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.[1][2]

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.[3] 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 ["Note" 1]
  • 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.[4] 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.[5]

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.[13] Refusing to pay tribute President Thomas Jefferson sent a fleet of ships to the Mediterranean shores of North Africa to deal with the constant threats to U.S. and other ships.[14][15]

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.

  • HMS Ranger | | 11 June 1794
    A brig originally purchased into Royal Navy service in 1787, she was captured by the French frigate Railleuse. She was then recaptured by HMS Indefatigable 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 HMS Galatea, four days later. She was renamed HMS Venturer due to Ranger having been reused in her absence. Possibly the most captured warship in history.
  • HMS Swiftsure | | 24 June 1800
    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.
  • HMS Vengeance | | 25 August 1800
    A Résistance-class frigate of 40 guns, commanded by Capitain de Vaisseau Citizen F. M. Pitot, attacked and captured in the Mona Passage during the French Revolutionary Wars by HMS Seine of the Royal Navy, commanded by Captain David Milne. Renamed HMS Vengeance.[23][24]
  • HMS Incendiary | | 10 February 1801
    A 16-gun British sloop and fireship, commanded by Captain Richard Dun, captured by the French Navy at Cape de Gat.[25]
  • HMS Success | | 10 February 1801
    A 32-gun fifth-rate frigate launched in 1781, captured by the French and recaptured by the British the same year.[25]
  • HMS Sprightly | | 10 February 1801
    Captured by the French Navy.[25]

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.[26][27]

Napoleonic Wars (continued i)

Battle of Trafalgar

See also: Order of battle at the 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.[37][38]

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.[77]

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

War of the Confederation

Texas Revolution

See also: First Texas Navy

1839

1840–1849

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.[145]

1850–1859

1860–1869

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.[155][156] That extended the war by two years and cost the lives of 400,000 additional Americans.[157][158][159]

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.[209]

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 | (United States) | 30 October 1873
    The blockade runner, carrying 103 Cuban soldiers, was captured by the Spanish corvette Spanish corvette Tornado. 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
    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.[210]
  • Huáscar | | 8 October 1879
    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
    captured by Chilean Blanco Encalada.
  • Alay | | 22 December 1879
    captured by Chilean transporter Amazonas between Panama and El Callao.[211]

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.

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 | (United States) | 26 February 1898
    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.[citation needed]
  • Elcano | | 1 May 1898
    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
    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

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  1. ^ 1800 is usually considered part of the 18th century; ships captured that year which are listed here have histories and surrounding histories that extend into the 19th century and are included in this list for continuity and context.
  2. ^ Not to be confused with USS Merrimack (1855) commanded by Moses Brown.[212]
  3. ^ Some sources spell it as L'Ambuscade[29]
  4. ^ HMS Victory was Admiral Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar
  5. ^ Not to be confused with James Wallace (Royal Navy officer) who died in 1803.
  6. ^ After his release from capture Captain Lucas was personally awarded the 'Gold Cross of the Legion of Honor' by Napoleon for his courageous effort during the battle.[213]
  7. ^ Redoutable lost more than 80% of her crew: 300 killed, 222 wounded.
  8. ^ Some sources spell name as Santa Anna[214][215]
  9. ^ Accounts vary: 'J.Thiers' claims Monacra was smashed to pieces on the rocks during the storm that followed the battle.[54]
  10. ^ Ship was renamed several times: Viala, Voltaire, Constitution, Jupiter
  11. ^ Néréide was captured three different times: first capture by British on 20 December 1797; second capture by French on 23 August 1810; third capture by British 3 December 1810.
  12. ^ Not to be confused with USS Frolic (1813) or USS Frolic (1862)
  13. ^ Mortally wounded and died seven days after the battle.
  14. ^ Not to be confused with a second Pictou brought into the Royal Navy at Halifax after its capture as the French Bonne Foi on 30 July 1814.[216]
  15. ^ Epervier captured a number of ships before her capture: American privateers, Portsmouth Packet, Alfred, Lively, Active[217]
  16. ^ Peterson (1857) claims 'Captain Manners' was in command at time of capture.[118]
  17. ^ Some sources spell the name as 'Siren' .[218]
  18. ^ Many (most?) sources spell the name as Merrimac without the 'k'.
  19. ^ Accounts of capturing ship differ: The Naval History Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations claim it was USS Mount Vernon and USS Mystic that captured the Napier.[219]
  20. ^ John Rodgers was the grandson of the famous Commodore John Rodgers born in 1772.
  21. ^ also spelled as Siren