Russian brig Merkurii
1820 warship
Merkuriy (Russian: Меркурий, lit. 'Mercury'; Russian pre-reform: Меркурій) was a 20-gun brig—a two-masted sailing warship of the Imperial Russian Navy. It is famous for its lopsided battle with two Ottoman Navy ships, which took place on 26 May [O.S. 14 May] 1829 during the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829.
The name Pamiat Merkuria (Russian: Память Меркурия, lit. 'In Memory of Merkuriy') was given to a number of ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Battle on May 26, 1829
Summary
Pursued by a Turkish fleet (6 ships of the line, 2 frigates, 2 corvettes, 1 brig, and 3 tenders), the Russian brig Merkuriy engaged in a lopsided battle with the ships of the line Selimiye (110 guns) and Riyala Bey (74 guns) near the Bosporus Strait. After damaging the ships one by one, the brig escaped pursuit.
Crew (as of May 1829)
Officers:
Aleksandr Ivanovich Kazarsky, Kapitan-leytenant
Fyodor Mikhailovich Novosilsky, Leytenant
Sergey Iosifovich Skariatin, Leytenant
Dmitry Petrovich Pritupov, Michman
Ivan Petrovich Prokofiev, Poruchik of the Naval Navigator Corps
One hundred and ten enlisted personnel.
Damage and casualties
As a result of the battle, the brig took 12 casualties, including 4 killed and 8 wounded. Damage to the ship included:
22 hull breaches
133 sail plan breaches
16 spar breaches
148 instances of rigging damage
All ship's boats were lost
By official information, neither Turkish ships lost crew as the brig's main objective during the battle was to damage their spars and rigging.
In art
Ivan Aivazovsky created 3 paintings featuring the ship:
Brig "Merkuriy" Leading a Battle with Two Turkish Ships / Бриг «Меркурий» ведёт бой с двумя турецкими судами
Brig "Merkuriy" meets Russian Fleet after a Victory over Two Turkish Ships on 15.05.1829 / Бриг «Меркурий» после победы над двумя турецкими кораблями встречается с русской эскадрой 15.05.1829; oil on canvas, 123 × 190 cm, State Russian Museum, 1848
Brig "Mercury" Attacked by Two Turkish Ships / Бриг «Меркурий», атакованный двумя турецкими кораблями; oil on canvas, 212 × 339 cm, Aivazovsky Picture Gallery, Feodosia, 1892
Several other artists created notable works featuring Merkuriy:
Barri: Battle of Brig "Merkuriy" with Two Turkish Ships / Барри: Бой брига «Меркурий» с двумя турецкими кораблями
Ivanov: Brig "Merkuriy" / Иванов: Бриг «Меркурий»
A. N. Lubyanov: Brig "Merkuriy" / А. Н. Лубянов: Бриг «Меркурий»
N. P. Krasovskiy: Battle of Brig "Merkuriy" with Two Turkish Ships / Н. П. Красовский: Бой брига «Меркурий» с двумя турецкими кораблями
Mikhail Stepanovitch Tkachenko: Battle of Brig "Merkuriy" with Turkish Ships on May 14, 1829 / Бой брига "Меркурий" с турецкими кораблями 14 мая 1829 года; oil on canvas, Central Naval Museum, St. Petersburg, 1907
Critics of the Aivazovsky painting
The position of the ships portrayed by Aivazovsky in his work has been criticized as being historically inaccurate because of the brig's position between two significantly larger Turkish ships.
“Russian brig Merkurii” enters the record as 1820 warship. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Russian, brig and Merkurii can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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