Paragon (1813 ship)

For other ships with the same name, see Paragon (ship).

Paragon was launched at Medford, Massachusetts in 1813. She was commissioned (acquired her letter of marque), and then captured later that year.

History
United States
Name	Paragon
Owner	John Peters[1]
Builder	C.Turner, Medford, Massachusetts[1]
Launched	1813
Commissioned	6 July 1813[2]
Captured	1813
General characteristics
Tons burthen	157[3] (bm)
Sail plan	Schooner
Complement	20 (at capture)
Armament	2 × 12-pounder + 2 × 9-pounder guns (at capture)

Capture: On 14 August 1813, HMS Nymphe's yawl (armed with a carronade), and supported by HMS Curlew's boats, chased a schooner for eight hours off Cape Cod, in little wind, before they captured her. The schooner was the letter-of-marque Paragon, of 157 tons burthen, 20 men, and pierced for 16 guns but carrying four, two 12-pounders and two 9-pounders.^[4]

Paragon was under the command of Captain Warren Weston.^[3][1][2] She had been sailing from Charlestown to Boston when she was captured. Her cargo consisted of 178 bales of cotton, and 146 barrels and 34 half-barrels of rice. Her captors sent Paragon to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the Vice admiralty court there condemned her in prize.^[5]

Citations

1. Gleason (1929), p. 14.
2. Kert (2015).
3. Emmons (1853), p. 188.
4. "No. 16799". The London Gazette. 6 November 1813. p. 2167.
5. Vice-Admiralty Court (1911), p. 145.

References

• Emmons, George Foster (1853). The navy of the United States, from the commencement, 1775 to 1853; with a brief history of each vessel's service and fate ... Comp. by Lieut. George F. Emmons ... under the authority of the Navy Dept. To which is added a list of private armed vessels, fitted out under the American flag ... also a list of the revenue and coast survey vessels, and principal ocean steamers, belonging to citizens of the United States in 1850. Washington: Gideon & Co.
• Gleason, Hall (1929). "Old ships and ship building days of Medford". Medford Historical Register. 32 (1): 10–16.
• Kert, Faye M. (2015). Privateering: Patriots and Profits in the War of 1812. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 72. ISBN 9781421417479.
• Vice-Admiralty Court, Halifax (1911). American vessels captured by the British during the revolution and war of 1812. Salem, Mass.: Essex Institute.

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