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.
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.
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]
Mercator | Denmark | May 1800 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.[8]
Godfrey | UKGBI | 31 May 1800 English registered schooner commanded by H. Atkinson, captured by a French privateer and recaptured by American sloop of war USS Merrimack.[Note 2]
Flambeau | France | 23 July 1800 A French Letter of marque of 12 guns, captured by USS Enterprise, commanded by Captain John Shaw.[10]
Berceau | France | 12 October 1800 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.[11]
Good Friends | United States | September 1809 An American ship out of Baltimore, commanded by Captain Robert Thompson, captured by the Danes.[12][13]
Helvetius | United States | September 1809 An American ship out of Baltimore, commanded by Captain Ezra Bowen, captured by the Danes.[12][13]
HMSRanger |Royal Navy | 11 June 1794 A brig originally purchased into Royal Navy service in 1787, she was captured by the French shipRailluese. She was then recaptured by HMSIndefatigable 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 HMSGalatea, four days later. She was renamed HMS Venturer due to Ranger having been reused in her absence. Possibly the most captured warship in history.
HMSSwiftsure | Royal Navy | 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.
HMSIncendiary | Royal Navy | 10 February 1801 A 16-gun British sloop and fireship, commanded by Captain Richard Dun, captured by the French Navy at Cape de Gat.[26]
HMSSuccess | Royal Navy | 10 February 1801 A 32-gun fifth-rate frigate launched in 1781, captured by the French and recaptured by the British the same year.[26]
Jeune Amélie |France | 1803 captured by the privateer slaverKitty; 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.
HMS Minerve | Royal Navy | 3 July 1803 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.
Renard | French Navy | 25 November 1803 An 18-gun schooner, captured by the Royal Navy after a chase. Later renamed Crafty, and captured by the Spanish in 1807.
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.[38][39]
Fougueux | French Navy | 21 October 1805 A Téméraire-class74-gunFrenchship 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.[40][41][42]
Redoutable | French Navy | 21 October 1805 A Téméraire-class 74-gun ship of the line. Commanded by Captain Lucas[Note 6]Redoutable is known for her fiercely fought duel with HMSVictory during the Battle of Trafalgar, killing Vice AdmiralHoratio Nelson, incurring the highest losses of the battle. [Note 7] Captured by British, she foundered during the storm the next day and sunk, taking with her all hands.[42][44]
Bucentaure | French Navy | 21 October 1805 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 HMSConqueror, later wrecked in storm of 23 October 1805.[45]
Algésiras | French Navy | 21 October 1805 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 HMSTonnant. Escaped after capture making her way to Cadiz.[46]
Intrépide | (French Navy) | 21 October 1805 A 74-gun third-rate ship of the line, captured at the Battle of Trafalgar and scuttled by British.
Aigle | French Navy | 21 October 1805 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.
Indomptable | French Navy | 21 October 1805 An 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. After engaging the British HMSRevenge, Dreadnought and Thunderer 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.[47]
Berwick | Royal Navy | French Navy | 21 October 1805 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.[48][49]
Swiftsure | Royal Navy | French Navy | 21 October 1805 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.
Rayo | Spanish Navy | 21 October 1805 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 HMSDonegal fresh out of Gibraltar and then was wrecked 26 October 1805 in the storm that followed.[42][50]
Santa Ana[Note 8] | Spanish Navy | 21 October 1805 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 Cadiz.[53]
Neptuno | Spanish Navy | 21 October 1805 An 80-gun Montañes-class ship of the line of the Spanish Navy. Captured at the Battle of Trafalgar, later ran aground and set fire by the British.[54]
Monarca | Spanish Navy | 21 October 1805 A 74-gun ship of the line, commanded by Captain Don Teodoro de Argumosa,[57] present at Battle of Trafalgar. After its capture it was burnt on 26 October 1805.[58][Note 9]
San Ildefonso | Spanish Navy | 21 October 1805 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 HMSDefence and renamed HMS Ildefonso, it was one of the few captured vessels that survived the storm following the battle.[61]
Napoleonic Wars (continued ii)
Duguay-Trouin | French Navy | 4 November 1805 74-gun Téméraire class. Captured by British, renamed HMS Implacable; training ship 1805, scuttled 1949[32]
Mont Blanc | French Navy | 4 November 1805 A French Ship of the line, 74 guns, she was used by the British at the Battle of Trafalgar after her capture at the Battle of Cape Ortegal. Hulked 1811, sold 1819[32]
Brave | French Navy | 6 Feb 1806 74 gun, captured by British, foundered 1806.[32]
Maida | French Navy | 74 (1795) 6 Feb 1806 – ex-French Jupiter, captured by British, sold 1814.[32]
HMS Crafty | Royal Navy | 9 March 1807 A 14-gun schooner, boarded and captured by three Spanish warship north of Tétouan. Formerly a French warship, captured in 1803.
Ann Alexander | US | 1807 A whaler, she was first captured by a Spanish privateer, then by a British warship, then by another Spanish privateer. Brought to Algiers, then released.
HMS Tigress | Royal Navy | 2 August 1808 A 14-gun Archer-class brig launched in 1804. Captured by Danish gunboats in the Great Belt. Operated under the same name by the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy until sold off in 1815.[67]
Santo Domingo | Spanish Navy | Captured by the British in 1809.[70]
Colibri | French Navy | 16 January 1809 A French 16-carronade brig, launched in 1808, commanded by Lieutenant de Vaisseau Deslandes, captured by HMSMelampus. Taken into British service as HMS Colibri, wrecked on 23 August 1813 in Port Royal Sound.[71]
HMS Minx | Royal Navy | 2 September 1809 A 13-gun Archer-class brig launched in 1801. Captured by Danish gunboats off Skagen. Operated under the same name by the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy until sold off in 1811.[67]
HMS Alban | Royal Navy | 12 September 1810 | 11 May 1811 A schooner launched in 1806. Captured by Danish gunboats off Skagen. Operated by the Dano-Norwegian Navy under the same name until recaptured by the British in 1811.[67]
HMS Safeguard | Royal Navy | 29 June 1811 A 13-gun Archer-class brig launched in 1804. Captured by Danish gunboats off Jutland. Operated under the same name by the Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy until sold off in 1813.[67]
Brillant | French Navy | 1814 74-gun ship of the line, captured by the British on slip, renamed Genoa, broken up 1838.
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought between Great Britain and the United States whose young navy made a notable stand at sea against the largest and most formidable navy in the world at the time. The causes of the war were regarded differently between the two countries. The U.S. was appalled at Britain for seizing their ships and impressing American citizens into its navy, while Britain maintained that it had the right to search neutral vessels for property or persons of its foes. 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.[81]
Alexander (brig) | United States | Unknown date A civilian brig. Taken as a prize by the British
Lord Nelson | | 5 June 1812 | 24 December 1815 A schooner commanded by Robert Percy, captured by USS Oneida, commanded by Commodore M.T. Woolsey, while enforcing the Embargo Law.[82]
USSNautilus | United States Navy | 16 July 1812 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 Constitutiononly a month later. Taken into possession for use in the Royal Navy and renamed HMS Emulous.[85][86]
Ulysses | Royal Navy | 20 July 1812 A British brig bound for Halifax from the West Indies captured by American privateer Paul Jones.[87]
Henry | | 26 July 1812 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 Chasseur, commanded by Captain Thomas Boyle. Valued at $150,000-170,00, sent to Baltimore.[88][89]
Hopewell | Great Britain | July 1812 The American privateer Chasseur, 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 Hopewell's men was killed. The ship was sent to Baltimore where the cargo was valued at $150,000,.[88][90]
John | Great Britain | 18 September 1812 A merchant ship, 400 tons, captured on her passage from Demerara to Liverpool by the American privateer Chasseur, commanded by Captain Thomas Boyle. The prize was valued at $150,000-200,000 and sent to Baltimore.[89] One of over thirty other merchant vessels captured by Boyle.
USSCaledonia | United States Navy | 8 October 1812 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.[91]
USSWasp | United States Navy / Royal Navy | 15 October 1812 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.[96][97]
Argo | | 1 November 1812 A British whaler of 10 guns and 26 men, carrying a cargo of oil and whalebone, bound for London was captured by USSCongress 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.[102]
USSPresident (sloop) | United States Navy | 11 September 1814 A 12-gun sloop and the second US Navy ship to carry the name. Captured by British and renamed Icicle.
L'Elize | France | 1821 Above four ships captured together by USS Alligator. All except the La Jeune Eugene escaped while being escorted to Boston. France protests.[142][143]
Teresa | Spain | 9 April 1824 A Spanish brig outfitted as a slaver, captured at Monrovia by El Vincendor, commanded by Captain Cottrell.[144][145]
Correo de Mejico | Mexican Navy | 1 September 1835 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.
Pelican | Mexican Navy | 3 March 1836 A Mexican merchantman captured by Captain W. Brown in the Liberty, later ran aground on a sandbar and was wrecked.
SSMary Anne Cassard | Spain | US | November 1839 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.[146][147]
SSButterfly | US | 23 September 1839 Fitted as a slaver, and captured by a British cruiser on the coast of Africa.[148]
SSCatharine | US | October 1839 Captured on the African coast by a British cruiser, and brought by her to New York.[148]
SSEuphrates | Spain | 1839 With American papers, seized by British cruisers as Spanish property. Before this she had been boarded fifteen times.[148]
SSMy Boy | US | September 1839 Seized by a British cruiser, and condemned at Sierra Leone.[148]
SS Sarah Ann | US | March 1840 Captured with fraudulent papers.[148]
SS Tigris | US | 1840 Captured by British cruisers and sent to Boston for kidnapping.[148]
SS Shakespeare | US | 7 November 1842 Shakespeare, of Baltimore, with 430 slaves, captured by British cruisers.[149]
SS Cyrus | US | 1844 Cyrus, of New Orleans, suspected slaver, captured by the British cruiser Alert.[149]
SS Spitfire | US | 14 May 1845 Spitfire, of New Orleans, captured on the coast of Africa, under American flag and the captain indicted in Boston.[149]
SS Casco | US | 1849 Slaver, with no papers; searched, and captured with 420 slaves, by a British cruiser.[150]
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.
Alerta | Mexican Navy | 10 November 1847 A sloop captured by the chartered Libertad with its crew of eleven in the Gulf of California, about twenty-five miles north of Mulegé.
Christian der achte | Schleswig-Holstein Private ship | 31 March 1848 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.[152]
Von der Tann | Schleswig-Holstein | 1853 A gunboat, surrendered to the Royal Danish Navy after the end of the First Schleswig War. Commissioned into Danish service as Støren
SS Martha | US | Empire of Brazil | 7 June 1850 Martha, of New York, captured by USS Perry when about to embark from southern coast of Africa with 1800 slaves. The captain was admitted to bail, and escaped.[153][154]
SS Lucy Ann | US | 1850 Lucy Ann, of Boston, captured with 547 slaves by the British.[150]
SS Navarre | Country of origin unknown | 1850 Slaver, trading to Brazil, boarded, searched and seized by the commander of H. M. steam-sloop HMS Firefly.[150][156]
SS Glamorgan | US | 1853 Glamorgan, of New York, captured when about to depart with approximately 700 slaves.[150]
SS Grey Eagle | US | 1854 Grey Eagle, of Philadelphia, captured off Cuba by British.[150]
SS William Clark | US | 1857 Ship from New Orleans, seized after prolonged surveillance by HMS Firefly.[157][158]
SS Jupiter | US | 1857 Fitted out at New Orleans, captured by HMS Antelope with 70 slaves aboard.[157][158]
SS Echo | US | Empire of Brazil | 21 August 1858 The Echo was commanded by Captain Edward Townsend and financed by foreign nationals from Brazil and was captured by USS Dolphin off the northern coast of Cuba near the Santaren Channel with 306 slaves.[158][159]
SS Erie | US | 1860 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.[158]
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.[162][163] Rhat extended the war by two years and cost the lives of 400,000 additional Americans.[164][165][166]
USMS Nashville | United States | 13 April 1861 A brig-rigged, side-paddle-wheel passenger steamer originally built as a United States Mail Service ship. Captured 13 April 1861 at Charleston harbor after the fall of Fort Sumter and renamed CSS Nashville.[167]
CSS Calhoun | Confederate States Navy | 23 January 1862 A 508-ton side-wheel steamer and gunboat, built in 1851 at New York City as the civilian steamer Calhoun. Served as a Confederate privateer and used as a blockade runner in May 1861.[171]
Darlington | CSA | 3 March 1862 A Confederate sidewheel steamer, commanded by J.W. Godfrey, captured by USS Pawnee at Cumberland Sound, Florida.[175][176][177]
Bermuda | CSA | 27 April 1862 A large iron-hulled screw steamer of 1,238 tons built in 1861 at Stockton-on-Tees as a blockade runner for transporting military supplies to the Confederacy, commanded by Charles W. Westendorff. Captured by USS Mercedita, commanded by Henry S. Stellwagen.[178][179]
SS Britannia | CSA Private ship | 25 June 1863 An iron-hulled, side-wheel steamer laid down and built in 1862 to run through the Union Navy's blockade. Captured by USS Santiago de Cuba.
SS Emma | CSA Private ship | 24 July 1863 A Baltimore, Maryland-built vessel which was operating out of Nassau, Bahamas, under a Bahamian register, captured by USS Adirondack while trying to evade the Union blockade.
USS Water Witch | United States Navy | 3 June 1864 A wooden-hulled, sidewheel gunboat used in Gulf blockading squadron, captured by CSN gunboat fleet in Ossabaw Sound, 1st Lt. Thomas P. Pelot in command.
CSSAlbemarle | Confederate States Navy | 27 October 1864 A steam-powered ironclad ram of the Confederate Navy (and later the second Albemarle of the United States Navy), commanded by CaptainJames W. Cooke, sunk by spar torpedo, captured, raised, and sold.[205]
Charter Oak | US | 5 November 1864 A schooner and cargo ship out of Boston, commanded by Samuel J. Gilman, used in the American Civil War, captured by CSS Shenandoah, commanded by Captain James Iredell Waddell and burned in 1864.[207]
SS Syren | CSA | 18 February 1865 The Syren [Note 21] was a sidewheel steamer built at Greenwich, Kent, England in 1863 and designed for outrunning and evading the vessels on Union blockade patrol. Owned by the Charleston Importing and Exporting Company, the Syren made her first run on 5 November 1863, running supplies from Nassau to Wilmington. The Syren completed a record 33 runs through the blockade, the most of any blockade runner. Abandoned and set fire the Union Army captured her in Charleston harbor where she had successfully run in through the blockade the night before.[212][213] See also: Wilmington, North Carolina in the American Civil 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.[216]
Neptunus | Germany Private ship | 8 March 1864 A civilian ship, captured by the Danish frigate Jylland off Helsingør.[216]
Eudora | Hamburg Private ship | 2 April 1864 A civilian barque, captured by the Danish corvette Dagmar off Hamburg.[216]
Chincha Islands War
The Chincha Islands War (1864–1866) was a mostly naval conflict between Spain and her former South American colonies Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Bolivia.
Paquete de Maule | Chilean Navy | 6 March 1866 The sidewheel steamer was captured by Spanish frigates. She was burned and destroyed by the Spanish on 10 May 1866.
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 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.
Rimac | Chilean Navy | 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.[217]
Huáscar | Peruvian Navy | 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
Tsao-kiang | Beiyang Navy | 27 July 1894 The gunboat was captured by the Japanese cruiser Akitsushima 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 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 Fukuryū until sold for scrap in 1908.
Jiyuan | Beiyang Navy | 17 February 1895 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 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 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.
Elcano | Spanish Navy | 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 | Spanish Navy | 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.
Butler, James (1816). American bravery displayed, in the capture of fourteen hundred vessels of war and commerce, since the declaration of war by the president. Printed by George Phillips (for the author). ISBN066547881X. OCLC1083487993.
Coggeshall, George (1861). History of the American privateers, and letters-of-marque, during our war with England in the years 1812, '13, and '14. Interspersed with several naval battles between American and British ships-of-war.
Coggeshall, George (1861). History of the American privateers, and letters-of-marque during our war with England in the years 1812, '13 and '14 interspersed with several naval battles between American and British ships of war. G. Coggeshall. ISBN0665443757. OCLC1084236819.
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.
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.[43]
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.
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.[184]
Allen, Gardner Weld (1909). Our naval war with France. Houghton Mifflin & Co., Boston, New York and Chicago, 323 pages. Book
Ammen, Daniel (1883). The Navy in the Civil War. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 282 pages. Book
Brenton, Edward Pelham (1824). The naval history of Great Britain: from the year MDCCLXXXIII to MDCCCXXII. C. Rice, J. F. Dove, London, 536 pages. Book
Bush, Richard (1896). Official records of the Union and Confederate navies in the war of the rebellion. Government Printing Office, Washington; Hon.H.A. Herbert, Secretary of the Navy; Lieut. Richard Bush, USN, Superintendent Naval War records, 252 pages. Book
Canney, Donald L. (1826). Sailing warships of the US Navy. Chatham Publishing / Naval Institute Press, 224 pages. ISBN1-55750-990-5. Book
Clark, James Stainer; M'Arthur, John (1810). The life of Admiral Lord Nelson, K.B., from his lordship's manuscripts. T. Bensley, London, 702 pages. Book1Book2
Clowes, Sir William Laird; Markham, Sir Clements Robert; Mahan, Alfred Thayer; Wilson, Herbert Wrigley; Roosevelt, Theodore; Laughton, Leonard George Carr (1901). The royal navy: a history from the earliest times to the present, Volume 6. Sampson Low, Marston and co., London limited, 592 pages. Book
Coggeshall, George (1856). History of the American privateers, and letters-of-marque: ... G.Coggeshall; C.T.Evans, Agent. New York, 438 pages. Book
Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, Josephus; Marsh, Captain, U.S. Navy, retired, C.C. (1921). Official records of the Union and Confederate navies in the War of the Rebellion. Government Printing Office, United States. Naval War Records Office, United States. Office of Naval Records and Library, 276 pages. ISBN1-58218-556-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Book
Davies, David Tudor (1996). Nelson's navy: English fighting ships, 1793–1815. Stackpole Books, Penn., 201 pages. ISBN9780811711180., Book
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Peterson, Charles Jacobs (1857). The American navy: being an authentic history of the United States navy ... Jas. B. Smith & Co, Philadelphia 545 pages. Book
Phillips, Michael. "Ships of the Old Navy". The Age of Nelson / Michael Phillips. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
Roosevelt, Theodore (1883). The naval war of 1812. G.P. Putnam's sons, New York, 541 pages. Book
Williams, Greg H. (1824). The French assault on American shipping, 1793–1813. McFarland & Company, North Carolina, London, 536 pages. ISBN978-0-7864-3837-2. Book
Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN978-1-86176-246-7.
Wyllie, Arthur (2007). The Confederate States Navy. Lulu.com, 466 pages. ISBN978-0-615-17222-4. Book
Yonge, Charles Duke (1863). The history of the British Navy: from the earliest period to the present time:in two volumes, Volume 2. Richard Bentley, 809 pages. E'book
France | 27 January 1800
Denmark | May 1800
UKGBI | 31 May 1800
United States | September 1809
Royal Moroccan Navy | 26 August 1803
United States Navy) | 31 October 1803 | (
Ottoman Tripolitania Navy) | 16 February 1804 
Royal Navy | 11 June 1794
French Navy | 25 August 1800
Royal Navy | 10 February 1801
Royal Danish Navy | 2 April 1801
Spanish Navy (Franco-Spanish fleet) | 6–12 July 1801.svg){kind=small}
British East India Company | 15 September 1804
Spanish Navy | 25 November 1804
US | 1807
United States | Unknown date
Mexico | 17 January 1817
Venezuela | 1819
Confederation | 4 August 1836
Mexican Navy | 1 September 1835
| 17 April 1837
US | 1849
Schleswig-Holstein Private ship | 31 March 1848
Empire of Brazil | 7 June 1850
US | 1853
US | 
US | 1860
United States Private ship| 6 July 1861 | 
Confederate States Navy | 20 July 1861
CSA | 3 March 1862
Confederate States Navy | 6 June 1862
United States Navy | 3 June 1864
CSA | 18 February 1865
Chilean Navy | 6 March 1866
United States) | 30 October 1873
Peruvian Navy | 8 October 1879.svg){kind=small}
Beiyang Navy | 27 July 1894
