On 1st June 1814, William Huntriss (1780-1847) of Halifax purchased the ship “Halifax Packet” for the sum of £3850, which at 2024 values is over a quarter of a million pounds.
On 1st June 1814, William Huntriss (1780-1847) of Halifax purchased the ship “Halifax Packet” for the sum of £3850, which at 2024 values is over a quarter of a million pounds.
Situated in the foothills of the Pennines, Halifax in West Yorkshire is not the first name that springs to mind when looking at maritime matters.
So what is the story?
War of 1812
From the outbreak of the Napoleonic war with France, Britain had imposed a naval blockade to choke off neutral trade to France. The US contested this as illegal under international law, and this led to the 1812 war between the United Kingdom and the United states, and their respective allies. The war was fought between June 1812 and February 1815.
The use of private resources for government purposes is not a new one. Privateers were privately owned armed vessel commissioned by a belligerent state to attack enemy ships, usually vessels of commerce. Privateering was carried on by all nations from the earliest times until the early 19th century. Crews were not paid by the commissioning government but were entitled to cruise for their own profit, with crew members receiving portions of the value of any cargo or shipping that they could wrest from the original owners.
The American schooner “Lottery” was launched in 1811, and was captured by the British in 1813. The Royal Navy took “Lottery” into service as HMS Canso a week after her capture under the command of Lieutenant Wentworth P Croke.
On 11 September 1813, HMS Canso captured the American schooner “Massachusetts”, carrying salt from Lisbon to New York.
The Massachusetts was subsequently sold to William Fairclough, Merchant, of Liverpool under the name “Halifax Packet”; in June 1814 he sold the vessel to William Huntriss.
