Maritime record TR 47 SW 24 - Hms Pigeon

`The PIGEON schooner was stranded near Kinsgate [sic] on Thursday night. Two of the crew lost.' (1)

15 January, PIGEON, schooner. A small 2-gun schooner built in 1806, the PIGEON was commanded by Lt. Richard Cox when she ran ashore during a snowstorm near Margate. The vessel quickly bilged and became a complete wreck. The crew lashed themselves to the rigging, from which they were taken next morning. Two of them had, however, died of exposure. (2)

Cuckoo Class 2 gun schooner, copying Bermudan Fish Class 2 gun schooners, but built in Britain. Wrecked near Margate 15-JAN-1809. (3)

Cruising in the southern North Sea with the CALLIOPE, the weather worsened, until by the morning of 4 January it was blowing an easterly gale with showers of snow. Contact with her consort was lost in the night, and the following day she decided to make for shelter and head for the Downs anchorage. The poor weather meant that no observations of the sun or stars could be made, forcing them to rely on dead reckoning and the use of the lead. The soundings led them to believe that they were close to the Galloper Sand and course was shaped for the North Foreland. At 8 o'clock that night a light was seen ahead, which was thought to be the North Sand Head light, but 40 minutes later she ran hard aground at Kingsgate, near Margate. The rudder parted as she struck and was bilged. Within minutes the hold was flooded and she started sinking, the crew taking to the rigging. Here they remained all night, two of the crew dying from exposure. The following morning the local people and the Sea Fencibles came to their aid and took off the survivors. (4)

Source (1) indicates the date of loss as 05-JAN-1809, [reported on 10-JAN-1809] and followed by source (4); (2) & (3) state 15-JAN-1809.

Source (3) states tonnage as 71, (4) as 75.

Built: 1806
Builder: Custance
Where Built: Great Yarmouth
Commanding Officer: Lt. Richard Cox
Crew: Normal complement 20 (3)
Crew Lost: 2
Armament: 2 guns (2)(3); 4 (4)
Owner: Royal Navy

Date of Loss Qualifier: A

Additional sources cited in Shipwrecks of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Eras:
Steel's List of the Royal Navy, 1811

<1> Lloyd's, 1969, Lloyd's list 1741-1945 (Bibliographic reference). SKE6342.

<2> Terence Grocott, 1998, Shipwrecks of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras (Monograph). SKE56129.

<3> The Sailing Navy List: all the ships of the Royal Navy built, purchased and captured 1688-1860 (Monograph). SKE6712.

<4> British Warship losses in the Age of Sail 1650-1859 (Monograph). SKE6713.