HMS Maria (1805)

HMS Maria (or Marie) was the French privateer schooner Constance (or Constanza) that the Royal Navy captured in 1805 and that foundered in 1807. During her brief career in the Leeward Islands she participated in the capture of five small prizes.

Capture
On 21 June 1805, Circe captured the privateer Constance in the Leeward Islands. Constance was armed with 10 guns and had a crew of 75 men. She was just out of Guadeloupe. However, she may have been the same Constance that Circe had earlier captured off the coast of Spain.

Service
The Admiralty registered her on 10 November and purchased her on 2 December. The Admiralty named her Maria and she was commissioned under Lieutenant John Henderson.

On 9 June 1806 Maria was in company with a small squadron that also included HMS Galatea (1794), Africaine, Circe, HMS Hippomenes (1803), and HMS Amelia (1796) when they captured the brig Hiram. At the time, Maria was under the command of Lieutenant James Fitzpatrick, apparently temporarily. On 6 August, Maria was in company with HMS Jason (1804), HMS Hart (1805), and the schooner HMS Tobago (1805) when they captured Hercules.

HMS Cleopatra (1779), the sloop HMS Pert (1804), and Maria shared in the capture of Jane, Collins, master, on 25 June 1807.

On 26 July 1807, His Majesty's schooners Maria, under Henderson's command, and HMS Grouper (1804) captured the schooner Atlantic. On 2 August, Maria was in company with Pert when they captured the schooner Governor M'Kean. Then on 4 October, Maria was in company with Jason, Hart, and Pert when they captured the schooner Rebecca. However the prize money for these vessels arrived in 1809, too late to be of much use to Maria 's crew.

Fate
Maria was under Henderson's command when she foundered during a hurricane among the Leeward Islands on 16 October 1807. There were no survivors. On the same day a storm wrecked Pert on the coast of present-day Venezuela.