Royal Navy service Seven Years War (1756–1763) Captain
Hyde Parker commissioned
Squirrel in October 1755. A year or so later, on 10 October 1756 he captured the privateer
Très Vénėrable. Lewis Ferret, master. Her owners appealed the seizure but the court of appeal ruled that
America had delivered a cargo to San Domingo, and there picked up another cargo, owned by French subjects and all pursuant to French taxes, duties, etc., and having destroyed her documents,
America was
de facto a French ship and so the condemnation as a prize should stand. On 17 June
Squirrel and Parker were at Embden where she stopped any forage being brought in to the French forces there. Around December Commander
Joshua Loring was in command of
Squirrel, and was promoted to
post captain on 19 December. That same month Captain John Wheelock assumed command of
Squirrel. At this time she was under the command of Commander George Hamilton. At some point
Squirrel came under the command of Captain John Cleland, either before or after she returned to England. On 31 January 1760 he sailed her for the Mediterranean. ''Lloyd's List
reported on 17 June that Squirrel
and had carried into Leghorn a French ship that had been sailing from Marseilles to Constantinople. This may have been the polacca St. Francis de Paul
that they captured on 9 May, in company with . More probably, it may have been the polacca St Barbe
that Squirrel
and Kennington'' captured on 22 May.
Squirrel returned to England and was paid off in June. At some point she was recommissioned. On 15 March 1761
Squirrel captured the
pinque Marie. In 1762
Squirrel was in North America. In April she was in the Mediterranean and under the command of Captain James Cranston.
Squirrel returned to England and was paid off in January 1767. Between January and September she was at Chatham undergoing repairs and fitting out. Captain John Botterell commissioned her in July, and sailed her for the Leeward Islands on 9 October 1787. By December
Squirrel was stationed at "Little Caicos". In January 1776
Squirrel was still one of only five vessels on the Jamaica Station. Stephen Fuller, agent for the island of Jamaica, on 27 January wrote to
Lord Germain listing the vessels available on that the station and pointing out that there were too few to provide an escort for the next fleet leaving the island. During the month
Squirrel sent into Jamaica two sloops, one from
Cape Nichola with French produce, and the other from the Turks Islands, with salt. Both were sailing to "the Rebellious Colonies". The first was the sloop
Cornelia, of New York, Robert Sands, master, taken on 29 December 1775 with a cargo of molasses and coffee. The second was the sloop
Affie & Hannah, of New York, Benjamin Bell, master, taken on 2 January 1776 with a cargo of salt. Next,
Squirrel sent in a schooner to Port Royal with French produce and French papers. When Douglass examined her he had discovered that her mate and three seamen were English. The mate confessed that her home port was Philadelphia and that the master had hidden her English papers. There was sufficient evidence to prove that she was an American vessel and so subject to condemnation. This was the sloop
Thames, of Philadelphia, J. Fairibelt, master, taken on 30 January with a cargo of rum and molasses. On 25 March
Squirrel took the brig
Industry, of South Carolina, Edward Allen, master, sailing in ballast. In 1779
Squirrel was in home waters and under the command of Captain Farmery Epworth. In April 1780 Captain Thomas Piercy replaced Epworth. Between October and December 1781
Squirrel was at Plymouth receiving
copper sheathing, and being refitted. Captain
John Inglis assumed command in 1782. On 15 February
Squirrel captured the privateer
Furet. On 21 June,
Squirrel, Captain John Inglis, encountered a French privateer cutter off Lands End and chased for ten hours before she
struck her colours. She proved to be
Aimable Manon, of eight guns and 42 men. She was 14 days out of
Brest and had caught nothing. Then four days later,
Squirrel recaptured
Penelope, which had been sailing from Liverpool to Cork with a cargo of salt and sugar when the French privateer
Escamoteur had captured her going into Waterford.
Disposal The Navy paid
Squirrel off at the end of June. It sold her on 16 January 1783 at Sheerness for £1,100, plus an additional £302 5
s for the copper on her bottom.
Commercial service as Union Whaler J.Montgomery purchased
Squirrel, renamed her
Union, and used her as a whaler in the waters off Greenland. particularly
Davis Strait. ''Lloyd's Register
(1786) reports that she underwent repairs in 1786, and the listing also gives her burthen as 400 tons, instead of 300 tons as in the 1784 volume. On 11 July 1786 Lloyd's List
reported that Union'' was still with other whalers at Greenland and had taken three "fish". On 17 June 1787 she was among the whalers at Greenland and had taken two "fish".
Union underwent further repairs in 1787 and 1789.
Slaver Then in 1790 J. Chapman replaced J. Bailie as master, and her trade became London—Africa. That is, she became a slaver. ''Lloyd's Register'' (1791) shows that her owner became Calvert & Co., and that she underwent
coppering, and a thorough repair. Her master became James Tomson and
Union then made five slave-trading voyages, primarily between the
Gold Coast and Jamaica. Her owners were Anthony Calvert, Thomas King, and William Camden. On her first voyage Thomson sailed from England on 18 May 1790, and arrived at the Gold Coast on 9 August. He gathered his slaves at
Cape Coast Castle and
Anomabu.
Union sailed from Africa on 20 October, and arrived at Jamaica 13 December. She arrived with 461 slaves at
Black River. She arrived back at London on 22 July 1791. On her second voyage, Thomson left London on 26 August, and arrived at the Gold Coast on 13 October. He gathered slaves at Cape Lahoue and Cape Coast Castle, but primarily at Anomabu.
Union sailed from Africa 15 January 1792, and arrived at Kingston, Jamaica, 2 March. There she discharged 536 slaves, having embarked 543. Her loss rate was only 1.3%. At some point her master changed to Robert Currie. She sailed from Jamaica on 10 April, but bound for Africa again, rather than home. Thomson had returned to command of
Union and she gathered her slaves at Anomabu and Cape Coast Castle. She left Africa on 21 October, and arrived back at Jamaica on 16 December. She had embarked 549 slaves, and arrived with 549. She returned to London 5 May 1793. Shortly before
Union returned to England,
war with France broke out. James Thompson received a
letter of marque on 18 June 1793. Or her fourth slaving voyage, Thomson and
Union left London on 10 July and arrived at Africa on 19 September. She again gathered slaves at Cape Coast Castle and Anomabu, and arrived at Jamaica on 15 May 1794 with 535.
Union arrived back at London on 19 August. Thomson sailed
Union on her fifth, and last, slave voyage, leaving from London on 31 October, bound for the Gold Coast. She arrived there on 6 April 1795, and gathered her slaves at Cape Coast Castle and Anomabu. She arrived with them at Jamaica on 25 May. She had embarked 549 slaves, and arrived with 549.
Union returned to England on 30 June.
Voyages for the EIC In 1796 R. Owen became
Unions master, and her trade changed to London—East Indies. That year
Union was also rebuilt, and her burthen changed to 476 tons. On 21 May 1796 Captain Richard Owen sailed
Union from Portsmouth, bound for Bengal on a voyage for the EIC.
Union reached Gibraltar on 14 June and the Cape of Good Hope on 19 September, and arrived at
Calcutta on 2 March 1797. Homeward bound, she left Calcutta on 2 May, reached
St Helena, and arrived at
the Downs on 12 December. ''Lloyd's Register
continues to show Union
, Owen, master, trading with India through 1804. However, on 30 July 1801, Captain John Luke sailed Union'' from Bengal, leaving Calcutta on 30 July. On 12 September she was at
Saugor. She reached St Helena on 1 January 1802, and arrived at the Downs on 23 February. ==Fate==