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{{Short description|Sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts}}
{{hatnote group|
{{Other uses|Brig (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Brigantine}}
 
{{Infobox weapon
|is_vehicle=yes
|type=Sailing vessel
| name = Brig
| image = Brig Niagara full sail.jpg
| image_size = 300
| caption = The [[USS Niagara (1813)|United States Brig ''Niagara'']]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/37/00.007.005.000..HTM|title=Section 705 - Title 37 - HISTORICAL AND MUSEUMS|website=www.legis.state.pa.us}}</ref>
}}
[[File:John Scott - The Collier Brig 'Mary' TWMS SSM TWCMS G4228.jpg|thumb|The [[South Shields]] [[Collier (ship)|collier]] brig ''Mary'', painted by John Scott in 1855, showing two views of the same vessel. A [[Bentinck boom]] is fitted to the foot of the fore-course as a labour saving device when tacking.]]
A '''brig''' is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both [[square rig|square-rigged]]. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part of the 19th century. In commercial use, they were gradually replaced by fore-and-aft rigged vessels such as schooners, as owners sought to reduce crew costs by having rigs that could be handled by fewer men. In Royal Navy use, brigs were retained for training use when the battle fleets consisted almost entirely of iron-hulled steamships.▼
[[File:Joseph Walter - A Trading Brig Entering the Bristol Avon.jpg|thumb|A small trading brig entering the [[River Avon, Bristol|Bristol Avon]], painted by Joseph Walter]]
▲A '''brig''' is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both [[square rig|square-rigged]]. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part of the 19th century. In commercial use, they were gradually replaced by [[Fore-and-aft rig|fore-and-aft rigged vessels]] such as [[Schooner|schooners]], as owners sought to reduce crew costs by having rigs that could be handled by fewer men. In [[Royal Navy]] use, brigs were retained for training use when the battle fleets consisted almost entirely of iron-hulled steamships.
 
As merchant vessels, brigsBrigs were prominent in the coastingcoastal coal trade of British waters. 4,395 voyages to London with coal were recorded in 1795. With an average of eight or nine trips per year for one vessel, that is a fleet of over 500 colliers trading to London alone. Other ports and coastal communities were also be served by colliers trading to Britain's coal ports. TheIn the first half of the 19th century, the vast majority were rigged as brigs, and that rig was retained for longer in the northeast of England.<ref name="MacGregor 1984">{{cite book |last1=MacGregor |first1=David R |title=Merchant Sailing Ships 1815-1850 Supremacy of Sail |date=1984 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |isbn=0 -85177 -294 -3}}</ref>{{rp|49}}
[[File:Brig Niagara full sail.jpg|thumb|The [[Snow (ship)|snow brig]] [[USS Niagara (1813)|Niagara]]]]
 
▼
==Rigging==
[[File:Brig3.png|thumb|left|A typical brig [[sail plan]]]]
 
In [[sailing]], a full-rigged '''brig''' is a vessel with two [[square rig]]ged [[mast (sailing)|masts]] (fore and main).<ref name="Sand">{{cite web|title=Schooner In The Sand|url=http://www.michigan.gov/documents/hal_mhc_mhm_schooner_tg_07-09-2002_92621_7.pdf| date=January 2002 |access-date= 2007-01-12}}</ref> The main mast of a brig is the aft one. To improve maneuverability, the mainmast carries a small ([[gaff rig]]ged) [[fore-and-aft]] sail.<ref name="NJ">{{cite web|url=http://www.njscuba.net/artifacts/ship_sailing_ship.html|title=Sailing ships|access-date=2007-01-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070113100740/http://www.njscuba.net/artifacts/ship_sailing_ship.html|archive-date=2007-01-13|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 
Brig sails are named after the masts to which they are attached: the [[mainsail]]; above that the main [[topsail]]; above that the main [[topgallant sail]]; and occasionally a very small sail, called the [[royal sail|royal]], is above that. Behind the main sail there is a small fore-and-aft sail called the [[spanker (sail)|spanker]] or [[Boom (sailing)|boom]] mainsail (it is somewhat similar to the main sail of a [[schooner]]). On the [[foremast]] is a similar sail, called the [[trysail]]. Attached to the respective [[yard (sailing)|yards]] of square-rigged ships are smaller spars, which can be extended, thus lengthening the yard, thus receiving an additional sailing wing on each side. These are called [[studding sail]]s, and are used with fair and light wind only. The wings are named after the sails to which they are fastened, i.e. the main studding sails, main top studding sails, and the main top gallant studding sails, etc.<ref name="Man">{{cite web| title=Man on the Ocean|author=R.M. Ballantyne| url= http://www.athelstane.co.uk/ballanty/manocean/ocean10.htm |access-date= 2007-01-12 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061011015913/http://www.athelstane.co.uk/ballanty/manocean/ocean10.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2006-10-11}}</ref>
 
TheA brig's [[foremast]] is smaller than the main mast. The fore mast holds a fore sail, fore top sail, fore top gallant sail, and fore royal. Between the fore mast and the [[bowsprit]] are the fore [[staysail]], [[jib]], and [[flying jib]]. All the yards are manipulated by a complicated arrangement of cordage named the "[[running rigging]]". This is opposed to the [[standing rigging]] which is fixed, and keeps mast and other objects rigid.<ref name="Man"/>
 
==Hull material==
A brig is "generally built on a larger scale than a [[schooner]], and may approach the magnitude of a full-sized, three-masted [[full-rigged ship|ship]]."<ref name="Man" /> Brigs vary in length between {{convert|75|and|165|ft|m|abbr=on}} with tonnages up to 480.<ref name="Texas">{{cite web|url=http://www.texasnavy.com/History/General/19th_Century_Nautical_Glossary.pdf|title=The Texas Navies|access-date=2007-01-12|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425050927/http://www.texasnavy.com/History/General/19th_Century_Nautical_Glossary.pdf|archive-date=2012-04-25}}</ref> A notable exception being the famous designer [[Colin Mudie]]'s 'Little Brigs'<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tallshipstock.com/colinmudie.html|title=Colin Mudie|website=tallshipstock.com|access-date=2017-02-25}}</ref> (''TS Bob Allen'' and ''TS Caroline Allen)'', which are only 10m{{cvt|30|ft|0}} long and weigh only 8 tonnes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.littlebrig.org/sail-with-us/|title=The Little Brig Sailing Trust - Sail with Us|website=www.littlebrig.org|language=en|access-date=2017-02-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226131100/http://www.littlebrig.org/sail-with-us/|archive-date=2017-02-26|url-status=dead}}</ref> Historically, most brigs were made of wood, although some later brigs were built with hulls and masts of steel or iron.<ref name="NJ" /> A brig made of pine in the 19th century was designed to last for about twenty years (many lasted longer).<ref name="NJ" />{{Better source needed|reason=This does not seem to fit with them being classed 6 or 7A1 by Lloyd's |date=October 2021}}
 
==Development of the brig==
The word "''brig"'' has been used in the past as an abbreviation of ''[[brigantine]]'' (which is the name for a two-masted vessel with [[foremast]] fully square rigged and her mainmast rigged with both a [[Fore-and-aft rig|fore-and-aft]] mainsail, square topsails and possibly topgallant sails). The brig actually developed as a variant of the brigantine. Re-rigging a brigantine with two square-rigged masts instead of one gave it greater sailing power. The square-rigged brig's advantage over the fore-and-aft rigged brigantine was "that the sails, being smaller and more numerous, are more easily managed, and require fewer men or 'hands' to work them."<ref name="Man"/> The variant was so popular that the term "''brig"'' came to exclusively signify a ship with this type of rigging.<ref name="Pirate">{{cite web|url=http://groups.msn.com/6nb38spqtrspsianegph7fjk07/ships.msnw|title=Pirate Ships|access-date=2007-01-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111042103/http://groups.msn.com/6nb38spqtrspsianegph7fjk07/ships.msnw|archive-date=2007-11-11|url-status=dead}}</ref> By the 17th century the British Royal Navy defined "brig" as having two square rigged masts.<ref>{{cite web|title= Brig or Brigantine|url= http://www.mariner.org/exploration/index.php?type=shiptype&id=3|access-date= 2007-01-13|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070912133014/http://www.mariner.org/exploration/index.php?type=shiptype&id=3|archive-date= 2007-09-12}}</ref>
 
==Historic usage==
[[File:Joseph Heard - The Merchant Brig Rimac In Two Positions.jpg|thumb|''Rimac'', a brig built by [[Brocklebank Line|Brocklebank]] in [[Whitehaven]] in 1834 for trade between [[Peru]] and [[Liverpool]]{{r|MacGregor 1984|p=75}}]]
Brigs were used as small warships carrying about 10 to 18 guns.<ref name="Texas"/> Due to their speed and maneuverability they were popular among pirates (though they were rare among American and Caribbean pirates).<ref name="Man"/><ref name="Pirate"/> While their use stretches back before the 17th century, one of the most famous periods for the brig was during the 19th century when they were involved in famous naval battles such as the [[Battle of Lake Erie]]. In the early 19th century the brig was a standard cargo ship. It was seen as "fast and well sailing", but required a large crew to handle its rigging.<ref name="Tre">{{cite web|title=The "Stockholm Brig" Tre Kronor| url=http://www.abc.se/~pa/bld/sth-brig.htm |access-date= 2007-01-12}}</ref> While brigs could not sail into the wind as easily as fore-and-aft–rigged vessels such as schooners, a trait that is common to all square-rigged ships, a skilled brig captain could "manoeuvre it with ease and elegance; a brig could for instance turn around almost on the spot".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sailing-ships.oktett.net/brig.html|title=Brig|access-date=2007-01-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061230031219/http://sailing-ships.oktett.net/brig.html|archive-date=2006-12-30|url-status=dead}}</ref> A brig's square-rig also had the advantage over a fore-and-aft–rigged vessel when travelling offshore, in the trade winds, where vessels sailed down wind for extended distances and where "the danger of a sudden [[jibe]] was the large schooner-captain's nightmare".<ref>Chapelle: The History Of American Sailing Ships, 1935, p.209</ref> This trait later led to the evolution of the [[barquentine]]. The need for large crews in relation to their relatively small size led to the decline of the production of brigs. They were replaced in commercial traffic by gaffsail schooners (which needed fewer personnel) and [[steam boat]]s (which did not have the windward performance problems of square rigged ships).<ref name="Tre"/>
Brigs were used as small warships carrying about 10 to 18 guns.<ref name="Texas"/> Due to their speed and maneuverability they were popular among pirates (though they were rare among American and Caribbean pirates).<ref name="Man"/><ref name="Pirate"/> While their use stretches back before the 17th century, one of the most famous periods for the brig was during the 19th century when they were involved in famous naval battles such as the [[Battle of Lake Erie]]. In the early 19th century the brig was a standard cargo ship. It was seen as "fast and well sailing", but required a large crew to handle its rigging.<ref name="Tre">{{cite web|title=The "Stockholm Brig" Tre Kronor| url=http://www.abc.se/~pa/bld/sth-brig.htm |access-date= 2007-01-12}}</ref>
[[File:The opium clipper Lanrick.jpg|thumb|The opium clipper ''Lanrick'' with the main topsail aback (to reduce speed)]]
 
Brigs were seen as more manoeuvrable than schooners. [[James Cook]] requested the conversion of the schooner HMS ''Grenfell'' to a brig, with the justification of the better control that he would have with a brig versus a schooner. The ability to stop the ship quickly (by backing sails) was particularly important for a vessel doing survey work.<ref name="Beaglehole 1974">{{cite book |last1=Beaglehole |first1=J C |title=The Life of Captain James Cook |date=1974 |publisher=A and C Black |location=London |isbn=9780713613827}}</ref>{{rp|82}} The windward ability of brigs (which depends as much on hull shape as the rig) could be comparable to or better than contemporary schooners. The author and naval officer [[Frederick Marryat]] characterised brigs as having superior windward performance to the schooners of that time. Marryat is considered, by maritime historians, to be an authoritative source on such matters.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Batchvarov |first1=Kroum |title=The Merchant Ship in the British Atlantic, 1600–1800: Continuity and Innovation in a Key Technology |journal=International Journal of Nautical Archaeology |date=3 July 2021 |volume=50 |issue=2 |pages=403–406 |doi=10.1080/10572414.2021.1987716}}</ref>
▲
A brig's square-rig also had the advantage over a fore-and-aft–rigged vessel when travelling offshore, in the trade winds, where vessels sailed down wind for extended distances and where "the danger of a sudden [[jibe]] was the large schooner-captain's nightmare".<ref>Chapelle: The History Of American Sailing Ships, 1935, p.209</ref> This trait later led to the evolution of the [[barquentine]]. The need for large crews in relation to their relatively small size led to the decline of the production of brigs. They were replaced in commercial traffic by gaffsail schooners (which needed fewer personnel) and [[steam boat]]s.
 
==Historic examples==
[[File:battle small.jpg|thumb|Painting of the brig USS ''Niagara'' in the 1813 [[Battle of Lake Erie]].]]
[[File:Aivazovsky, Brig Mercury Attacked by Two Turkish Ships 1892.jpg|thumb|''[[Brig "Mercury" Attacked by Two Turkish Ships]]'', [[Ivan Aivazovsky]], Oil-oil on- canvas, 1892]]
 
* [[HMS Pilot|HMS ''Pilot'']], a [[Cruizer-class brig-sloop|''Cruizer''-class brig-sloop]] launched in 1807. While commanded by John Toup Nicholas off southern Italy in 1810-18121810–1812, ''Pilot'' participated in the capture or destruction of over 130 enemy vessels. In 1815 she fought the last naval engagement of the Napoleonic Wars, fighting to a draw the French frigate ''Légère''.
* [[USS Argus (1803)|USS ''Argus'']] used during the [[First Barbary War]] and the [[War of 1812]].
* ''[[Texan brig Archer|Archer]]'', a vessel of the [[Second Texas Navy]].
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* The cargo-hauling brig ''Farmer''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mgw:@field(DOCID+@lit(wd0363))|title=American Memory from the Library of Congress|website=memory.loc.gov|access-date=2019-11-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129142121/http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem%2Fmgw%3A%40field%28DOCID+%40lit%28wd0363%29%29|archive-date=2018-11-29|url-status=dead}}</ref> owned by [[George Washington]].
* The cargo-hauling brig ''Fleetwing''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://freespace.virgin.net/r.cadwalader/maritime/era/fleetwin.htm#topfleetwing |title=Fleetwing (brig, built by Richard Jones at Borth y Gest, in 1874) |access-date=2007-01-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070301112328/http://freespace.virgin.net/r.cadwalader/maritime/era/fleetwin.htm#topfleetwing |archive-date=2007-03-01 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* The ''Bonanza'' of Liverpool, built as a barquentine in 1830 and converted to a brig in 1841.{{r|MacGregor 1984|pp=79-80}} The first ship to bring a cargo of Peruvian guano to the UK, in 1841, setting off decades of a lucrative export trade.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/HECROS1841/page/n133/mode/2up|title=Lloyd's Register of Shipping 1841|website=archive.org|access-date=2021-11-22}}</ref>
* ''Leonora'' of Captain [[Bully Hayes]].
* ''[[Russian brig Mercury|Mercury]]'' (Russian: Меркурий) An 1819 Russian navy 18 gun brig painted twice by [[Ivan Aivazovsky]]. On May 14, 1829, Mercury engaged in an uneven battle against 2 Turkish ships of the line, Selimiye (110 guns) and Real-Bei (74 guns) and emerged victorious from that battle, damaging both Turkish sufficiently to be not able to chase Mercury and disengaging the battle.
* [[USS Niagara (1813)|USS ''Niagara'']] captained by commander [[Oliver Hazard Perry]] in the [[Battle of Lake Erie]], a pivotal victory for the United States in the [[War of 1812]].
* USS ''Oregon'', used in the [[U.S. Exploring Expedition]].
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*[[Joel Root]] as [[supercargo]] sailed out of New Haven harbor in 1802 on the brig ''Huron'' to begin his journey around the world on a sealing expedition.
* [[Rover (privateering ship)|Rover]] was a privateer brig out of Liverpool, Nova Scotia known for several bold battles in the Napoleonic Wars.
* [[HMS Temeraire (1876)|HMS ''Temeraire'']], "The Great Brig", an [[ironclad]] launched in 1876, the largest ship to sail with a brig rig.
* [[NMS Mircea (1882)|NMS ''Mircea'']] was a brig of the [[Romanian Navy]], built in London in 1882 and sunk by aircraft in April 1944.
* The ''Telos'', built in [[Bangor, Maine]] in 1883, was reportedly the last brig to join the American merchant marine, and was "considered to be the finest vessel of her class ever constructed in Maine". She was wrecked on Aves Island, off [[Bonaire]] in the Caribbean, in 1900.<ref>''New York Times'' June 17, 1900, p. 10</ref>
* [[Whaler|Industry]], a whaler found to have been sunk in the Gulf of Mexico.
 
The famous mystery ship ''[[Mary Celeste]]'', while sometimes called a brig, was clearly a [[brigantine]].
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*''Jolly Roger'', a pirate ship of [[Captain Hook]] from [[James M. Barrie]]'s ''[[Peter Pan]]''.
*''Lightning'' in [[Joseph Conrad]]'s ''The Rescue'' and the brig "Bonito" in Conrad's "Freya of the Seven Isles".
*''Molly Swash'', in [[James Fenimore Cooper]]’s's book ''Jack Tier''.
*''Morrigan'' in the game ''[[Assassin's Creed Rogue]]'', which was a brig-sloop.
*''Porta Coeli'', ''Flame'' and ''Amélie'' appear in the [[Horatio Hornblower]] series of books by [[C. S. Forester]] (later adapted to films and television).
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*''Triton'' in ''[[Ramage and the Freebooters]]'' and ''Governor Ramage R.N.'' by [[Dudley Pope]].
*''Poison Orchid'' in [[Scott Lynch]]'s ''[[Red Seas Under Red Skies]]''.
*''Lady Caroline'' in [[Eddie Price]]'s [[Rebels Abroad]]."
*Thousand Sunny in [[One Piece]]
 
==Modern recreationsbrigs==
[[Image:Lady Washington Commencement Bay2.jpg|thumb|The brig ''[[Lady Washington]]'']]
 
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*''Tre Kronor''<ref name="Tre"/><ref name="Tre Kronor">{{cite web|title=The "Stockholm Brig" Tre Kronor Homepage| url=http://www.briggentrekronor.se |access-date= 2008-06-17}}</ref>
*[[U.S. Brig Niagara (replica)|''Niagara'']]
*''Morgenster''
*[[HMS Lady Nelson (1798)#Replica vessels|''Lady Nelson'']]
*[[TS Royalist (1971)|TS ''Royalist'']]
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*''Stavros S Niarchos'' and ''Prince William''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tallships.org/document.asp?cat=693&doc=6823|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626195143/http://www.tallships.org/document.asp?cat=693&doc=6823|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 June 2007|title=Tall Ships Youth Trust|date=26 June 2007}}</ref>
*[[Roald Amundsen (brig)|''Roald Amundsen'']]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sailtraining.de|title=Mitsegeln auf der Roald Amundsen : Homepage|first=Alexander|last=Stielau|website=www.sailtraining.de}}</ref>
*''[[La Grace]]''
*The 'Little Brigs' ''TS Bob Allen'' and ''TS Caroline Allen''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.littlebrig.org|title=The Little Brig Sailing Trust - About us|website=www.littlebrig.org|language=en|access-date=2017-02-25}}</ref>
Mercedes *''[http://www.windisourfriend.com/en/sailingship/mercedes.html# Mercedes]''
*[[Fryderyk Chopin (ship)|''Fryderyk Chopin'']]
 
Fryderyk Chopin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fryderyk_Chopin_(ship)
 
==See also==
*[[Brig sloop]]
*[[Brigantine]]
*[[Cruizer-class brig-sloop]]
*[[Gun-brig]]
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{{Wiktionary}}
{{Commons category|Brigs (ship)|Brigs}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101228161737/http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/AtoZ/rigs.html "Sailing Ship Rigs" Infosheet Guide to Classic Sailing Rigs ''Maritime Museum of the Atlantic'' Comparison of rigging on different sailing vessels]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101228161737/http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/AtoZ/rigs.html Comparison of rigging on different sailing vessels]
*[http://www.flagshipniagara.org/us-brig-niagara/flagship-niagara-about/ The brig ''Niagara'' at the Erie Maritime Museum]
*[http://sailtraining.org/ The American Sail Training Association] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428141932/http://sailtraining.org/ |date=2019-04-28 }}
*[http://www.historicalseaport.org/ Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority]
*[https://archive.today/20050427103202/http://www.maritimeheritage.net/ Maritime Heritage Network], an online directory of maritime history resources in the [[Pacific Northwest]].
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[[Category:Merchant sailing ship types]]
[[Category:Tall ships]]
[[Category:Pirate ships]]
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