HMS Epervier vs USS Peacock
The Americans put a prize crew into HMS Epervier and they had the ship ready to go again within an hour. After a brief encounter with a pair of British frigates which they successfully evaded, both vessels arrived in Savannah, Georgia a few days later. The vessel was repaired there and was commissioned into the US Navy as the USS Epervier.
Commander Wales was repatriated after the cessation of hostilities and on 20th January 1815 faced the customary Court Martial for the loss of his command. He stated in his evidence that he had previously reported unrest and disaffection amongst his crew and that several of his carronades had been dismounted by fire from the enemy vessel or had fallen off their slides in the opening broadside of the engagement. Because of the unrest amongst the crew, Commander Wales had been unable to carry out gunnery practice which would have revealed faults in the gun-mounts. The Court Martial also revealed that the replacements the ship had received at Port Royal had mostly been composed of invalids from the hospital there and that the vessel had the worst crew of any vessel on the Halifax Station. Not surprising then that they had failed in their duty to fight to their utmost. During the engagement, HMS Epervier suffered 8 dead and 15 wounded and had suffered extensive damage.
Once taken into American service, the now-USS Epervier was sent to join the American squadron under Commodore Stephen Decatur which was in the Mediterranean attempting to prevent harrassment of American shipping by the Dey of Algiers. On 17th June 1815 in company with the heavy frigates USS Guerriere, USS Constellation and the sloop-of-war USS Ontario, USS Epervier captured the 44 gun frigate Mashuda in the Battle of Cape Gata. In that action, USS Epervier fired 9 full broadsides into the Algerian ship after the USS Guerriere had dismasted it. On 19th June, she captured the Algerian brig Estedio of 22 guns in the Battle of Cape Palos.
These defeats forced the Dey to sue for peace with the Americans. Commodore Decatur chose the USS Epervier to carry the news, a copy of the peace treaty and spoils of war back to the United States. On 14th July 1815, USS Epervier was reported passing through the Straits of Gibraltar and was never seen or heard from again. It is thought that she foundered in a hurricane reported in the Atlantic during August of 1815. Whatever the case, no survivors were found from the 134 people aboard when she departed.
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