HMS Heron was originally the merchant vessel Jason, launched at Newcastle in 1803, that the Admiralty purchased in 1804 for the Royal Navy for use as 16-gun ship-sloop under the name HMS Heron. During the Napoleonic Wars she served as a convoy escort on the Leeward Islands station. Then in 1810 the Admiralty had her converted into a bomb vessel and renamed her HMS Volcano. As Volcano she served during the War of 1812, and in particular participated in the Battle of Baltimore. The Admiralty sold her in 1816. New owners returned her to mercantile service under her original name of Jason. She was wrecked in 1821. Career Jason appeared in the Register of Shipping (RS) for 1804 with Otway, master, W. Row, owner, and voyage Newcastle to Liverpool. As Heron The Admiralty purchased Jason in 1804. After the Treaty of Amiens, Britain had disarmed while France rearmed, so on the resumption of war the Admiralty found itself short of vessels for convoy escort. Because of the urgency of the situation, the Admiralty purchased twenty three-masted mercantile vessels; one was Jason. Jason came into service with her original masts and yards even though she was under-canvassed and therefore slow, and without a cargo in her hold tended to roll; she became HMS Heron. She was commissioned in June 1804 under Commander John Edgecombe. At the end of the year he escorted a convoy of merchantmen from England to Barbados. Once in Barbados Edgecombe faced a dilemma. On the one hand there were reports of an enemy fleet in the Windward Isles that could threaten Barbados. On the other hand, a fleet of 28 merchantmen and two transports had gathered in Carlisle Bay, awaiting a warship to escort them to Halifax or Britain. Edgecombe decided to escort the convoy, risking court martial for leaving his duty station without orders. Five of the ships parted company for Halifax. , off Cape Clear, met six others that were going up the St. Georges Channel. Heron accompanied the remainder to the Downs, where the convoy arrived on 2 August 1805. The captains of the 19 vessels that Edgecombe had convoyed signed a letter, interceding with the Admiralty on his behalf. The letter proved moot as the Admiralty had already approved Edgecombe's actions. Edgecombe realized that Heron was too slow to catch enemy cruisers; instead he decided to use guile. While she was sailing to