HMS Harlequin

Five vessels of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Harlequin.

• Harlequin was a schooner of 14 guns, purchased in 1796 and still listed in 1802.
• Harlequin was a Cruizer-class brig-sloop of 18 guns, launched in 1813 and sold in Jamaica in 1829.
• Harlequin was an American gunboat captured at the Battle of Lake Borgne on 14 December 1814.^[1] Lieutenant James Hunter, who had been wounded at the battle, was appointed to command her with a commission dated 27 February 1815, and she was paid off in June 1815.^[2] The Admiralty formally purchased her in 1815 in the West Indies and she was still listed as a tender in Bermuda in 1816.^[3] Prize money for her and the other vessels captured at the battle was paid in July 1821.^[4]
• Harlequin was a brig-sloop of 16 guns launched in 1836, converted to a coal hulk in 1860 and sold in 1889.
• HMS Harlequin was a wood screw sloop of 950 tons burthen (bm), laid down at Portsmouth Dockyard on 13 February 1861 and cancelled on 16 February 1864.

The Royal Navy also employed a hired armed ship Harlequin in 1804; she was wrecked on 7 December 1809.

Citations

1. Paullin and Paxson (1914), p.436.
2. O'Byrne (1849), pp.555-556.
3. Colledge (2010), p.176.
4. The London Gazette: no. 17730. p. 1561. 28 July 1821.

References

• Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8. OCLC 67375475.
• O'Byrne, William R. (1849) A Naval Biographical Dictionary: comprising the life and services of every living officer in Her Majesty's navy, from the rank of admiral of the fleet to that of lieutenant, inclusive. (London: J. Murray), vol. 1.
• Paullin, Charles Oscar and Frederic Logan Paxson (1914) Guide to the materials in London archives for the history of the United States since 1783. (Carnegie Institution of Washington).