In the near future, the next small missile ship of project 22800 "Karakurt" will enter the Russian Navy. It is already known that the ship will be named "Mercury". And this is no coincidence. At one time, Emperor Nicholas I issued a decree according to which the Russian navy must always include a warship named after the brig "Mercury".
How did the brig deserve such an honor? The events, which will be discussed below, unfolded at the beginning of the second decade of May 1829. Another Russian-Turkish war was going on. It was caused by the unexpected, in violation of the Akkerman Convention, the closure of the Bosphorus by the Ottoman Empire. The main battles of the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-1829 deployed on land - on the Balkan Peninsula and in the Caucasus. However, there were also battles of ships in the Black Sea. The most striking episode of the naval war was the feat of the brig "Mercury".
How the brig "Mercury" was built and what was it
The eighteen-gun brig "Mercury" was laid down on January 28 (February 9), 1819, two hundred years ago, at a shipyard in Sevastopol, and on May 7 (19), 1820 it was launched. The brig was supposed to carry out the service to protect the coast of the Caucasus, as well as carry out reconnaissance and patrol missions in the Black Sea. After launching, the ship was included in the 32nd naval crew.
By the way, before the brig was built, the Russian fleet already had one "Mercury". A boat with this name participated in the Russian-Swedish war of 1788-1790 under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Roman (Robert) Crohn, a Scottish sailor who joined the Russian fleet and rose to the rank of full admiral in the Russian Empire. The boat on April 29 (May 10) 1789 attacked and captured the Swedish 12-gun tender "Snapop", and then, on May 21, captured the 44-gun frigate of the Swedish fleet "Venus".
Thus, the brig "Mercury" already had a heroic predecessor with the same name. And the new ship simply could not shame the tradition - the ships with the name "Mercury", as it seemed, ordered the ships to perform feats.
Brig "Mercury" was armed with eighteen 24-pound carronades for close combat and 2 portable 3-pounder cannons with a greater firing range, and the guns could be used in pursuit of the enemy, and when organizing a retreat.
The features of the brig "Mercury", which distinguished it from other similar ships of the then Russian fleet, included a smaller draft and the presence of seven oars on each side. The sailors rowed with oars while standing. Less draft reduced the brig's driving performance. On the other hand, the Sepings recruitment system helped to increase the strength of the ship, reduce the swing of the elements and reduce the trigger fracture. Therefore, the brig could keep a high wave well.
After launching, the "Mercury" was sent for military training in the Black Sea, then patrolled the coast of Abkhazia, fighting smuggling. The crew of the ship by 1829 consisted of 115 people, including 5 officers, 5 quartermasters, 24 sailors of 1 article, 12 sailors of 2 articles, 43 senior cabin boys, 2 drummers, 1 flute, 9 bombardiers and gunners, 14 other lower ranks.
Captain Kazarsky
An experienced naval officer, Lieutenant-Commander Alexander Ivanovich Kazarsky (1797-1833), was appointed the commander of the brig "Mercury" in 1829.32-year-old Kazarsky, the son of a retired provincial secretary who served as manager of the estate of Prince Lyubomirsky, served in the navy since his youth. He entered the Nikolaev Navigation School in 1811, at the age of 14.
In August 1813, Kazarsky was appointed midshipman of the Black Sea Fleet, and in 1814 he was promoted to the rank of midshipman. He served on the brigantines "Desna" and "Cleopatra", then commanded a detachment of small rowing ships of the Danube flotilla in Izmail. In 1819, 24-year-old Kazarsky received the rank of lieutenant and was assigned to the frigate Eustathius. During his service on the frigate, he formed himself as a future commander - decisive, fair and capable of operational thinking.
After serving for some time on the frigate "Evstafiy", Lieutenant Kazarsky was transferred to the schooner "Sevastopol", then to the transport ships "Ingul", "Rival", served on the boat "Sokol" and on the brig "Mercury". In 1828, when the next Russian-Turkish war began, Kazarsky commanded the transport ship "Rival". After the transport was equipped with a "unicorn", it turned into a bombardment ship.
Under the command of Kazarsky, "Rival" took part in the siege of Anapa - then still a Turkish fortress, received 6 holes in the corps, but continued to shell the fortress. It was for his participation in the siege of Anapa that the 31-year-old lieutenant Kazarsky was promoted to lieutenant commander of the fleet. Then he took part in the capture of Varna, and in 1829 he was appointed commander of the brig "Mercury", the experience of service in which Kazarsky already had.
May 14, 1829 brig "Mercury", commanded by Kazarsky, was overtaken by two Turkish ships "Selimiye" and "Real-Bey". Both ships had a tenfold superiority in the number of guns. The brig, however, won a complete victory over the enemy.
If in the great deeds of ancient and modern times there are feats of courage, then this act should darken all of them, and the name of this hero is worthy to be inscribed in golden letters on the Temple of Glory: he is called Lieutenant-Commander Kazarsky, and the brig is "Mercury", - wrote later in his memoirs one of the Turkish naval officers who served at the time of the battle on the ship "Real Bey".
Fight brig "Mercury"
As soon as it became clear to the commander of the ship Kazarsky that it would not be possible to avoid a collision with the Turkish ships, he decided to stand to the last. The ship's gunners took their places at the artillery pieces. To prevent panic among the crew, Kazarsky placed an armed sentry at the flag-halyard with the order to shoot to kill any crew member who tried to lower the flag.
Fire was opened on the enemy from 3-pounder cannons. In order not to distract the sailors from working with oars, the brig officers themselves, including Kazarsky, took the places of artillery servants. When the Selimiye tried to outflank the brig on the right, the Mercury fired back with her starboard guns. Ultimately, the "Mercury" successfully maneuvered under enemy fire. Fires broke out in the brig three times and they were successfully extinguished three times. The cannoneers of the brig managed to kill the water-staff and damage the main-bram-topmast of the ship "Selimiye". After that, the mainsail of the Turkish ship broke down and "Selimiye" went into a drift. He left the battle, after which only one Real Bey remained to oppose Mercury.
The Turkish ship attacked the Mercury, but also unsuccessfully. By return fire, the brig's gunners interrupted the left leg of the für-mars-ray of the Turkish ship. Real Bay lost the opportunity to pursue the brig. After that, the "Mercury" headed towards Sizopol.
The results of the battle were impressive. On the "Mercury" only four crew members were killed, six people were injured of varying severity, the brig received 22 holes in the hull, 133 in the sails, 16 injuries in the spars, 148 in the rigging, all rowing boats on the rostrum were smashed, one carronade was damaged. Of course, the losses at Real Bey and Selimiye were much higher, but their exact number remained unknown.
The fate of Alexander Kazarsky
The feat of the brig "Mercury" could not fail to cause sincere admiration for all of Russia at that time. It was hard to believe that the small brig had defeated two enemy ships of the line. The heroism of the officers and sailors of the "Mercury" was also impressive.
Naturally, Alexander Kazarsky himself was awarded the Order of St. George of the IV class for the feat. He was promoted to the rank of captain of the 2nd rank and appointed aide-de-camp. The coat of arms of the Kazarsky family included an image of a Tula pistol as a symbol of readiness to sacrifice oneself. Before the battle Kazarsky put this pistol on the spire at the entrance to the cruise chamber, so that the last officer who would have survived on the "Mercury" brig would fire and detonate the gunpowder.
The career of captain Kazarsky after the feat of the brig "Mercury" went uphill. For a naval officer at that time, the rank of captain of the 2nd rank was already a very serious achievement. Kazarsky was transferred to the post of commander of the 44-gun frigate "Haste", with which he participated in the capture of Mesemvria. Then, from July 17, 1829 to 1830, Kazarsky commanded the 60-gun frigate "Tenedos", on which he sailed to the Bosphorus three times.
As an adjutant wing, Kazarsky also carried out various assignments, for example, in 1830, together with Prince Trubetskoy, he was sent on a visit to England to congratulate King William IV. Already in 1831, 2 years after the feat, Alexander Kazarsky received the rank of captain 1st rank and was included in the retinue of Emperor Nicholas I. It was an impressive career - from the commander of a small brig and lieutenant commander two years to captain 1st rank and suite.
As a member of the retinue, Kazarsky carried out assignments related to the management of the naval and civilian fleet of the Russian Empire. For example, he traveled to Kazan to determine the feasibility of the existence of the Kazan Admiralty. Then Kazarsky went from the White Sea to Onega, studying the possibility of opening a new waterway.
But Kazarsky's high post played a fatal role in his fate. In 1833, Kazarsky was sent to check the logistic services and offices of the ports on the Black Sea coast. In Nikolaev, where Kazarsky arrived for a check, he suddenly died as a result of coffee poisoning with arsenic. Apparently, the captain's poisoners had high patrons, since the investigation was never completed, and the perpetrators were not identified and were not punished.
How the memory of "Mercury" was immortalized
Kazarsky, who died untimely, became a landmark figure in the history of the Russian fleet. His name was immortalized in the Russian Empire. In Sevastopol, the famous monument to Alexander Kazarsky was erected, several warships were named in his honor.
A number of ships were named in memory of the brig "Mercury". So, in 1865 this name was given to the corvette "Memory of Mercury", in 1883 - the cruiser "Memory of Mercury", and in 1907 the cruiser "Cahul" was renamed to "Memory of Mercury". The cruiser had this name until 1918, when the UPR authorities renamed it to "Hetman Ivan Mazepa". But the Ukrainians did not want to serve almost the entire crew of the ship, which left it, taking the St. George flag with them.
Already in the 1960s, the Soviet command came to the conclusion that it was necessary to return to the glorious traditions of the Russian fleet. The name "Memory of Mercury" was given to a small survey vessel. His fate was tragic. In the 1990s, the ship, for lack of funds, took up commercial cargo flights between Crimea and Turkey and in 2001 sank 90 miles from Sevastopol. In that crash, 7 crew members and 13 passengers were killed. Nevertheless, at the beginning of 2019, the new corvette of the 20386 project was named "Mercury".
