# Dispatch boat > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Dispatch_boat > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Dispatch_boat.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispatch_boat > Source revision: 1343913932 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Boats tasked to carry military dispatches **Dispatch boats** were small boats, and sometimes large ships, tasked to carry military dispatches from ship to ship or from ship to shore or, in some cases from shore to shore. Dispatch boats were employed when other means of transmitting a message was not possible or safe or as quick. Dispatch boats, which performed their dispatch-carrying duties only on a temporary basis, should not be confused with [packet ships](/source/Packet_ship)—sometimes called packet boats or [paquetbots](/source/Mail_steamer)—which were cargo ships which also routinely carried the mail from port to port. Generally, dispatch boats served the military, and paquetbots served commerce. ## Use of term by the U.S. Navy *Dispatch boat* was a term used by the [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy) in its journal accounts to describe boats which carried messages, or mail—otherwise termed dispatches—between high-ranking military officials aboard other ships or to land-based destinations.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## Dispatch boats during the American Revolution In 1776 the [Continental Navy](/source/Continental_Navy) ship [*Lynch*](/source/USS_Lynch_(1776)) was assigned dispatch boat duty and, after delivering her secret dispatches in [France](/source/France), set sail for the [United States](/source/United_States) with French secret dispatches, only to be captured, but not before destroying the French dispatches.[1] ## Dispatch boat race during the historic Battle of Trafalgar Once the [Battle of Trafalgar](/source/Battle_of_Trafalgar) had been decided in favor of the British in October 1805, the honor of delivering the news of the victory as well as the loss of [Admiral Lord Nelson](/source/Horatio_Nelson%2C_1st_Viscount_Nelson) belonged to the dispatch boat which first brought the news to the [Admiralty](/source/British_Admiralty) in [London](/source/London). A 1000-mile sea race from the location of the naval battle resulted between Lt. Lapenotiere in [HMS *Pickle*](/source/HMS_Pickle_(1800)) and Captain Sykes in [*Nautilus*](/source/HMS_Nautilus_(1804)) with the *Pickle* reaching [England](/source/England) first to deliver the dispatches to the [Admiralty](/source/British_Admiralty). For his outstanding effort in the race, Lt. Lapenotiere was awarded a cash prize of 500 [pound sterling](/source/Pound_sterling) (equivalent to £37,000 in 2025) and, in addition, was promoted to Commander.[2] ## Dispatch boats during the American Civil War The [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War) employed a large number of *dispatch boats*, such as [*Massasoit*](/source/USS_Massasoit), [*Gladiolus*](/source/USS_Gladiolus) and [*Geranium*](/source/USS_Geranium) among numerous others. General [Ulysses S. Grant](/source/Ulysses_S._Grant) depended on *dispatch boats* during his Virginia campaign to correspond with [Union Navy](/source/Union_Navy) ships on the [James River](/source/James_River_(Virginia)).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## Dispatch boats during the late 19th and early 20th centuries The US Navy did not have enough dispatch boats available during the Spanish–American War of 1898, so private [yachts](/source/Yacht) and [tugboats](/source/Tugboat) used by newspapers were frequently tasked by the Navy to carry messages.[3] [USS *Vega*](/source/USS_Lyndonia_(SP-734)) was a US dispatch boat during World War I.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ## Demise of the dispatch boat [HMS *Surprise* (K346)](/source/HMS_Surprise_(K346)) was a [Bay-class](/source/Bay-class_frigate) [anti-aircraft](/source/Anti-aircraft_warfare) [frigate](/source/Frigate) of the [British](/source/United_Kingdom) [Royal Navy](/source/Royal_Navy). In commission from 1946 to 1965, she served in the [Mediterranean Fleet](/source/Mediterranean_Fleet) as a Despatch Vessel for the Commander-in-Chief. Dispatch boats became largely unnecessary with the advent of underwater cable and shipboard radio technology in the early 20th century. However, there was a brief reprise during the [Falklands War](/source/Falklands_War) in 1982. CS *Iris*, a [cable laying ship](/source/Cable_layer) owned by [British Telecom](/source/British_Telecom), was taken up from trade by the British Government. She ferried supplies and dispatches (including troop's mail from home) between elements of the fleet and between [Ascension Island](/source/Ascension_Island) and the Falkland Islands – she also recovered urgent supplies that were air-dropped in the South Atlantic by Royal Air Force, [C-130 Hercules](/source/C-130_Hercules) aircraft.[4] ## Gallery - Imperial Russian dispatch boat No. 218 (former torpedo boat), after striking a mine in 1915 - Imperial Russian dispatch boat *Roksana* - The tug *[Knickerbocker](/source/USS_Knickerbocker_(SP-479))*, prior to her United States Navy service as tug, minesweeper, and dispatch boat ## See also Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Dispatch boats](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Dispatch_boats). - [Mail steamer](/source/Mail_steamer) - [Aviso](/source/Aviso) - [Mail-boat](/source/Mail-boat) ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Lynch"](https://web.archive.org/web/20040627232339/http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/l33/lynch-i.htm). *Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships*. Department of the Navy – Navy Historical Center. Archived from [the original](http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/l33/lynch-i.htm) on June 27, 2004. Retrieved February 1, 2011. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Adkins, Roy (2004). "Chapter 18". [*Nelson's Trafalgar, the battle that changed the world*](https://archive.org/details/nelsonstrafalgar00adki). New York City: Viking (Penguin). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-670-03448-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-670-03448-7). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Milton, Joyce. *The Yellow Kids: Foreign correspondents in the heyday of yellow journalism.* Harper and Row, New York 1989. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["FKD 746"](http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205018719). Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 5 March 2013. - *This article incorporates text from the [public domain](/source/Public_domain)*[Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships](/source/Dictionary_of_American_Naval_Fighting_Ships)*.* v t e Naval ships and warships in 19th and 20th centuries Naval ship classes in service submarine auxiliary Operational zones Brown-water navy Green-water navy Blue-water navy Gun placement Broadside Central battery Casemate Turrets Aircraft carriers Aircraft cruiser Amphibious assault ship Anti-submarine warfare carrier Balloon carrier Battlecarrier CAM ship Drone carrier Escort carrier Fighter catapult ship Fleet carrier Flight deck cruiser Helicopter carrier Light aircraft carrier Merchant aircraft carrier Seaplane tender Supercarrier Battleships Coastal defence ship Dreadnought Fast battleship Pre-dreadnought battleship Super-dreadnought (Standard-type battleship) Treaty battleship Cruisers Armored cruiser Battlecruiser Guided missile cruiser Heavy cruiser Pocket battleship Light cruiser Merchant raider Protected cruiser Scout cruiser Strike cruiser Torpedo cruiser Unprotected cruiser Escort Aviso Convoy rescue ship Destroyer Destroyer escort Destroyer leader Escort destroyer Escorteur Frigate Guided-missile destroyer Kaibōkan Sloop Transport Amphibious transport dock Amphibious warfare ship Attack transport Dock landing ship Landing craft Landing craft carrier Landing Craft Support Landing Ship Heavy Landing ship, infantry Landing Ship Logistics Landing Ship Medium Landing Ship, Tank Landing Ship Vehicle Troopship Patrol craft Armed boarding steamer Armed yacht Coastal motor boat Corvette Gunboat Harbour defence motor launch Motor launch Naval drifter Naval trawler Ocean boarding vessel Patrol boat Q-ship Submarine chaser Torpedo boat Fast attack craft E-boat MAS MGB Missile boat MTB MTM MTSM PT boat Shin'yō Mine warfare Danlayer Destroyer minesweeper Mine countermeasures vessel Mine planter Minehunter Minelayer Minesweeper Command and support Amenities ship Ammunition ship Auxiliary repair dock Auxiliary ship Collier Combat stores ship Command ship Crane vessel Depot ship Destroyer tender Dispatch boat Fast combat support ship Flotilla leader General stores issue ship Hospital ship Joint support ship Naval tugboat Net laying ship Repair ship Replenishment oiler Submarine tender Submarines Amphibious assault submarine Attack submarine Ballistic-missile submarine Coastal submarine Cruise-missile submarine Cruiser submarine Deep-submergence vehicle DSRV Fleet submarine Human torpedo Midget submarine Submarine aircraft carrier Wet sub Miscellaneous Armed merchantman Arsenal ship Barracks ship Breastwork monitor Capital ship Flagship Floating battery Littoral combat ship Monitor Mother ship River monitor Related Ship types Sailing vessels --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dispatch boat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispatch_boat) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispatch_boat?action=history)). 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