Peacock.

This is coolbert:

As originally from Harry and the Sharkhunters web site http://www.sharkhunters.com:

On this date in 1944:

"Today, the 4th of June, marks the 68th anniversary of the capture of U-505 off the African coast.  This was the first time since the War of 1812 that the U.S. Navy captured an enemy Man-O-War on the high seas"

That capture of the German submarine U-505 an event now a thing of legend. The vessel nearly sunk, floated and towed as a prize of war, unheard of in modern warfare.

"We Captured a Submarine..."

"American sailors had not captured an enemy vessel on the high seas since the war of 1812. The last time the US Navy had boarded and captured a foreign enemy Man-Of-War in battle on the high seas had been back in 1815 when the U.S. Sloop PEACOCK, boarded and captured H.M.S. (His Majesty’s Ship) BRIG NAUTILUS in the Strait of Sunda, East Indies."

The last occasion an American warship capturing an enemy man-o-war on the high seas in 1815, with a most interesting twist. From the wiki this most interesting item:

"Peacock departed New York 23 January 1815 . . .  and rounded the Cape of Good Hope into the Indian Ocean, where she captured three valuable prizes. On 30 June, she captured the 16-gun brig Nautilus . . .  in the Straits of Sunda, in the final naval action of the war. Boyce informed Warrington that the war had ended. Warrington suspected a ruse and ordered Boyce to surrender. When Boyce refused, Warrington opened fire, killing and wounding 15 men aboard Nautilus. When Boyce provided documents proving that the Treaty of Ghent, ending the war, had been ratified, Warrington released the prize . . .  A court of inquiry in Boston a year later, of course exonerated Warrington of all blame."

The last naval action [?] of the war and the capture accomplished when hostilities had ceased, the WAR HAD ENDED WITH A NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT, THIS NOT KNOWN TO THE COMMANDER OF THE PEACOCK!!

Comments:


* Please recall the land Battle of New Orleans [1815] also occurring under similar circumstances, the war having already ended. 2,000 of the finest English soldiers sacrificed for no gain!

 * During the American Civil War NO Confederate naval warships were captured on the highs seas by a vessel of the US Navy? Some devoted reader to the blog knows the answer to this?

 * British warship [Nautilus] captured by American warship [Peacock] in the Sunda Strait, Dutch East Indies! So far from home! American naval power has had global reach for over two hundred years and continues to do so.

 * That sloop Peacock continuing to perform yeoman service even in those years in the aftermath of 1815. Patrolling and engaging pirates in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Sounds just like today, doesn't it?

 coolbert.