Wasp was a British ship. It launched at Hull in 1809. She traded as a West Indiaman and in 1812 she was lengthened, which increased her burthen to 319 tons. This does not appear in the issues of Lloyd's Register that are the basis for the table below, but does appear in a different volume of a Register of Shipping.Register of Shipping (1820). After the commencement of the War of 1812 she sailed under a letter of marque that too recorded her burthen as 319 tons.
Letter of marque: Edward Archer Letter of marque: John Crabtree
Wasp and Crabtree arrived at St Thomas on 10 January 1814. Crabtree reported that the day before he had encountered an American privateer west of Saba but that it had sailed away when he gave chase, fearing that Wasp was a warship. On 11 January, the British merchantman Hibernia, of 22 men and six guns, Lennon, master, too encountered the privateer. The privateer was , of 14 guns and 125 men, Boyle, master. After an intense 9-hour single-ship action that left one man killed on Hibernia, and 11 wounded, Hibernia succeeded in driving Comet off. Comet had three men killed and eight men wounded.Naval Chronicle, Vol. 31, p.192.
On 12 October 1817, Wasp, John Ware, master, and Thomas Staniforth and Thomas Blunt, owners, received a license at Gibraltar from the British East India Company. The license authorized Wasp to trade with India. Then on 29 December 1818 they received a license again, but this time at Malta. Each license only cost £5. Wasp left Calcutta on 5 April 1818, bound for Gibraltar and Malta.Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India (November 1818), p.535.
In 1820, Wasp changed owners and thereafter made one voyage as a whaler.British Southern Whale Fishery Database – voyages: Wasp. The outcome and duration are currently obscure. Wasp is no longer listed after 1827.
The data in the table below are from Lloyd's Register. The information is only as accurate as owners bothered to keep it updated.
Year Master Owner Trade Notes1809J.ShepherdStaniforthHull-London12 × 12-pounder carronades1810GriesonStaniforthLondon-Haiti12 × 12-pounder carronades1811GriesonE.ArcherStaniforthLondon-HaitiLondon Santo Domingo12 × 12-pounder carronades1812 E. ArcherStaniforthLondon-Santo DomingoLondon-Malta12 × 12-pounder carronades1813E. ArcherCrabtreeStaniforthLondon12 × 12-pounder carronades1814CrabtreeDalzielStaniforthLondonLondon-Jamaica12 × 12-pounder guns of the new construction1815DalzeilJ. WareStaniforthLondon-Jamaica12 × 12-pounder guns of the new construction1816J. WareStaniforthPlymouth-West Indies1818J. WareStaniforthLondon1819J. WareStaniforthLondon1820J. WareHarrisStaniforthBirnieLondon-South Seas Fishery1821E. HarrisBirnie (or Burnie)London-South Seas Fishery1822HarrisBirnieLondon-South Seas Fishery1823HarrisBirnieLondon-South Seas Fishery1824HarrisBirnieLondon-South Seas Fishery1825HarrisBirnieLondon-South Seas Fishery1826HarrisBirnieLondon-South Seas Fishery1827HarrisBirnieLondon-South Seas Fishery
Citations