HMS Lynx was a 16-gun ship-rigged sloop of the in the Royal Navy, launched in 1794 at Gravesend. In 1795 she was the cause of an international incident when she fired on . She was at the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, and during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars took numerous prizes, mostly merchant vessels but also including some privateers. She was also at the second Battle of Copenhagen in 1807. She was sold in April 1813. She then became the whaler Recovery. She made 12 whaling voyages in the southern whale fishery, the last one ending in 1843, at which time her owner had her broken up.
French Revolutionary War
Lynx was commissioned in April 1794 under Commander Charles Vinicombe Penrose on the Halifax Station. Penrose was promoted to Post-captain on 7 October 1794 and Commander Charles Rowley replaced Penrose in November.
On 17 November 1794, Lynx recaptured . shared in the reward. By agreement, these vessels also shared the prize money with and . Lloyd's List reported that the recapture took place off the Virginia Capes and that Amphitrite had been "much plundered". Lloyd's List later reported that Amphitrite, Tardiff, master, had arrived at Antigua. The report credited the capture to Cleopatra.
On 31 January 1795, Rear-Admiral George Murray, the commander-in-chief on the North America station, sent Lynx, under the command of John Poo Beresford, and the newly-captured former French warship on a cruise out of Halifax. On 1 March the two vessels captured Cocarde Nationale (or National Cockade), a privateer from Charleston, South Carolina, of 14 guns, six swivels and 80 men. Esperance and Lynx recaptured the ship Norfolk, of Belfast, and the brig George, of Workington.
Lynx and Eagle
The United States Coast Guard records that in 1795, Lynx, under the command of Beresford, fired a shot across the bow of the United States revenue cutter . Hendrick Fischer, Eagles acting captain, attempted to heave-to, but he had on board Senator Pierce Butler, from South Carolina, who ordered him to sail on. Lynx then began to fire continuously as Eagle sailed towards the shoal waters on the north point of Jekyll Island. As Lynx drew too much water to continue the chase, Beresford sent his pinnace and cutter in pursuit, under the command of Lieutenant Alexander Skene, who four years later would command Lynx. Skene's men quickly overtook the schooner and came on board, demanding to know why it had not come about in response to the shots. After learning the schooner was in fact a revenue vessel of the U.S. government, Skene and his men returned to Lynx.
In the ensuing international political furor, Beresford stated that Lynx had been beyond the limit and noted that the schooner was not flying any flag. Eagle had not in fact flown the national ensign; for unexplained reasons it was instead stored in the captain's cabin. Eagle did apparently display some sort of small pennant that was not visible to Lynx. Unfortunately, the United States Coast Guard history of Eagle represents the only record of the incident.
Prize taking
On 9 June 1795 Lynx captured Bedford, which had some bullion amongst her cargo. Rowley was apparently again her captain. On 3 July Commander Robert Hall was appointed to command Lynx, but apparently the Admiralty did not confirm the appointment until January 1796.
In August 1795 Commander Thomas Tireman took command of Lynx.
On 24 February 1796, Lynx captured the Hannah. Commander John Rennie replaced Tireman in February 1797. Then in October Hall replaced Rennie and finally took command.
On 13 June 1798, Lynx captured the French privateer Isabelle, of two guns and 30 men. Two weeks later, she captured Mentor, also a French privateer, of 14 six pounders and 79 men. During the chase, Mentor threw six of her guns overboard to lighten her and thus, albeit insufficiently, improve her speed. Both privateers had set out from Puerto Rico to cruise the coast of the United States. Around this time Lynx captured the privateer Solide. The merchants of St. Johns sent Hall a letter of appreciation for the protection this capture gave to the colony.
On 6 July Lynx captured the American ship Pegasus. Four days later Lynx recaptured the American ship Liberty, from Philadelphia and bound for Liverpool, which a French privateer had captured on 4 July, a few hours after Liberty had left the Delaware River. On 8 August Lynx recaptured Friendship.
On 17 September 1799 Lynx captured the brigantine Columbia. In October, Commander Alexander Skene took over command of Lynx.
On 31 August 1800 Lynx captured Vernang. Then on 8 September she captured Vrow Neltje. The gun-vessel shared in the capture of Vrow Neltje.