Bulwark color

[markjay]

Hello all,

I need help in finding out the bulwark color for American privateers built around 1811-1815.  I've seen deep red and green used on the Price De Neufchatel. I've looked at the Smithsonian's on line model image of PDN and can't make out the bulwark color. Is either correct or just builder's choice. Any help is appreciated.

Edited November 27, 2021 by markjay

[lmagna]

I would think that with the word "Privateer" as part of their description, that the colors of the ship were whatever the owner wished with no regard to naval established doctrine such as it may have been.

[Dr PR]

According to Howard Chapelle there was no established naval color rules in 1815 for the U.S. Navy. But many ship builders, owners and Captains followed the colors used in the Royal Navy. In the early 1800s this was black hulls above the water line with yellow bands along the gun ports. But some American ships started sporting white bands along the gun ports about 1810-1820.

 

A very strong influence was the availability and cost of various paints. Commercial vessels were usually painted with inexpensive paints. Bright colors generally cost more than black and white. And the white used on hulls below the water line wasn't actually a "paint." It was a mixture of tallow, white lead and who knows what else.

 

In "The Baltimore Clipper" (Edward W. Sweetman Company, New York, 1968, page 170) Chapelle says:

 

"The painting of the hulls seems to have varied widely as yellow, black, green and blue were used, with white or black bands. On privateers, the inside of the bulwarks were often painted red or brown, but the decks were usually bright [unpainted]. Yellow and black were popular colors, however, for pilot boats in 1812-1814. They had yellow sides with black moldings, wales or trim. Very few were painted white, as it made them too prominent at a distance, which was considered naturally, a handicap during the war."

 

Reading other sources it appears that deck fittings were often the same color as the bulwarks, or unpainted. White deck furniture didn't appear in the US Navy until after about 1835, about the time standardized color schemes were adopted.

Edited November 27, 2021 by Dr PR

[markjay]

Thanks both of you for your information and DrPR for your valued research.