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Lyon's Whelp Lord Admiral Buckingham instituted a class of warships named the Lyon's Whelps. There were ten of them built, the First Lyon's Whelp in the late 1620s. (Ed. Discussed here. )They were named First Lyon's Whelp, Second Lyon's Whelp, and so on. The Fourth went down off Jersey. The Fifth was also lost with 17 men on board. The seventh exploded off Suffolk due to negligence in the powder-store. The Tenth was built by Robert Tranckmore of Shoreham, ended her sailing days, and "sold by candle" on 19 Oct. 1654. As one sees, there are many British ships with the name, Lyon's Whelp. The most famous and may have been the First Lions/Lyon's Whelp was invested by Lord Admiral Howard as his contribution in backing the El Dorado "entrada" (expedition) to Guiana, S.A. organized by Sir Walter Raleigh circa 1594. The Lion's Whelp was listed in the Raleigh privateering fleet in 1595. The Lion's Whelp was sent to the Low Countries by Lord Cobham. Following Raleigh's voyage, the Lion's Whelp returned to West Indies in 1596-97 captained by Henry Reynolds. The Lion's Whelp saw action at Cadiz in 1596, most probably captained by Henry Gifford, knighted for this action. In 1601, Lord Admiral Howard sold the Lion's Whelp to the state. She was refurbished and was serviceable until 1625. During this time, James I gave the Lion's Whelp to Lord Admiral Buckingham for a planned expedition to discover the Northwest Passage to Asia; however, the Lion's Whelp did not sail and was not heard of again. Could this be the Lion's Whelp that brought William Dodge along with the Sprague family, and others to Salem in 1629? This is conjecture, not to convince, but to interest everyone so that some may further investigate and report on our Lion's Whelp. This article was re-posted with permission from the Dodge Family WebSite. |