USS Wasp sinks HMS Reindeer
- When
- 1814
- Where
- 500 miles west of Ushant
- Episodes
- 1
On 28 June 1814, the Royal Navy brig-sloop HMS Reindeer encountered the American sloop USS Wasp approximately 500 miles west of Ushant. The engagement resulted in severe damage to Reindeer, leading to her destruction by fire the following day. This action occurred during the War of 1812, marking the end of Reindeer's service after years of active duty in the Napoleonic Wars.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. HMS Reindeer was an 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop built by Samuel & Daniel Brent at Rotherhithe and launched in 1804. She fought in the Napoleonic Wars before her loss in 1814. During 1813 she captured several vessels, including some privateers. Commander William Manners succeeded an earlier captain in 1813, and in a later February Commander Peter John Douglas replaced Fyffe in command; the passages do not state who commanded Reindeer at the time of her final action.
The Engagement. On 28 June 1814, HMS Reindeer encountered USS Wasp, commanded by Johnston Blakely, about 500 miles west of Ushant. The battle resulted in significant damage to the British vessel. Blakely assessed the damage on 29 June 1814 and determined that Reindeer was too badly damaged to be salvaged, leading to the decision to destroy the ship by fire.
People involved
- Johnston Blakely · Commander of USS Wasp
Sources
- HMS Reindeer (1804) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-14
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.