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.Roosevelt, 1883 pp.xxxvi, 165, 350, etc.Yonge, 1863 pp.239, 269, 288, 295, etc.
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.Eastman, 2004 pp.1–7 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.Williams, 2009 Introduction 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.Williams, 2009 p.29
Deux Anges | | 27 January 1800A 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.Leiner, Frederick C., "Anatomy of a Prize Case: Dollars, Side-Deals, and Les Deux Anges", American Journal of Legal History, vol.39, pp.215–234.U.S. Navy, DANFS, USS Boston prgh.4 Mercator | | May 1800A 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.Allen, 1909, p.148 Godfrey | | 31 May 1800English registered schooner commanded by H. Atkinson, captured by a French privateer and recaptured by American sloop of war USS Merrimack. Flambeau | | 23 July 1800A French Letter of marque of 12 guns, captured by USS Enterprise, commanded by Captain John Shaw.Allen, 1938 p.201 Berceau | | 12 October 1800A 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.Canney, 2001 p.55 Good Friends | | September 1809An American ship out of Baltimore, commanded by Captain Robert Thompson, captured by the Danes.The Green Mountain Patriot, Peacham, VT, 16 Sep 1809John Bach McMaster, The Life and Times of Stephen Girard, mariner and merchant, pp. 47, 85–91. Helvetius | | September 1809An 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.Allen, 1905, pp.1–13 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.Harris, 1837 pp.63–64, 251Guttridge, 2005 pp.257–260 Meshboha | | 26 August 1803A brig cruiser belonging to the Emperor of Morocco. Captured by , commanded by William Bainbridge.Peterson, 1857 p.314 | () | 31 October 1803 | ( Ottoman Tripolitania Navy) | 16 February 1804 A frigate that ran aground in the Mediterranean leaving it at the mercy of the Barbary corsairs of Tripoli.Tucker, 2004 p.39 She was recaptured and burned in Tripoli harbor three and a half months later by Lieutenant Stephen Decatur.MacKenzie, 1846 pp.66–67, 75–77 Mastico | ( Ottoman Tripolitania Navy) | 23 December 1803A ketch built in France in 1798 for Napoleon's Egyptian expedition, later sold to Tripoli and renamed Mastico. Captured by USS Enterprise and USS Constitution under the commands of Stephen Decatur and William Bainbridge respectively. Renamed USS Intrepid, was one of several vessels under the command of Stephen Decatur which recaptured and destroyed the 16 February 1804.MacKenzie, 1846 p.65Lewis, 1937 p.32Allen, 1905, p.160 Transfer | ( Ottoman Tripolitania Navy) | 21 March 1804Former British privateer, Transfer out of Malta, later sold to Tripoli and used in blockade running during the Barbary Wars. Captured off Tripoli, by Syren commanded by Lieutenant Charles Stewart. She was renamed the USS Scourge.Cooper, 1856 p.187
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 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 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 1800A 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 of the Royal Navy, commanded by Captain David Milne. Renamed HMS Vengeance.James, 1920 p.32 | | 10 February 1801 A 16-gun British sloop and fireship, commanded by Captain Richard Dun, captured by the French Navy at Cape de Gat.Brenton, 1824 p.82 | | 10 February 1801A 32-gun fifth-rate frigate launched in 1781, captured by the French and recaptured by the British the same year. | | 10 February 1801Captured 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.Clark-M'Arthur, 1810 pp.602–610Southey, 1896 pp.243–244
HDMS Holsteen | | 2 April 1801A 60-gun ship of the line in the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy. She was commissioned in 1775, captured at the Battle of Copenhagen. HDMS Indfødsretten | | 2 April 1801Captured, burnt HDMS Prøvesteenen | | 2 April 1801Abandoned, captured, burnt HDMS Valkyrien | | 2 April 1801Abandoned, captured, burnt HDMS Rendsborg | | 2 April 1801Driven ashore, captured, burnt HDMS Jylland | | 2 April 1801Captured and burnt HDMS Sværdfisken | | 2 April 1801captured and burnt HDMS Kronborg | | 2 April 1801Captured and burnt HDMS Haien | | 2 April 1801Captured and burnt HDMS Charlotte Amalie | | 2 April 1801Captured and burnt HDMS Søehesten | | 2 April 1801Captured and burnt See also List of Danish sail frigates and List of ships of the line of Denmark
Napoleonic Wars (continued i)
| | 6 July 1801A 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the British Royal Navy, launched on 15 April 1786,Lavery, 1983, p.180 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 1801Captured 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 1803A 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.Brenton, 1824 p.208Phillips Ambuscade page article | | 25 June 1803A Serpente-class corvette bearing 18 guns. Captured by , off the Azores. | | 25 June 1803A bearing 20 guns. Captured by , commanded by Captain James Wallis in the Bay of Biscay. HMS Minerve | | 3 July 1803A 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 1803A 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.Lavery, 1983 p.189Brenton, 1824 pp.281 | | 25 November 1803An 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 1804A 24-gun East Indiaman, captured by the French Navy in the Battle of Vizagapatam. | | 25 November 1804A 42-gun Spanish frigate, captured by the Royal Navy in the action of 25 November 1804 off Cádiz. | | 1805An 80-gun ship of the line, broken up in 1816. | | 18 February 1805A 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.Roosevelt, 1883 p.117 | | 25 September 1805An 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.Yonge, 1863 pp.211–213James & Chamier, 1859 p.413
Battle of Trafalgar