Rolla (1805 ship)
| History | |
|---|---|
 France
|
|
| Launched: | 1801, or 1803 |
| Captured: | c.1804 |
 United Kingdom
|
|
| Name: | Rolla |
| Owner: | J. Ratcliffe |
| Acquired: | c1805 by purchase of a prize |
| Fate: | Captured 1805 |
|
France
|
|
| Name: | Rolla |
| Acquired: | Late 1805, by capture |
| Captured: | February 1806 |
 UK
|
|
| Name: | HMS Rolla |
| Acquired: | First quarter 1806 by capture |
| Fate: | Sold 1810 |
|
United Kingdom
|
|
| Name: | Rolla |
| Owner: | Various |
| Acquired: | 1810 by purchase |
| Fate: | Possibly lost December 1825; last listed 1826 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Ship |
| Displacement: | 200 tons (French) |
| Tons burthen: | 1528⁄94, or 160, or 165 (bm) |
| Length: | 80 ft 4 in (24.5 m) (overall); 64 ft 10 in (19.8 m) |
| Beam: | 21 ft 0 in (6.4 m) |
| Draught: | 11 ft 1 in (3.4 m) (laden) |
| Crew: |
|
| Armament: |
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Rolla was a French brig launched in 1801 or 1803 (records differ), that came into British hands in 1804. She became a privateer and then a slaver, but before she took any slaves the French Navy captured her. The British Royal Navy recaptured her and took her into service as HMS Rolla. She served in Sir Home Riggs Popham's attack on Buenos Aires. She returned to Britain in December 1807 and was laid up. The Admiralty sold her in 1810 and she became a merchant vessel. She is last listed in 1826, and may have been lost on the coast of Brazil in 1825.
Rolla enters Lloyd's Register in 1805. However, even before her listing she had received a letter of marque. Captain William Miller received the letter on 23 January 1805. The letter declares a rather large crew, suggesting that her owner, J. Ratcliffe, intended to use her as a privateer. The entry in the 1806 Lloyd's Registers gives the name of Rolla's master as W. Byass, and her trade as Liverpool-Africa, indicating a slave-trader. Byass received a letter of marque on 24 August 1805. She sailed from Liverpool on 31 August 1805, but as she was on her way to gather slaves in West Africa the Spanish (or the French) captured her.
Admiral Linoi's squadron was on its way back to France from the Indian Ocean when it captured Rolla on either 22 November 1805 or 5 December. On 18 April 1806 Lloyd's List reported that a privateer had captured Rolla, of Liverpool, and another vessel, off Loango.
The Royal Navy recaptured Rolla on 21 February at the Cape of Good Hope as she sailed into Table Bay. The British took Rollo and the captain of the prize crew, enseigne de vaisseau Vermet, by surprise and were able to capture some of Linois' letters. Home Popham purchased her there.
Home Popham decided to attack Buenos Aires and sailed there from the Cape of Good Hope. On 21 August the second wave of British vessels, Rolla among them, set sail. Rolla served as a transport, carrying a detachment of the 38th Regiment of Foot. On the way Woolwich, Porpoise, and the brig Rolla on 14 May 1806 detained and sent into the Cape of Good Hope the Danish packet ship Three Sisters (or Trende Sostre).
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Wikipedia