On This Day 9 October

[Coog]

On 9 October 1812, HMS Caledonia and HMS Detroit (formerly the American armed brig Adams, which had been captured after the Siege of Detroit) were anchored near Fort Erie in the upper reaches of the Niagara River. Both had been transporting troops and materials eastwards, but Caledonia also carried a valuable cargo of furs. An American boat expedition commanded by Lieutenant Jesse Elliott captured the two ships. The Caledonia was taken to the navy yard at Black Rock, but Detroit was swept away by the current and forced to drop anchor within range of British cannons. After an artillery duel, the cable was cut and Detroit drifted down the river, grounding on Squaw Island where she was abandoned, and eventually set on fire and destroyed.

The Caledonia was taken into American service as the USS Caledonia.

[Coog]

On 9 October 1799 HMS Lutine sank with the loss of 240 men and a cargo worth £1,200,000.

Lutine was originally a Magicienne-class frigate of the French Navy, launched at Toulon in 1779, with 32 guns. This was ten years before the French Revolution; on 18 December 1793, she became one of sixteen ships handed over to a British fleet under Vice Admiral Lord Hood at Toulon by French royalists and was taken into the Royal Navy as HMS Lutine. In 1795, she was rebuilt as a (fifth-rate) frigate with 38 guns. She served thereafter in the North Sea, blockading Amsterdam. She sank in a storm on 9 October 1799 carrying a large cargo of gold, the majority of which remains unsalvaged. Her bell was recovered and Lloyd's of London has preserved her bell - the Lutine Bell.

[Comte de Brueys]

HMS Lutine before grounding

http://sailsofglory.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=1520&d=1349851355