Шхуна "Наутилус": История службы и участие в войнах

Nautilus was a schooner launched in 1799. The United States Navy purchased her in May 1803 and commissioned her USS Nautilus; she thus became the first ship to bear that name. She served in the First Barbary War. She was altered to a brigantine. The British captured Nautilus early in the War of 1812 and renamed her HMS Emulous. After her service with the Royal Navy, the Admiralty sold her in 1817.

Henry Spencer built Nautilus on 1799 as a merchant vessel on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The Navy purchased her at Baltimore, Maryland, from Thomas Tennant. She was commissioned on 24 June 1803, under Lieutenant Richard Somers.

Nautilus sailed to Hampton Roads, whence she got underway on 30 June for the Mediterranean, carrying dispatches for the U. S. Mediterranean Squadron stationed there assigned to protect the interests of the United States and its citizens residing or trading in that area, and threatened at that time by the Barbary States. Nautilus arrived at Gibraltar on 27 July and departed again on the 31st to deliver dispatches to Captain John Rodgers in John Adams, then returned to Gibraltar to await the arrival of Commodore Edward Preble, in Constitution, and join his squadron. Constitution arrived at Gibraltar on 12 September, and after provisioning, the squadron, less Philadelphia, sailed 6 October with vessels of Capt. Rodgers's squadron to Tangier. This display of naval strength induced the Emperor of Morocco to renew the treaty of 1786. On 31 October 1803, the Tripolitans captured Philadelphia and the squadron's interests came to focus on Tripoli and Tunis. Using Syracuse as their rendezvous point, the vessels appeared off Tunis and Tripoli at different times between November 1803 and May 1804. In February 1804, while Lieutenant Stephen Decatur daringly sailed Intrepid into Tripoli harbor and burned the captured Philadelphia, Nautilus cruised off Tunis. Toward the end of the month Nautilus retired to Syracuse, returning to Tripoli in mid March. During May and June she repaired at Messina. Departing 5 July, she joined Constitution off Tripoli on 25 July. During August and early September, she took part in the siege of Tripoli and saw action in five general attacks between 3 August and 3 September. For the next five months, she continued to cruise off Tripoli and Tunis, retiring periodically to Syracuse and Malta, whence in February 1805, she sailed to Livorno to acquire a new mainmast. On 27 April 1805, she arrived off Derna to participate in the attack, capture, and occupation of that town. She remained until 17 May, during which time she provided cover for the forces of Hamet Caramanli, former Bashaw of Tripoli, as they went into action against the army of Hamet's brother Yusuf ibn Ali Karamanli, who had overthrown Hamet and assumed his title. Departing on the 17th, Nautilus retired to Malta with dispatches and casualties. At the end of the month, she returned to Tripoli and on 10 June hostilities ceased with the signing of a peace treaty. Nautilus remained in the Mediterranean for a year after the treaty went into effect, conducting operations from Malta and Gibraltar. In the spring of 1806 she was assigned to Algiers for dispatch duty, sailing in June for the United States.

Arriving at Washington, D. C., in mid July, Nautilus entered the Washington Navy Yard there and was placed in ordinary. Reactivated in 1808, she was employed on the East Coast until entering the Navy Yard again in 1810. The Navy then altered her to a brig, giving her a battery of twelve 18 pounder (8 kg) carronades. The Navy recommissioned Nautilus in 1811 and she joined Stephen Decatur's squadron.

After the War of 1812 with Britain broke out on 18 June 1812, Nautilus gained the dubious distinction of being the first vessel lost on either side. A squadron built around the Third Rate (64 guns) and the two Fifth Rate frigates, (38 guns) and (32 guns), captured her off northern New Jersey. Nautilus was 24 hours out on a cruise from New York when Shannon and Aeolus captured her on 17 July. At the time of her capture she mounted 16 guns, had crew of 106 men and was under the command of Lieutenant William M. Crane.

On 22 July 1814, Godfrey removed to Commander John Gore then took command on 23 July 1814 and remained until 3 February 1815. On 13 June 1815 Lieutenant John Undrell was promoted to the rank of Commander. He took command of Emulous, still on the Jamaica station. His replacement was the newly promoted Commander Thomas Wrenn Carter, who removed to in April 1816. Her last commander was Lieutenant Caleb Jackson (acting). He sailed Emulous to Deptford and paid her off there on 19 June 1816; she was then laid up there. The Admiralty sold her for £900 in August 1817. Emulous may have become the mercantile Nautilus, a snow of 230 tons (bm), and built in America. Nautilus, D. Coff, master, Tofl, owner, and trade Cowes St Thomas.