The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1884-01-11
BIZ HON. WILLIAM eoo1n.


| miral Warren's feet late in 1912, whose
name was W. B. Dobson, sailed from
New York in command of another pri-
| vate armed schooner called the Young
Teazer. The number of her guns or
the number of her crew are not mentioned in
her log book, which is in the Portland Custom
House. By law all private armed vessels were
obliged to make oath to she truth Of the Jour-
nal OF each cruise, and to deposit it In the
Custom House where the cruise ended. The
rig of the schooner is not easily made out from
the journal, yet think she carried standing
| topssil, as there is mention of "takipg in the
lower studding SAIL" Neither is her tonnage
mentioned; but the want of these facts are
not important. 1t is her capture of the enc
mys' vessels, and her final fate that il now
interesting.
The Young Teszer left New York for a
cruise to the eastward on the 10th of May,
1918. May 10, after chase of five hours,
"came up with a large black schooner with two
topsails. and sloop in company, apparently
an American; commenced action with the
schooner, and expended twenty-one IL pound,
and fifteen pound shot; found she was man
of-wsr, and knowing that the government
would not pay us for our capture, would not
try to board her. The schooner kept her
course; We supposed her damaged as we saw
several shot strike her.
Saturday, May %. Saw a sail to windward,
made sail in chase-at 6 o'clock p. m. fred
three fiuns and brought her to. She was the
schooner Greyhound of Liverpool, Nova Sco-
tia-msnned her and ordered her in"
NGap,o Go sail 1.
made all sail for her; came up with her, she
laying to for us. After exchanging two broad
sides she struck. The prize proved to be the
ship Invincible Napoleon, mounting 16 guns,
with crew of 100 men; formerly French
privateer, captured by q. B. M. brig -of-weyr
Native; re-captured by the American priya-
teer Alice, and again captu9.ed by 81. B. M.
frigate Tenedos Manned the prize and Or
dered her to Portland" Capt. Cogshall calls
this snip Corvette" From Portland ga
r,er find that all three of these vessels arrived
here safe, and were sold for the benefit of the
owners, officers and crew of the privateer.
Two OF them were valuable prizes, being large
vessels and coppered.
The following is an extract from the Port
land Gazette of May 81, 1913.
| AIrtFcu VIC Ef6DCu pTlFate6r snip lDvlnei-
| Bile Napoleon, prize to the Young Teazer,
| The Insincible Napoleon mounts sixteen guns
| and is the same ship which on the Sd of April
last captured the American brig Two Brothers
| OF New York, and rAnsomed her for SIS 600
On the 9Th of april she also captured the
| American ship Mount Hope, Capt. McCobb of
| Georgetown, Me-, from Charleston, for Cadiz
| with cargo of rice, and ordered her to France.
| Shortly after the Invincible Napoleon captured
| the above named American vessels. she was
! harHnlf nv I'm lsch \
to an English port. On her passage thither
| she was fallen In with and recaptured by the
| privatesr ship Alexander, Capt. Crownin-
shield OF Salem, who ordered her to an Ameri-
| can port She was chased into Cane Ann hv
! the Shannon and Tenedos, English frigates.
| who went in with their launches and cut her
| ost, and again ordered her for an English
port. She was shortly after fallen in with and
| captured by the Young Teazer.
| On the 18th of june Marshall Thornton al
vertsed for sale at auction at Long Wharf.
Portland, as prizes to the Young Teazer "the
ship Invincible Napoleon, burthen about $40
tons, coppered to light water mark, with her
armament consisting of twelve IS pound car
ronades, two long Founders and two long
Founders" Also at the same time the brig
Ann, of 200 tons, coppered to the bends-one
pair Of 9pounder5 and one pair of FOUNDERS
Also the schooner Greyhound, with cargo of
dry fish and lumber.
May oath the Young Teazer engaged and
captured latter 8 short action, II. B. M. brig
Ann, packet of Falmouth, having been cap
tured by the privateer Yorktown, and recap
tured by the British ship of the line dialogue.
May 26th the Young Teszer was chased by
frigate off the Seal Islands, and escaped BY
her superior sailing, and arrived in Portland
harbor on the first of June.
After short time spent in port in reftting,
the Young Teazer again sailed from Portland
under the commend of Capt Dobson, on a Sec
ond cruise, and the first report OF her wherea.
bouts after sailing was report of her destruc-
ton by the explosion of her magazine. I have
gathered the following particulars of that ca
tastrophe. 1t is mentioned in Halliburton a.
history of Nova Scotia but no particulars are
given.
from Boston Paper.l
"PRIvATEER YOUNG TEAzER.
"The following are the particulars of the blow
ing m of the privateer Young Teazer, SO far as
We have learned from boy who,was on board
at the time, and was saved by being on the
forecastle, and who arrived at Boston in the
Agnes from Halifax;
"Oa TIE morning OF the day the explosion took
place, they were at the mouth OF small bav,
little to the westward of Halifax. The ''74'
heaving in sight she stood In, in order to 90
through passage near a small island in bay
that led out to sea. When within a short dis
tauce of it, and the barges of the "74" drawing
near Capt. Dobson ordered Lieut.. johnson to
see that the large gun well loaded. Lieut..
johnson being somewhat infuriated at seeing
the barges SO near, loaded it he saw fit, fill
ing it full of grape and other shot. Capt. Dob
son en- learning it, reprlmapded him for his |
conduct. Lieut.. johnson then having his pis- |
tol by his side) went below, and few minutes |
after she was blown up
s'There were on board v hon she was blown up |
81 in all, 20 of whom were destroyed. Lieut.. |
Johnsons conduct on previous occasions, both |
on board American and French privateers, |
warrants the suspicion that he was the cause of |
the explosion"
OF the 20 persons who lost their lives BY the |
explosion, the carpenter Mr.. Gunnison and |
Mr. Carlow prize master were both of Port
land.