Hired armed vessels

The Navy Board usually hired the vessel complete with master and crew rather than bareboat. Contracts were for a specified time or on an open-ended monthly hire basis. However, some officers who served in hired armed vessels went on to have distinguished subsequent naval careers. A case in point was Thomas Ussher, who rose from the hired armed brig to become an admiral. ==Numbers and types==

In 1801, the Royal Navy had some 130 hired armed vessels on its rolls. Of these, 12 were ship-rigged, 12 were brig-rigged, and most of the rest were cutters. All but eight served in home waters. Of the 76 vessels in service in November 1804, most were cutters, though six were luggers. The six were: During the period roughly 1804 to 1807, the vessels were sometimes referred to as, for example, His Majesty's armed defence ship Indefatigable, which recaptured Melcombe on 21 June 1804, or hired armed defence-ship Norfolk. ==Service records==

Despite St Vincent's strictures, some of these vessels had military careers as distinguished as those of the Royal Navy's own vessels. For instance, between 1796 and 1801, the hired armed cutter Telemachus captured eight privateers in the Channel. The crew from some vessels qualified for clasps to the Naval General Service Medal (1847). Noteworthy examples include: • Hired armed brig Ann • Hired armed cutter Courier • Hired armed brig Pasley • HM hired brig Telegraph In each of these cases, the clasp bore the vessel's own name. • Hired armed lugger Aristocrat In this case the crew from Aristocrat shared the medal with two other vessels. ==Letters of marque==

Some of these hired armed vessels also sailed under a letter of marque, either before (e.g. Duke of York) or after their service with the Royal Navy (e.g., or London Packet). ==Arming of merchantmen==

With the resumption of war against France in 1803, the British government spent a great deal of money arming coastal vessels so that they might protect themselves against privateers. These vessels were neither letters of marque, that is, they did not have authorization to seek out and capture enemy vessels, nor were they hired armed vessels working for the Royal Navy. The government simply sought to augment the merchant fleet's defences. For example, in 1807, the Aberdeen Shipping Company had five vessels that had received 18-pounder carronades from the government; the company had also itself armed the London Packet. The Old Ship Company of Leith advertised that its smack had been armed by the government. ==See also==

• National Archives: ADM 359/24A/54 - ''An Account of the Number of Hired Armed Cutters, Ships, Vessels and Boats employed in the Public Service on the 31st December 1793, 1794,1795, 1796, 1797, 1798, 1799, 1800, 30th September 1801, 31st December 1802, 1803 and 15th March 1804, with headings for vessels' names, the nature and force of guns and men, the time employed and when paid off.''[http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue ]