HMS Rover was a Royal Navy Cruizer-class brig-sloop laid down in 1804 but not launched until 1808. She served in the North Sea, off the north coast of Spain, in the Channel, and on the North American station. She captured two letters-of-marque and numerous merchant vessels before being laid-up in 1815. She then sat unused until she was sold in 1828. She became a whaler that made four voyages to the British southern whale fishery between 1830 and 1848. She was last listed in 1848.
Career
Rover was commissioned at Leith in May 1808 under Commander Francis Nott. On 8 September she recaptured the ship Ceres. A Dutch privateer had captured Ceres, of Burnt Island; Rover sent Ceres into Leith.
Between 16 and 26 April 1809, Rover captured four Danish sloops and their cargoes: Einigkeit, Fier Broders, Die Hoffnung, and Delphinen. During this period, on 19 April, Rover was in company with when they captured the Anna Margaretta. That same day the Rover and Nymphen recaptured the Frau Anna. On 24 and 25 April, a Danish sloop and a galliot, both prizes to Rover, arrived at Leith. Then on the 28th, six more Danish prizes arrived at Leith; these were prizes to Rover and several other Navy vessels. On 8 May the Dolphin, also a prize to Rover, arrived at Leith.
At some point in 1809, Rover captured (or recaptured) the Ecce Homo, Eliza, Brothers, Pomona, and Ann. A more interesting event involving the colourful and erratic adventurer Jørgen Jørgensen occurred in June 1809.
After the British attack on Copenhagen in 1807 and the outbreak of the Gunboat War between Britain and the Dano-Norwegian kingdom, he took a small Danish vessel, the Admiral Juul, and in the action of 2 March 1808 engaged HMS Sappho; the British captured the Admiral Juul and treated Jørgensen as a privateer. In 1809, while in England on parole, he suggested to a merchant that a voyage to Iceland could be profitable as the island was suffering from food shortages at the time, due to the Danish monopoly on Icelandic trade. Jørgensen accompanied the voyage of the Clarence as an interpreter. That voyage failed to trade any goods as the ship was British and Denmark had forbidden trade with Britain. Shortly thereafter, Rover arrived at Reykjavík. The Board of Admiralty had sent it to prepare the way for a second British merchant voyage.
When Rover arrived, Nott found that the Danish Governor, Count of Trampe, who had arrived only shortly before and had his own cargo to sell, would still not permit trading. Nott threatened to fire on Reykjavík and Trampe agreed to a convention permitting British vessels to trade with Iceland unmolested. However, Trampe did not publish the convention, and as soon as Nott and Rover had left, rescinded it.
Soon after, Jørgensen sailed on a second voyage in the letter of marque Margaret and Anne, accompanied by the brig Flora. On arrival in Iceland they found that Trampe would still not permit trade. With the help of other crew members, Jørgensen arrested Trampe and proclaimed himself 'Protector', promising that he would reinstate the Althing as soon as the Icelandic people were able to govern themselves. His intent was to establish a liberal society in the spirit of those emerging in the Americas and Europe at the time; in practice he "imbibed all the quixotism of a petit Napoleon". On 14 August arrived at Reykjavík. Commander the Honourable Alexander Jones, Talbots captain, restored the Danish government, reinstated the convention that Nott and Trampe had agreed (this time Trampe honoured it), and arrested Jørgensen. When Talbot and Jørgensen arrived back in London, the Transport Board tried him and found him guilty of breaking his parole while a prisoner-of-war. He was released in 1811.
By 7 July Rover was already at Barö Sound, Finland. In September Rover was under the command of Alexander McVicar. Between 1 and 12 September she captured the Fast Haabet, Gode Hensight, Piscosus, Haabet's Anker, galiot Haabet 34, ketch Haabet 33, Anna Catherina, Transport (or sloop) No. 7, and Maria Cecilia. In September, Lloyd's List reported that Rover had captured five or six Danish vessels, with one, the Aurora, of and from Christianstadt, arriving in Leith on the 16th, and another two days later. A Haabet arrived at Leith on the 23rd. A Danish sloop arrived on 2 October.
On 19 July 1810, a foreign Greenland ship with "8 Fish" that Rover had detained, arrived at Leith. A week later, Rover captured the Marine Margaretta. In November Commander Justice Finley took command of Rover. In August Rover detained and sent into Leith the Hamburg ship Rosenboom, which was coming from Greenland. However, the authorities released Rosenboom and she sailed for Hamburg.