La Trompeuse
Pirate Frigate · None (pirate command) · Lost 1683 · The Lesser Antilles
The pirate Jean Hamlin's raiding frigate, burned to the waterline in Charlotte Amalie harbor by a British cutting-out party in 1683.
Ryan P. Murphy
The Vessel and Her Loss
La Trompeuse was commanded by the French pirate Jean Hamlin, who used St Thomas as a haven under the protection of Danish governor Adolph Esmit. After Hamlin looted numerous Jamaican vessels, HMS Francis chased him into Charlotte Amalie harbor, where Danish shore batteries briefly drove off the British warship. That night a boat party from Francis slipped in and set La Trompeuse ablaze, and the fire spread to a nearby hulk, the Trinity. Hamlin and most of his men, ashore at the time, escaped capture.
Vessel
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Wood
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Sail
- Captain Jean Hamlin (pirate crew)
Loss
- July 31, 1683
- Intentional sinking
- Charlotte Amalie harbor, St Thomas, Danish West Indies
- Charlotte Amalie Harbor
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Captain Jean Hamlin and most of his crew were ashore and escaped; no confirmed casualty count for the burning itself.
- Jean Hamlin (also recorded as Jean Hamlyn)
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas
Remains are believed to lie buried under Charlotte Amalie harbor sediment; no confirmed position has been published.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (78/100)
The vessel's precise resting place within Charlotte Amalie harbor has never been confirmed archaeologically.
National Maritime Museum, UK (Philip Gosse Collection, Journal of Capt. Charles Carlile, HMS Francis)
Contemporary account of the burning of La Trompeuse, 1683.
Narrative of Jean Hamlin, Governor Esmit, and the burning of La Trompeuse and Trinity.
