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Thomas Boyle and Comet
Thomas Boyle settled in Fells' Point around 1794. Born in Marblehead, Massachusetts, little is known of his early life, but by age 17 he had earned the confidence of Baltimore merchant John Carrere and commanded several vessels for him, including Vigilant. By 1806 Boyle was regarded as a seasoned commander, and owned several vessels. By 1811, Boyle was fully engaged in the business, civic, and charitable activities of his adopted hometown and was a leader in the Fells' Point community.
On July 11, 1812, Boyle took command of Comet, a privateer schooner built in 1810 by Thomas Kemp. Comet measured 187 tons and 90'6" in length. She mounted ten 12-pounder carronades and 2 ‘long nines.' With a crew of 110 men, Boyle headed to sea.
On July 25,1812 he captured the ship Henry, 400 tons, carrying sugar and wine. Three weeks later he took Hopewell, 346 tons, bound for London with sugar, cotton, coffee, and cocoa. On September 2, Industry was taken, 175 tons and loaded with sugar, molasses, coffee, cocoa and wine. On September 18, Boyle captured the British Letter of Marque John, 372 tons bound for Liverpool with sugar, rum, coffee, cotton, hardwood and copper. Slipping past the British blockade, Comet returned to Baltimore on October 6. The Weekly Register reported:
"Comet overhauled every vessel she chased, and took every British vessel she saw, yet made only four prizes . . . but they are worth $400,000 and have all arrived safely."
On November 12, 1812 Comet, with Boyle as master and now a part owner, sailed for the coast of Brazil and the West Indies. Boyle evaded several British warships, fought a Portuguese brig-of-war escorting a convoy of English ships and took five prizes before he returned to Baltimore in March, 1813. Financially, the cruise was a total loss, as none of the prizes reached port. However, word spread quickly among British authorities and Caribbean ports about Comet and a persistent American privateersman who told the Portuguese naval officer:
". . . if he did try to oppose me or fire on me while trying to take those English vessels, we must try our respective strengths as I was well prepared for such an event and would not shrink from it. "
-- Boyle's report of the action with Portuguese brig-of-war, Libra
During the summer of 1813, with the British squadron blocking escape from the bay, Comet and three other Baltimore privateers, Revenge, Patapsco and Wasp, were chartered for service with the Navy. Warranted as sailing master, Boyle patrolled the lower Chesapeake Bay to monitor and report on British activities.
By the end of August, all four were released from patrol duty. |