Hired armed cutter Admiral Mitchell
| History | |
|---|---|
 UK
|
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| Name: | Admiral Mitchell |
| Namesake: | Admiral Andrew Mitchell. |
| Renamed: | Sir Andrew Mitchell (1807) |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Cutter |
| Tonnage: | 132 86⁄94 (bm) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Cutter or schooner |
| Complement: | 35 |
| Armament: | 12 × 12-pounder carronades |
His Majesty's hired armed cutter (or schooner) Admiral Mitchell served under two contracts for the British Royal Navy, one at the end of the French Revolutionary Wars and the second at the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars. She participated in several notable small engagements and actions. In 1806 the Admiralty purchased her and took her into service as the Sir Andrew Mitchell in 1807.
Admiral Mitchell's first contract ran from 22 January 1800 to 26 October 1801. An item in the London Chronicle indicates that a Lieutenant Shirley commanded her in May. However, items in the Naval Chronicle suggest that Admiral Mitchell was thereafter under the command of Lieutenant John Derby (or Darby). Her duties were to carry dispatches to and from the British fleet off the coast of France, and escort convoys.
On 3 June 1801, Admiral Mitchell arrived in Portsmouth from a cruise, having recaptured, off Boulogne, two vessels, laden with iron and timber, and sent them into Dover. On 29 June 1801, Admiral Mitchell, recaptured three vessels: the brigs Supply and Favorite, and the sloop Prince of Wales.
On 25 August letters reached Plymouth that Derby had brought into Dartmouth a large American ship that had been sailing from New York to Havre de Grace. She had a cargo of "India goods of various descriptions, valued per manifest at £50,000, supposed French property as a French merchant, supercargo, and family on board going to Old Prance". The cutter Alert was in company at the time.
On 28 October, Derby sailed Admiral Mitchell into Catwater. There she and all the hired craft turned in their stores and guns to the yard and gunwharf.
Admiral Mitchell's second contract ran from 26 August 1803 to 6 April 1805.
Lieutenant Alexander Shippard assumed command, apparently before the contract took effect.Admiral Mitchell was attached to the fleet under Lord Keith for the guard of the Narrow Seas, that is, the English Channel. On 21 August 1803 Shippard landed Georges Cadoudal, the Chouan chief, at Biville, between Dieppe and Tréport, and on 16 January in the following year he landed General Pichegru at the same place.
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