&sq=Google&lang=en&file=File:Ship_%27Matilda%27_and_cutter_%27Zephyr%27.jpg) The whaler Matilda off Tilbury Fort on her way to the South Seas whale fishery; James Miller Huggins (1807–1870). National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Esk |
| Namesake | River Esk |
| Ordered | 18 November 1812 |
| Builder | Jabez Bayley, Ipswich |
| Launched | 11 October 1813 |
| Fate | Sold 8 January 1829 |
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Matilda |
| Acquired | 1829 by purchase |
| Fate | Last listed 1844 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen | 4577⁄94, or 458 (bm) |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 29 ft 9 in (9.07 m) |
| Depth of hold | 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) |
| Complement | 135 |
| Armament | 20 × 32-pounder carronades + 2 × 6-pounder chase guns |
| History | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Name | Matilda |
| Acquired | 1829 by purchase |
| Fate | Disappears from records after 1845 |
HMS Esk was a Cyrus-class ship-sloop launched at Ipswich in 1813. During the War of 1812 she captured one United States privateer, and fought an inconclusive action with another. Between 1825 and 1827 Esk was part of the West Africa Squadron, engaged in suppressing the trans-Atlantic slave trade, during which period she captured a number of slave ships. A prize she had taken also engaged in a notable single ship action. The Royal Navy sold Esk in 1829. Green, Wigram, and Green purchased her and between 1829 and 1845 she made four voyages in the British southern whale fishery as the whaler Matilda.