HMS Loyalist (1779) explained

-- age of sail --> Ship Country: Great Britain Ship Name: HMS Loyalist Ship Owner: Royal Navy Ship Acquired: 1779 Ship Captured: 30 August 1781 by France Hide Header: title Ship Country: France Ship Name: Loyaliste Ship Owner: French Navy Ship Acquired: 30 August 1781 Ship Commissioned: September 1781 Ship Fate: Donated to United States, November 1781 Hide Header: title Ship Country: United States Ship Name: Loyaliste Ship Acquired: November 1781 Ship Class: Sloop Ship Tons Burthen: 360 (bm) Ship Armament: 14 guns and 8 swivel guns

HMS Loyalist was the 14-gun sloop Restoration, which the Royal Navy purchased in North America in 1779. In May 1781 her captain was Morgan Laugharne.^[1] Prior to being acquired by the Royal Navy, the ship belonged to the Connecticut State Navy as the Oliver Cromwell.^[2]

In 1780 Admiral Arbuthnot placed John Plumer Ardesoife in command of Loyalist. He immediately proceeded to terrorize the inhabitants of the Sea Islands, arousing opposition to the British.^[3] Around this time Loyalist took the sloop George, of 25 tons burthen, William Stein master. George was condemned at the vice admiralty court in Savannah on 23 August 1780. While under Ardesoife's command Loyalist also took some prizes at George Town.

She was under the command of Captain Richard Williams when the French captured her in the Chesapeake on 30 August 1781. According to French sources, Loyalist and the frigate were on picket duty when they encountered the French fleet under Admiral de Grasse. Guadeloupe escaped up the York River to York Town, where her crew would later scuttle her. The English court martial records report that Loyalist was returning to the British fleet off the Jersey coast when she encountered the main French fleet. The, with the 74-gun in sight, was able to overtake Loyalist.

The French took her into service as Loyaliste in September. On 15 September she arrived at Yorktown, De Grasse having detached her to escort in some grenadiers and chasseurs.^[4] Her commander, briefly, was lieutenant de vaisseau Pascal Melchior Philibert de Barras-Saint-Laurent, son of Admiral de Barras.

Shortly thereafter, in November, the French gave her to the Americans. In her brief French service she is described as carrying 22 guns, probably 14 guns plus eight swivel guns.

References

• • Book: Demerliac, Alain . La marine de Louis XVI : nomenclature des navires français de 1774 à 1792 . Omega . 1996 . 1254967392 . fr .
• Gallatin, Gaspard Gabriel (1931) Journal of the siege of York-town: unpublished journal of the siege of York-town in 1781 operated by the General staff of the French army. (Washington:United States Government Printing Office).
• Book: Hepper, David J.. 1994. British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. Jean Boudriot. Rotherfield. 0-948864-30-3.
• Olsberg . R.Nicholas . 1973 . Ship Registers in the South Carolina Archives 1734-1780 . South Carolina Historical Magazine . 74. 4 . 189–299 . 27567207 .

Notes and References

1. Web site: NMM, vessel ID 370602. Warship Histories, vol ii. National Maritime Museum. https://web.archive.org/web/20130927114728/http://www.rmg.co.uk/upload/pdf/Warship_Histories_Vessels_ii.pdf. 27 September 2013. 7 April 2018.
2. Web site: Oliver Cromwell Connecticut Navy Ship . American War of Independence at Sea . December 30, 2023.
3. Jenkinson (2006), p.71.
4. Gallatin (1931), p.47.