HMS Squirrel was a Royal Navy sixth rate post ship, built in 1755.

On 17 June Squirrel and Parker were at Embden where she stopped any forage being brought in to the French forces there.

On 18 July she, under Hamilton's command, was part of a small squadron that ran up the river past the city.

The vessels included Sutherland, of 50 guns, three transports with three companies of grenadiers and a battalion of the Royal Americans, and two armed sloops.

[12] Lloyd's List reported on 17 June that Squirrel and Kennington had carried into Leghorn a French ship that had been sailing from Marseilles to Constantinople.

Captain John Botterell commissioned her in July, and sailed her for the Leeward Islands on 9 October 1787.

In November, Admiral Clark Gayton, commanding the Jamaica Station, issued orders to Douglass to sail to the "little Caicos" and there to intercept and detain vessels coming from the island and carrying military stores to the rebels.

[19] During the month Squirrel sent into Jamaica two sloops, one from Cape Nichola with French produce, and the other from the Turks Islands, with salt.

[20] The first was the sloop Cornelia, of New York, Robert Sands, master, taken on 29 December 1775 with a cargo of molasses and coffee.

The second was the sloop Affie & Hannah, of New York, Benjamin Bell, master, taken on 2 January 1776 with a cargo of salt.

The mate confessed that her home port was Philadelphia and that the master had hidden her English papers.

[22] This was the sloop Thames, of Philadelphia, J. Fairibelt, master, taken on 30 January with a cargo of rum and molasses.

[21] On 10 February Jamaica was unsettled by Douglass's report that he had encountered three French ships, part of a flotilla bringing 17,000 men to Hispaniola.

[23] On 25 March Squirrel took the brig Industry, of South Carolina, Edward Allen, master, sailing in ballast.

[1] Still, on 23 December 1781 Squirrel was in company with Antigua, Dunkirk, and Cambridge at the capture of the Dutch ship De Vrow Esther.

[27] On 21 June, Squirrel, Captain John Inglis, encountered a French privateer cutter off Lands End and chased for ten hours before she struck her colours.

[28] Then four days later, Squirrel recaptured Penelope, which had been sailing from Liverpool to Cork with a cargo of salt and sugar when the French privateer Escamoteur had captured her going into Waterford.

[c] Her master became James Tomson and Union then made five slave-trading voyages, primarily between the Gold Coast and Jamaica.

[36] On her second voyage, Thomson left London on 26 August, and arrived at the Gold Coast on 13 October.

[37] Thomson had returned to command of Union and she gathered her slaves at Anomabu and Cape Coast Castle.

[3] Or her fourth slaving voyage, Thomson and Union left London on 10 July and arrived at Africa on 19 September.

[39] Thomson sailed Union on her fifth, and last, slave voyage, leaving from London on 31 October, bound for the Gold Coast.

[5] On 21 May 1796 Captain Richard Owen sailed Union from Portsmouth, bound for Bengal on a voyage for the EIC.

Union reached Gibraltar on 14 June and the Cape of Good Hope on 19 September, and arrived at Calcutta on 2 March 1797.

Homeward bound, she left Calcutta on 2 May, reached St Helena, and arrived at the Downs on 12 December.

[42] Lloyd's Register continues to show Union, Owen, master, trading with India through 1804.

[42] Then the Register of Shipping for 1802 shows Union, Hutchinson, master, Calvert, owner, trading between London and Liverpool.