Vengeance
Privateer · United States · Lost 1779 · Penobscot Bay & Midcoast Maine
A Newburyport privateer that had captured two British packet ships in 1778 before being destroyed in the Penobscot Expedition disaster the next year.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
Vengeance sailed as a privateer out of Newburyport, Massachusetts, capturing the British packet vessels Harriot and Eagle in September 1778 under Captain Newman. Later commanded by a Captain Thomas, she joined the 1779 Penobscot Expedition fleet against the British post at Majabigwaduce. When the expedition collapsed under British counterattack in mid-August 1779, Vengeance was destroyed in the retreat up the Penobscot River.
Vessel
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Wood
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Sail
- Private owners, Newburyport, Massachusetts
Loss
- August 14, 1779
- Intentional sinking
- Penobscot River, Maine
- Penobscot River
- Boston → Penobscot Bay, Maine
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Captain Thomas (given name not established)
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Bangor, Maine
Evidence
Overall confidence: Partially documented (55/100)
Her tonnage, armament and full command history at the time of loss are not established in the sources reviewed.
threedecks.org naval history database
Service record, captures of Harriot and Eagle, home port, and destruction in the Penobscot Expedition.
