British vessels captured her in the mid-Atlantic after a three-day chase. Gipsey surrendered twice to Hermes and twice got away again before Belle Poule caught her. Gipsey was of 300 tons (bm) and was armed with twelve 18-pounder carronades and an 18-pounder gun on a pivot mount. In late autumn 1812, Hermes was sailing off the Azores in the company of the 74-gun third rate , under the command of Francis Austen, the brother of the acclaimed novelist Jane Austen, together with the 36-gun fifth-rate frigate . On 27 December Elephant and Hermes captured the American privateer schooner Sword Fish of Gloucester, John Evans, Master, and her crew of 82 men. During the 11-hour chase, which covered more than 100 miles, Sword Fish had thrown overboard ten of her sixteen 6-pounder guns. Sword Fish was 16 days out of Boston but had not captured anything. In April 1814, Captain the Hon. William Percy took command of Hermes. On 5 August he sailed her, with accompanying, from Havana. They arrived at the mouth of the Apalachicola River eight days later. Fate In September 1814, Percy led her in an unsuccessful attack on Fort Bowyer. The Louisiana State Museum has a map of the battle. The attack took place on 15 September at about 4:30pm. Two of the four British vessels could not get close enough to fire. The fort was more strongly armed than expected, the British fire was ineffective, and a parallel ground attack failed. Furthermore, as she tried to withdraw, Hermes grounded under the guns of the fort. Percy evacuated her crew on boats from and then set fire to Hermes, which blew up after the fire reached her magazine at around 10pm. In all, Hermes had lost 17 killed in action, five mortally wounded, and 19 wounded. (The medical journal of the Hermes has survived. ) On 18 January 1815, Percy faced a court martial on board , off Cat Island on the coast of Mississippi. The court acquitted him of all blame, finding that the circumstances justified the attack and that all involved had behaved with great gallantry. Notes Citations References Hermes-class post ships 1811 ships Ships built in England War of 1812 ships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1811 Maritime incidents in 1814 Shipwrecks of the Alabama coast