oneida, commanded by Commodore M.T. Woolsey, while enforcing the Embargo Law.
  • | | 8 July 1812<br />A Royal Navy of 75 tons and 4 guns, launched in 1805, Lieutenant Lewis Maxey. Present at the Battle of Copenhagen, Captured at Hampton Roads by American privateer Dash commanded by Captain Garroway.
  • | | 16 July 1812<br />Built in 1799 as a merchant vessel it was purchased by the U.S. Navy in 1803 and converted into a 16-gun brig. Commanded by Lieutenant W. Crane, it was captured off the coast of New Jersey by a blockading British fleet: Shannon, Belvidera, Africa, Eolus and Guerriere – the last vessel of these itself defeated by USS Constitution only a month later. Taken into possession for use in the Royal Navy and renamed HMS Emulous.
  • Ulysses | | 20 July 1812<br />A British brig bound for Halifax from the West Indies captured by American privateer Paul Jones.
  • Henry | | 26 July 1812<br />A new merchant ship, captured after a 15-minute fight, carrying sugar and old Madeira wine from St Croix to London by the American privateer , commanded by Captain Thomas Boyle. Valued at $150,000-170,00, sent to Baltimore.
  • Hopewell | | July 1812<br /> The American privateer , commanded by Captain Thomas Boyle, captured the merchant ship Hopewell, of 400 tons, as Hopewell was on her way to London from Surinam, carrying sugar, molasses, cotton, coffee and cocoa by. One of Hopewells men was killed. The ship was sent to Baltimore where the cargo was valued at $150,000,.
  • John | | 18 September 1812 <br />A merchant ship, 400 tons, captured on her passage from Demerara to Liverpool by the American privateer , commanded by Captain Thomas Boyle. The prize was valued at $150,000-200,000 and sent to Baltimore. One of over thirty other merchant vessels captured by Boyle.
  • | | 8 October 1812 <br />Caledonia was a brig, formerly HMS Caledonia, captured by the U.S. Navy, during the War of 1812 and taken into American service. Commanded by Lieutenant D. Turner the brig played an important role with the American squadron on Lake Erie; sold at the end of the war.
  • | | 8 October 1812<br />An 18-gun , launched on 9 February 1806, commanded by Thomas Whinyates. Captured by , commanded by Jacob Jones.
  • USS Adams | | 9 October 1812<br />Adams was in drydock at Detroit for repairs when war broke out, captured by the British and renamed .
  • | / | 15 October 1812<br />Commanded by Jacob Jones. Wasp was a sailing sloop of war captured by the British in the War of 1812. She was constructed in 1806 at the Washington Navy Yard. Captured twice.
  • | | 18 October 1812<br />A British packet with eighty one boxes of gold and silver aboard, captured by commanded by Commodore John Rodgers with Matthew C. Perry aboard
  • | | 25 October 1812<br />A 38-gun fifth rate in the Royal Navy, captured by the commanded by Stephen Decatur during the War of 1812.
  • | | 1 November 1812<br />A British whaler of 10 guns and 26 men, carrying a cargo of oil and whalebone, bound for London was captured by under the command of Captain John Smith. The ship was ordered to the United States. She was one of the five prizes Smith took during the war.
  • | | 26 December 1812<br />A , commanded by Henry Lambert , taken as a prize off coast of Brazil after its engagement with , commanded by William Bainbridge.
  • HMS Duke of Gloucester or Gloucester | | 27 April 1813<br />A 10-gun brig launched on Lake Erie in 1807, captured American squadron under the command of Commodore Isaac Chauncey's and taken back to Sackett's Harbor. Destroyed by the British a few weeks later.
  • | | 1 June 1813<br />A frigate, commanded by Captain James Lawrence that was pounded by 362 shots from before its surrender.<br />See: Capture of USS Chesapeake
  • | | 3 June 1813<br />Part of Thomas Macdonough's fleet overtaken by British while on blockade patrol at the Battle of Lake Champlain. Renamed HMS Finch
  • | | 3 July 1813<br />An American Letter of marque schooner bearing only two guns, captured by off the coast of Bordeaux.
  • | | 14 August 1813<br />A brig commanded by William Henry Allen surrendered to British after engagement with HMS Pelican in St George's Channel.<br />See: Capture of USS Argus
  • | | 5 September 1813<br />A 12-gun launched in July 1812, commanded by Samuel Blyth, captured by , commanded by Lieutenant William Burrows. See also: Capture of HMS Boxer
  • | | 5 October 1813<br />A 16-gun fifth-rate frigate captured on Lake Erie by , commanded by Thomas Macdonough at the Battle of Plattsburgh.
  • | | 1813<br />American merchantman launched in 1810, captured by the Royal Navy, in 1813.
  • | | 14 February 1814<br />A 16-gun schooner built as the American privateer Syren and commissioned as Letter of marque, captured by Royal Navy 20 April 1813, renamed Pictou. Commanded by Lieutenant Edward Stephens Pictou was recaptured at Barbados during the War of 1812 by the American frigate commanded by Charles Stewart.
  • | | 28 March 1814<br />A sailing frigate commanded by David Porter that served in the Quasi-War, the First Barbary War and the War of 1812. Captured off Valparaíso by and under the command of Admiral James Hillyar and was renamed HMS Essex.
  • | | 29 April 1814<br />An 18-gun commanded by Richard Walter Wales, captured off Cape Canaveral, Florida by with 22 guns commanded by Lewis Warrington<br />See also: Capture of HMS Epervier
  • | | 20 April 1814<br />Forced to surrender to superior British force off Matanzas, Cuba.
  • HMS Ballahou | | 29 April 1814<br />A schooner of four guns, commanded by Norfolk King, was the name ship of the Royal Navy's s. Captured by 5-gun American privateer Perry off the coast of South Carolina.
  • | | 28 June 1814<br />An 18-gun , launched in 1804. She was under the command of Commander Nicholas Lechmere Pateshall() when , under the command of Johnston Blakely, captured her approximately west of Ushant. <br />See also: Sinking of HMS Reindeer
  • | | 12 July 1814<br />A brig, served in First Barbary War and War of 1812. Captured in 1814 by Royal Navy.
  • | | 12 July 1814<br />A 4-gun , commanded by Lieutenant Robert Daniel Lancaster. Captured near Gibraltar by an American privateer Syren, a schooner sporting one heavy long gun, under Captain J.D. Daniels.
  • | | 22 June 1814<br /> A brig under the command of Lt. James Renshaw, was captured by the 50-gun, British frigate .
  • | | 27 August 1814<br /> built by Symons at Falmouth and launched on 31 January 1805, commanded by James Arbuthnot at time of capture; Captured by , commanded by Commodore Johnston Blakeley.
  • (sloop) | | 11 September 1814<br />A 12-gun sloop and the second US Navy ship to carry the name. Captured by British and renamed Icicle.
  • | | 14 December 1814<br />A sloop lost to the British at the Battle of Lake Borgne.
  • | | 14 December 1814<br />A sloop-of-war lost to the British at the Battle of Lake Borgne.
  • (frigate) | | 15 January 1815<br />A frigate that was named by George Washington, commanded by Stephen Decatur, fell into British hands when encountered by .<br />See: Capture of USS President
  • | | 20 February 1815<br />A 22-gun sixth-rate post ship built in 1806, commanded by Captain Gordon Thomas Falcon; Captured along with HMS Levant approximately 100 miles east of Madeira by , commanded by Charles Stewart
  • | | 20 February 1815<br />A 20-gun sixth-rate ship, commanded by Hon. George Douglas; captured along with HMS Cyane, by , commanded by Charles Stewart.
  • | | 26 February 1815 <br />This 14-gun schooner was captured just off Havana by the American privateer , commanded by Captain Thomas Boyle, who claimed over thirty prizes as a privateer during the war.
  • | | 23 March 1815 <br /> A 19-gun commanded by James Dickenson; captured by 20-gun sloop-of-war , commanded by James Biddle, following a gunnery duel off the American cruiser base of Tristan da Cunha. Set ablaze after the removal of its stores due to irreparable damage. Final battle of the war between British and American forces.<br>See: Capture of HMS Penguin
  • See also:

Second Barbary War

Chilean war of independence

The Navy of Chile website lists 26 Spanish prizes during the War of Independence. The most famous are probably:

For vessels captured by Chilean Letter of marque ships, see list of prizes

1820–1829

1830–1839

West Africa Squadron

  • | | 6 April 1830<br /> a British East India packet schooner captured by pirates but retaken by her crew.
  • Daspegado – Spanish pirate vessel, captor of St Helena, captured by .

War of the Confederation

  • | Confederation | 4 August 1836<br />Crew handed the ship over to the Chilean government

Texas Revolution

  • | | 1 September 1835<br />A Mexican Navy warship captured by the merchant ships San Felipe and Laura after a bloody exchange of cannon fire off the coast of Texas known as the San Felipe Incident. On board San Felipe was Stephen F. Austin.
  • | | 3 March 1836<br />A Mexican merchantman captured by Captain W. Brown in the Liberty, later ran aground on a sandbar and was wrecked.
  • Independence | | 17 April 1837<br />Former cutter , captured by the Mexican Navy in the Battle of the Brazos River. In service under Mexican flag as La Independencia.

1839

  • | | 1839<br />A two-masted schooner built in Spain and owned by a Spaniard living in Cuba. Was used to transport Africans into slavery, who took control of the ship in 1839. Ship was captured off the coast of Long Island by .
  • | | | November 1839
  • | | | November 1839
  • | | | November 1839
  • | | | November 1839<br />Above four slaver ships seized together off the coast of Africa using American and Spanish flags to suit the occasion along with fraudulent papers. Captured by British cruiser and brought to United States.
  • | | 23 September 1839<br />Fitted as a slaver, and captured by a British cruiser on the coast of Africa.
  • | | October 1839<br />Captured on the African coast by a British cruiser, and brought by her to New York.
  • | | 1839<br />With American papers, seized by British cruisers as Spanish property. Before this she had been boarded fifteen times.
  • | | September 1839<br />Seized by a British cruiser, and condemned at Sierra Leone.

1840–1849

  • SS Sarah Ann | | March 1840<br />Captured with fraudulent papers.
  • SS Tigris | | 1840<br />Captured by British cruisers and sent to Boston for kidnapping.
  • SS Jones | | 1840<br />Seized by the British.
  • SS Shakespeare | | 7 November 1842<br />Shakespeare, of Baltimore, with 430 slaves, captured by British cruisers.
  • SS Cyrus | | 1844<br />Cyrus, of New Orleans, suspected slaver, captured by the British cruiser Alert.
  • SS Spitfire | | 14 May 1845<br />Spitfire, of New Orleans, captured on the coast of Africa, under American flag and the captain indicted in Boston.
  • SS Casco | | 1849<br />Slaver, with no papers; searched, and captured with 420 slaves, by a British cruiser.

Mexican–American War

At the onset of the Mexican–American War on 12 May 1846, Commodore John D. Sloat was in command of the Pacific fleet. The Pacific war against Mexico lasted only eight months with few casualties. The Pacific fleet consisted mainly of ten ships: two ships of the line, two frigates, two sloops-of-war, and four sloops. As the Mexican navy was very small few vessels were ever captured.

First Schleswig War

During the First Schleswig War (18481850) the Royal Danish Navy first supported the Danish Army's advance south against the rebels in Schleswig-Holstein, and later blockaded the German ports.

  • Christian der achte | Private ship | 31 March 1848<br />A civilian steamship, captured by the Danish naval steamer Hekla and the brig St. Thomas at Aabenraa. Used as a transport by the Royal Danish Navy.
  • Gefion | | 5 April 1849<br />A frigate, captured by Prussian forces during the Battle of Eckernförde.
  • | | 1853<br />A gunboat, surrendered to the Royal Danish Navy after the end of the First Schleswig War. Commissioned into Danish service as

1850–1859

1860–1869

  • SS Erie | | 1860<br />Erie, transporting 897 Africans from African coast, captured by a United States ship. The captain of the ship, Nathaniel Gordon, was later executed by the U.S. government for slave trading.
  • Nightingale | | 21 April 1861<br />Originally the tea clipper and slave ship Nightingale, launched in 1851, captured in Africa in 1861 by , taken as a prize and purchased by the United States Navy.

American Civil War

During the American Civil War the Union blockade at first proved to be ineffective at keeping ships from entering or leaving southern ports, but towards the end of the war, it played a significant role in its victory over the Confederate states. By the end of the war, the Union Navy had captured many Confederate ships, moreover had also captured more than 1,100 blockade runners while destroying or running aground another 355 vessels. Using specially designed blockade runners, private business interests from Britain, however, succeeded in supplying the Confederate Army with goods valued at $200 million, including 600,000 small arms. That extended the war by two years and cost the lives of 400,000 additional Americans.

Second Schleswig War

During the Second Schleswig War in 1864 the Royal Danish Navy blockaded the German ports. While the Danes suffered military defeat on land during the conflict, their navy succeeded in maintaining the blockade throughout the war.

  • Neptunus | Private ship | 8 March 1864<br />A civilian ship, captured by the Danish frigate Jylland off Helsingør.
  • Eudora | Private ship | 2 April 1864<br />A civilian barque, captured by the Danish corvette Dagmar off Hamburg.

Chincha Islands War

The Chincha Islands War (18641866) was a mostly naval conflict between Spain and her former South American colonies Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia.

1870–1879

Ten Years' War

The Ten Years' War was fought between Cuban revolutionaries and Spain. Breaking out in 1868, the war was won by Spain by 1878.

  • Virginius | () | 30 October 1873<br />The blockade runner, carrying 103 Cuban soldiers, was captured by the Spanish corvette . After initially executing 53 crew members as pirates, the Spanish authorities were pressured by the US and British governments to release the ship and the 91 surviving crew in December 1873.

War of the Pacific

The War of the Pacific (18791883) was fought between Peru and Bolivia on one side, with Chile on the other. Chile emerged victorious.

  • Rimac | | 23 July 1879<br />The troopship was captured by the Peruvian ironclad Huáscar and the Peruvian corvette Unión off Antofagasta. The ship was taken into service with the Peruvian Navy.
  • Huáscar | | 8 October 1879<br />The ironclad was captured by Chilean naval forces in the Battle of Angamos. The ship was taken into service with the Chilean Navy under the same name and is still afloat as a museum and historical memorial ship at the port of Talcahuano, Chile
  • Pilcomayo | |18 November 1879<br /> captured by Chilean Blanco Encalada.
  • Alay | | 22 December 1879<br />captured by Chilean transporter Amazonas between Panama and El Callao.

1880–1889

(Ship names / Information forthcoming)

1890–1899

First Sino-Japanese War

The 1894–95 First Sino-Japanese War was fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan over dominance of Korea. The war ended in Japanese victory and great Chinese loss of territory and prestige.

  • Tsao-kiang | Beiyang Navy | 27 July 1894<br />The gunboat was captured by the Japanese cruiser during the Battle of Pungdo. She served in the Japanese Navy and government service under the name Sōkō until 1924. Sold to civilian interests, she sailed as a transport until scrapped in 1964.
  • Fulong | Beiyang Navy | 7 February 1895<br />The torpedo boat was captured by Japanese forces during the Battle of Weihaiwei on 7 February 1895. She served in the Japanese Navy under the name FukuryÅ« until sold for scrap in 1908.
  • Jiyuan | Beiyang Navy | 17 February 1895<br />The cruiser was captured by Japanese forces after the 17 February 1895 Battle of Weihaiwei. She served in the Japanese Navy under the name Saien until mined and sunk off Port Arthur on 30 November 1904, during the Russo-Japanese War.
  • Pingyuan | Beiyang Navy | 17 February 1895<br />The armored cruiser was captured by Japanese forces after the 17 February 1895 Battle of Weihaiwei. She served in the Japanese Navy first under the name Ping Yuen Go and later as Heien until mined and sunk west of Port Arthur on 18 September 1904, during the Russo-Japanese War.
  • Zhenyuan | Beiyang Navy | 17 February 1895<br />The turret ship was captured by Japanese forces after the 17 February 1895 Battle of Weihaiwei. She served in the Japanese Navy under the name Chin'en until scrapped in 1914.

Spanish–American War

The Spanish–American War lasted only ten weeks and was fought in both the Caribbean and the Pacific theaters. American naval power proved decisive, allowing U.S. expeditionary forces to disembark in Spanish controlled Cuba which was already under constant pressure from frequent insurgent attacks. It is the only American war that was prompted by the fate of a single ship, the USS Maine, then berthed in a Cuban harbor, which exploded while its crew lay asleep.

  • Saranac | () | 26 February 1898<br />The bark Saranac—under Captain Bartaby—was captured in the Philippines by the Spanish gunboat Elcano carrying 1,640 short tons (1,490 t) of coal from Newcastle, New South Wales, to Iloilo, for Admiral Dewey's fleet.
  • Elcano | | 1 May 1898<br />The gunboat was captured by US naval forces during the Battle of Manila Bay on 1 May 1898. She was officially turned over to the US Navy on 9 November 1898.
  • Reina Mercedes | | 17 July 1898<br />The scuttled cruiser was captured by US naval forces at Santiago de Cuba. The ship was raised in 1899 and taken into service with the US Navy.

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography