HMS Wasp 22

H.M.S. Wasp:
Rating: Sloop-of-War

Class: Snow

Date of Commission: May 26, 1817

Guns: 16

Crew: 132

Status: On the Barcos Station.

History:
At the end of the latest great Caribbean War in March 1817 the Royal Navy was horribly downsized, causing the decommissioning, scuttling and drydocking of several warships. Among these ships was the small and battered frigate H.M.S Greyhound, effectively putting her captain, Lord Nathaniel Blatchford, on shore. This happened at a terrible time for Lord Blatchford, as he had recently been elevated to the grand dignity and title of Earl of Stafford and had been bullied by his wife to buy Tamsworth Castle to reflect his new status. Spending all of his hard-earned prize money on the subsequent expenditures, Lord Blatchford found himself shipless and penniless as hostilities in the Caribbean flared up once again in May. The Admiralty now had plenty of captains wanting a ship, but not nearly enough ships to give away. Desperate for a command, any command, with which he could restore his fortune, Lord Blatchford accepted the captaincy of an old, tub-like Sloop-of-War which somehow had survived the recent downsizing.

The H.M.S. Wasp may not be the toughest warship afloat, with her brittle fir planks and her measly sixteen long 4-pounders, but she makes up for it in stiffness, handling and speed. Fairly fast, and armed with chasers both forward and aft, she is very well suited for commerce raiding. In an attempt to recreate his successes from his previous commands, the Greyhound and Banterer, Lord Blatchford used every nook and cranny to cram extra hammocks for 12 men and a full complement of marines in her, and spent several hours every day practicing smallarms, boarding combat, and the accurate firing of her guns at long ranges. These preparations would pay off when the Wasp met her first Spanish merchantman off Las Tortugas, Lord Blatchford's old cruising grounds, on June 17. More prizes followed, most notably the capture of two Spanish Trader Brigs off Corrientes on June 29 which was carrying a cargo worth nearly 200.000 gold coins. This saved Lord Blatchford's finances back in England, and made her crew a happy set of men, wanting nothing else than to ply up and down the Cuban coast. On July 5, the Wasp got her chance to prove that she was also capable of hard fighting when she met a Spanish 20-gun Mercury brig convoying a merchantman off Barcos. After taking and scuttling the merchantman, the Wasp engaged the Spanish Mercury in an hour-long action which resulted in the Wasp boarding and carrying the enemy.

British Captains:
1817-present: Captain the Lord Stafford

Excerpts from the Logbook (Player Versus Player):

 * June 1817


 * July 1817


 * August 1817