HMS Atalante (1808)

HMS Atalante (or Atalanta) was an 18-gun sloop-of-war launched in 1808 and wrecked on 10 November 1813 because of fog off Halifax, Nova Scotia.[1] The ship was under the command of Captain Frederick Hickey and had 133 passengers and crew.[2] One crew member of the Atalante later reported,

HMS Atalante passing Sambro, Nova Scotia by W. E. Bailey
History
United Kingdom
Name: Atalante
General characteristics
Type: Sloop-of-war
Captain Frederick Hickey R.N. (1775–1839) by Gilbert Stuart

"In twelve minutes she was literally torn to pieces; the crew swam to the boats; and to see so many poor souls struggling for life, some naked, others on spares, casks, or anything tenable, was a scene painful beyond description ... To the honour of Captain Hickey, he was the last who left the wreck; his calmness, his humanity, and his courage, during the entire of this awful scene, was super to man: every thing is lost but our lives."[3] (In fact there is an obituary for one crew member reported to have died in the sinking.[4])

A local fishing vessel discovered the passengers in three small vessels stranded in the fog and guided them to safety at Portuguese Cove, Nova Scotia. Captain Hickey reported, the "inhabitants of Portuguese cove behaved towards us all with every possible mark of hospitality, kindness, and attention, that humanity could dictate."[5]

The passengers included twenty American refugee slaves from the James River, who were among the first of the Black Refugees of the War of 1812 to reach Canada.[6]

See also

References
  1. Chronicles of the sea: or, Faithful narratives of shipwrecks, fires, famines pp. 138-142.
  2. Frederick Hickey. Obituary. The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle, 1840, Vol. 168, pp. 208-207
  3. Royal Navy Biography, p. 234
  4. Naval Chronicles, Vol. 24, p. 516
  5. Royal Naval Biography, p. 234
  6. UK National Archives, ADM 37/3811: HMS Atalante, ship's muster
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