Qualla: HMS Plumper (1807)

HMS Plumper (1807): Introduction

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Somewhere off Dipper Harbour, in the cold waters of the Bay of Fundy, lies a fortune in gold and silver that has fueled treasure-hunting dreams for over two centuries. HMS Plumper, a Royal Navy gun-brig launched in 1807, went down on December 5, 1812, carrying a substantial cargo of specie -- at least 36,000 pounds sterling, and possibly as much as 70,000 pounds -- intended as payroll for the British garrison fighting the United States. Of the roughly seventy-five people aboard -- crew and passengers -- only about thirty survived by scaling the cliffs. Every officer, including her commander Lieutenant James Bray, drowned.

Read more: HMS Plumper (1807) on Qualla

HMS Plumper (1807): From the Caribbean to the Bay of Fundy

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Plumper's career began under Lieutenant William Frissell, who commissioned her in 1808 and commanded her during the British capture of Guadeloupe in January and February of 1810. That Caribbean campaign earned her crew a place in naval history -- in 1847, the Admiralty awarded th...

Read more: HMS Plumper (1807) on Qualla

HMS Plumper (1807): Privateer Hunter

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

When war broke out between Britain and the United States in 1812, Plumper found herself patrolling the Bay of Fundy under Lieutenant James Bray. The bay was thick with American privateers -- small, fast vessels that preyed on British merchant shipping. On July 16, 1812, Plumper a...

Read more: HMS Plumper (1807) on Qualla

HMS Plumper (1807): The Final Voyage

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

On December 5, 1812, Plumper was sailing toward Halifax carrying a cargo far more valuable than any privateer's prize: tens of thousands of pounds sterling in gold and silver coin -- contemporary accounts differ on whether it was 36,000 or as much as 70,000 pounds -- destined as ...

Read more: HMS Plumper (1807) on Qualla

HMS Plumper (1807): The Treasure That Vanished

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

HMS Bream and the sloop Brunswicker reached the wreck site the following day to search for survivors and attempt recovery. Some of the specie was recovered by British forces, but a good part of the cargo was lost. Local accounts of the gold recovery are numerous and varied, and p...

Read more: HMS Plumper (1807) on Qualla