Naval/Maritime History 22nd of March - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 November 1914 - The Raid on Yarmouth


The Raid on Yarmouth, which took place on 3 November 1914, was an attack by the Imperial German Navy on the British North Sea port and town of Great Yarmouth. Little damage was done to the town since shells only landed on the beach, after German ships laying mines offshore were interrupted by British destroyers. HMS D5, a submarine, was sunk by a German mine as it attempted to leave harbour and attack the German ships. A German armoured cruiser was sunk after striking two German mines outside its home port.

Background
In October 1914, the Imperial German Navy sought ways to attack the British fleet. The Royal Navy had more ships than Germany, so it was felt inadvisable to enter into a fleet-to-fleet engagement. Instead, the Germans looked to attack British ships individually or in small groups. The Kaiser had given orders that no major fleet action was to take place but small groups of ships might still take part in raids.

The raids had several objectives. One was to lay mines to sink passing British ships. Another was to pick off any small ships encountered or to entice larger groups into giving chase and lead them back to where the German High Seas Fleet would be waiting in ambush, in relatively safe waters near Germany. A further consideration was that raiding British coastal towns might force the British to alter the disposition of its ships to protect them. The British kept the greater part of the Grand Fleet together, so it would always have superiority whenever it engaged the Germans. The German navy hoped to encourage the British to split more ships from the main fleet for coastal defence, giving Germany more chances to catch isolated ships.

Prelude
The Yarmouth raid was carried out by the German battlecruiser squadron (Admiral Franz von Hipper) with the battlecruisers SMS Seydlitz, Von der Tann and Moltke, the slightly smaller armoured cruiser SMS Blücher and the light cruisers SMS Strassburg, Graudenz, Kolberg and Stralsund. On this occasion, mines were to be laid off the coast of Yarmouth and Lowestoft and the ships were to shell Yarmouth.

Raid
At 16:30 on 2 November 1914, the battlecruiser squadron left its base on the Jade River. Two squadrons of German battleships followed slightly later, to lie in wait for ships that the battlecruisers might have lured. By midnight, the squadron was sufficiently north to be passing fishing trawlers from various countries. By 06:30 on 3 November, the patrol sighted a marker buoy at "Smith's Knoll Watch", allowing them to determine their exact position and close in to Yarmouth. The Yarmouth coast was patrolled by the minesweeper HMS Halcyon and the old destroyers HMS Lively and Leopard. Halcyon spotted two cruisers, which she challenged. The response came in the form of shellfire from small and then larger guns. Arthur Hungerford Pollen wrote that

Private letters speak of salvoes falling short and over in the most disconcerting manner, and of the ship being so drenched with water as to be in danger of foundering. One man was lost through a fragment of a shell.
— Pollen​
SMS_Seydlitz2.jpg
The German flagship, SMS Seydlitz

Lively—some 2 mi (1.7 nmi; 3.2 km) behind—started to make smoke to hide the ships. German shooting was less accurate than it might have been because all the battlecruisers fired upon her at once, making it harder for each ship to see their fall of shot and correct their aim. At 07:40, Hipper ceased firing at Lively and directed some shells toward Yarmouth, which hit the beach. Once Stralsund had finished laying mines, the ships departed.

Halcyon—out of immediate danger—radioed a warning of the presence of German ships. The destroyer HMS Success moved to join them, while three more destroyers in harbour began raising steam. The submarines HMS E10, D5 and D3—inside the harbour—moved out to join the chase, but D5 struck a mine and sank. At 08:30, Halcyon returned to harbour and provided a report of what had happened.

At 09:55, Admiral Beatty was ordered south with a battlecruiser squadron and squadrons of the Grand Fleet following from Ireland. By then, Hipper was 50 mi (43 nmi; 80 km) away, heading home. German ships waited overnight in Schillig Roads for fog to clear before returning to harbour. In the fog, the armoured cruiser SMS Yorck—which was travelling from the Jade Bay to Wilhelmshaven—went off course and hit two mines. A number of the crew survived by sitting on the wreck of the ship, which had sunk in shallow water but at least 235 men were killed (reports vary).

Aftermath
Admiral Hipper was awarded an Iron Cross but refused to wear it, feeling little had been accomplished. Although the results were not spectacular, German commanders were heartened by the ease with which Hipper had arrived and departed and were encouraged to try again. The lack of reaction from the British had been due partly to news that morning of a much more serious loss at the Battle of Coronel and because Admiral John Jellicoe, commander of the Grand Fleet, was on a train returning to his ships at the time of the raid.[9] According to Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty, the British could not believe there was nothing more to the raid than briefly shelling Yarmouth and were waiting for something else to happen

Order of battle
Royal Navy
Imperial German Navy



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raid_on_Yarmouth
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
3 November 1940 - SS Laurentic, an 18,724-ton ocean liner, torpedoed and sunk


The second SS Laurentic was an 18,724-ton ocean liner built in 1927 by Harland and Wolff, Belfast, for the White Star Line. She served on the Canadian route from 1927 to 1936. After the merger of the White Star Line with Cunard Line, the ship was mainly used for cruise service. After December 1935, however, she was laid up unused in Liverpool. In August 1939, she was requisitioned and converted into an auxiliary cruiser for the Royal Navy for service in the Second World War. The Laurentic was torpedoed by the German submarine U-99 on 3 November 1940 off Bloody Foreland, County Donegal, Ireland during a rescue mission for another ship that had been torpedoed and sunk, but she remained afloat. After two more torpedoes smashed into the ship, she foundered, taking the lives of 49 people.

Construction

RMS Laurentic ii.jpg
Postcard of Laurentic

The construction of this ship is peculiar in several respects. In fact, it was the only time in sixty years that White Star Line ordered from the shipyard Harland & Wolff on the basis of a defined budget. The Laurentic thus appeared to be a ship at a discount, an unusual fact in the history of the company. The very origin of the construction was rather nebulous, since she was built with the hull number 470, while the Doric, put into service in 1923 (four years before her), had the hull number 573. This would suggest that the decision to build the Laurentic was made in the early 1920s and that the construction sites retained the cumbersome unfinished structure for more than five years, but the cause of the delay is unknown. Not only did it have a profile similar to that of the Doric, the Laurentic also stood out for its archaism: she was still propelled by coal when most of the newer ships were fueled by oil, and its propulsion is similar to the one used by the first Laurenticin 1909. She used two quadruple expansion engines powering sided propellers and a low pressure turbine for the central propeller. The construction was delayed by the 1926 United Kingdom general strike. The ship was eventually launched without a ceremony on 16 June 1927. She was completed five months later on November 1, after which she left Belfast for Liverpool with representatives of the company and shipyards on board.

laurentic II.jpg

Passenger career
On 31 December 1927, she began her maiden voyage, sailing from Liverpool and cruising around the Mediterranean before returning to Liverpool on 17 April 1928. On 27 April 1928, the ship was transferred to the Liverpool - Quebec - Montreal route and remained there for most of her commercial career but also occasionally cruised the Mediterranean. In January 1931, it was expected that the ship be transferred to a Mediterranean cruise but the Great Depression made the service unprofitable.

The Laurentic had two collisions during her career. The first occurred on 3 October 1932 with Lurigethen of the HE Moss Line. Both vessels remained afloat following the collision. An inquiry later determined that the crews of the Laurentic was responsible for the accident. The second occurred on 18 August 1935 with Napier Star of the Blue Star Line, leaving six dead among the crew of Laurentic.

On February 25, 1934, she made her last crossing on a regular line for the White Star between Boston, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, and Liverpool. She was then assigned to cruises. In March of that year, she transported 700 pilgrims from Dublin to Rome for the Easter celebrations. Many unnecessary ships were sold in the following years, but the Laurentic was retained and temporarily assigned to the Montreal route before returning to cruising.

Military service and sinking
The White Star Line and Cunard Line merged in 1934, without affecting the career of the ship. The ship was docked in December 1935 and served the following September as troop transport bound for Palestine. In this capacity, she made her last trip for the White Star Line in December of that year. In 1937 she took part in the Coronation Naval Review at Spithead carrying government guests. In 1939, with the start of the Second World War, Laurentic was requisitioned as HMS Laurentic and converted into an auxiliary cruiser, losing her recasting part of the superstructure aft. On 3 November 1940, the Laurentic responded to a call for help from a ship that had been torpedoed by a U-boat. Arriving at the scene, she was targeted by two torpedoes from U-99 commanded by Otto Kretschmer, but the torpedoes missed. Laurentic fought back, but after four hours, she was struck by two torpedoes which sent her to the bottom, killing 49 of 416 people aboard. She was the last White Star vessel to sink and one of the final four White Star vessels along with Georgic, Britannic and Nomadic.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Laurentic_(1927)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 3 November


1679 – launch of French Leger 40-guns at Le Havre – condemned 1695

Leger, 40 guns, design by Etienne Salicon, launched 3 November 1679 at Le Havre – condemned 1695.


1758 - HMS Buckingham (1751 - 70), Cptn Richard Tyrrel, engaged French Florissant (74) and two large French frigates

large (2).jpg
The Brave Capt Tyrrill in the Buckingham of 66 Guns & 472 Men defeating the Florissant, Aigrette & Atlante, three French Ships of War, the 3rd of Novr 1758...
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/128744.html#RHzpMAOxJ6vei0eu.99
Hand-coloured.; Technique includes engraving. The Buckingham is shown in the centre foreground. This is the best of the engravings in the National Maritime Museum, of Swaine's picture. Engravings by J.Smith, Goldar and P.Benazech are less good. Although the last, by Benazech, is larger and therefore in some ways more clear.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/128744.html#RHzpMAOxJ6vei0eu.99


HMS Buckingham was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment, and in active service during the Seven Years' War with France.

HMSBuckingham.jpg
HMS Buckingham (1751) on the stocks.

In 1771 Buckingham was converted to a storeship at Chatham Dockyard, and was renamed Grampus. Her armament was reduced to 30 guns and her crew to 320 men. Commissioned in this role under Captain George Byron, she sailed for Jamaica on 26 December 1778 to resupply the Royal Navy garrison. In April 1779 her command was transferred to Commander Thomas Bennett, who sailed her to Newfoundland to collect supplies of timber. She was leaking badly on her return voyage to England, and foundered on 11 November 1779 while crossing the North Atlantic Ocean

large (1).jpg
Scale: 1:48. A plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for a 70-gun Second Rate, two-decker, resolved on 5 and 8 July, and 5 August 1745 by Sir John Norris and other flag officers and gentlemen appointed to settle a new establishement for building ships of the Royal Navy. Later used for 'Grafton' (1750), 'Somerset' (1748), 'Northumberland' (1750), 'Orford' (1749), 'Swiftsure' (1750), 'Vanguard' (1748), and 'Buckingham' (1751), all 70-gun (later 68-gun) Third Rate, two-deckers. Signed by Joseph Allin/Allen [Master Shipwright, Deptford Dockyard, 1742-1746], John Ward [Master Shipwright Chatham Dockyard, 1732-1752], Pierson Lock [Master Shipwright, Portsmouth Dockyard, 1742-1755 (died)], John Holland [Master Shipwright, Woolwich Dockyard, 1742-1746], and John Pooke [Master Shipwright, Sheerness Dockyard, 1742-1751].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81186.html#ZvRik0tGFPv1Gdh7.99



Florissant 74 (launched 11 August 1750 at Rochefort) - condemned 1762 at Cadiz.
Florissant Class. Two ships built at Rochefort to a design by Pierre Morineau, 1748.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Buckingham_(1751)


1782 - HMS Trepassey, often spelled "Trepassy", a 14-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, captured

HMS Trepassey, often spelled "Trepassy", was a 14-gun brig-sloop of the Royal Navy, formerly the American privateer Wildcat, launched and captured in 1779. The Royal Navy purchased her in 1779. USS Alliance captured Trepassey in 1781. She became the American merchant vessel Defence. In 1782 HMS Jason captured Defense, which the Royal Navy took back into service under her earlier name. The Navy sold her in 1784

Wild Cat
Wild Cat sailed under the command of David Ropes. She captured two British vessels in June or July: the 120-ton (bm) brigantine Mercury, Jonathan Lovgrove, master, and the 160-ton (bm) ship Ocean, Christopher Dunon, master.
On 14 July 1779, Wildcat encountered and gave chase to the schooner HMS Egmont. Egmont, under the command of Lieutenant John Gardiner, attempted to escape from Wildcatbut was forced to strike after having lost two men killed, one of them by the boarding party from Wildcat.
On 16 July, HMS Surprise was able to capture Wildcat. Surprise was able to free Lieutenant Gardiner and 20 of his men from Egmont who were aboard Wildcat, but the schooner herself had separated during the chase that preceded Wildcat's capture. The Royal Navy took Wildcat into service as Trepassey.

HMS Trepassey
On 6 August 1779 Henry Edward Stanhope was promoted to Master and Commander of Trepassey at Newfoundland. He left during the autumn of 1780 and his successor was James Smyth, who took command in September.
On 27 May 1781 Captain John Barry commanding USS Alliance captured her in an engagement in which Smyth and four others were killed and nine men were wounded before she struck.
Barry repaired Trepassey, disarmed her, and sent her as a cartel to Halifax under the direction of her master, Phillip Windsor. After she had delivered the prisoners on board she returned to Boston, Massachusetts.

Defense
HMS Jason recaptured Defence on 3 November 1792. Defence was libelled on 11 November. His Majesty's Naval Storekeeper claimed her as the Trepassey, sloop of war. The Vice admiralty court in Halifax, Nova Scotia, awarded the cargo, which had been proven American property, to the captors, and also one-eight of the value of Defence.

HMS Trepassey
Commander Francis Cole commissioned Trepassey in September 1782. On 8 February 1784 she arrived at Plymouth, and then on 1 March she arrived at Deptford where she was paid off.

Fate
The Navy sold Trepassey on 29 April 1784 for £735

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Trepassey_(1779)


1796 - HMS Helena Sloop (1778 - 14), Cptn. Jermyn John Symonds, wrecked on the coast of Holland.

HMS Helena (1778) was a 14-gun sloop that the Royal Navy purchased in 1778. (She may originally have been a French vessel named Hélene.) The French captured her in September 1778, and took her into service under her existing name, or perhaps as Helene. HMS Ambuscade recaptured her on 22 June 1779.[2] A storm drove her ashore on the Dutch coast on 3 November 1796; there were no survivors


1809 - HMS Curieux (1804 - 18), Henry George Moysey, wrecked in the West Indies.

HMS Curieux was a French corvette launched in September 1800 at Saint-Malo to a design by François Pestel, and carrying sixteen 6-pounder guns. She was commissioned under Capitaine de frégate Joseph-Marie-Emmanuel Cordier. The British captured her in 1804 in a cutting-out action at Martinique. In her five-year British career Curieux captured several French privateers and engaged in two notable single-ship actions, also against privateers. In the first she captured Dame Ernouf; in the second, she took heavy casualties in an indecisive action with Revanche. In 1809 Curieux hit a rock; all her crew were saved but they had to set fire to her to prevent her recapture.

Curieux_and_Dame_Ernouf.jpg
HMS 'Curieux' Captures 'Dame Ernouf', 8 February 1805, by Francis Sartorius Jr., National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Curieux_(1804)


1811 – Launch of French Gloire in Le Havre, a Pallas class constituted the standard design of 40-gun frigates of the French Navy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pallas-class_frigate_(1808)


1839 - HMS Volage (28), Cptn. Henry Smith, and HMS Hyacinth (18), William Warren, engaged war junks in Canton River.


1840 Bombardment and fall of Acre.


1853 - The frigate Constitution, as the flagship of the African Squadron under the command of Commodore Isaac Mayo captures American slaver, the schooner H. N. Gambrill 60 miles south of Congo River. This capture is Constitution's last prize.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Constitution


1857 – first try of launch of SS Great Eastern failed

SS Great Eastern was an iron sailing steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built by J. Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall Iron Works on the River Thames, London. She was by far the largest ship ever built at the time of her 1858 launch, and had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers from England to Australia without refuelling. Her length of 692 feet (211 m) was only surpassed in 1899 by the 705-foot (215 m) 17,274-gross-ton RMS Oceanic, her gross tonnage of 18,915 was only surpassed in 1901 by the 701-foot (214 m) 21,035-gross-ton RMS Celtic, and her 4,000-passenger capacity was surpassed in 1913 by the 4,935-passenger SS Imperator. The ship's five funnels were rare. These were later reduced to four.

Great_Eastern-Stapellauf.gif

Brunel knew her affectionately as the "Great Babe". He died in 1859 shortly after her ill-fated maiden voyage, during which she was damaged by an explosion. After repairs, she plied for several years as a passenger liner between Britain and North America before being converted to a cable-laying ship and laying the first lasting transatlantic telegraph cable in 1866. Finishing her life as a floating music hall and advertising hoarding (for the famous department store Lewis's) in Liverpool, she was broken up on Merseyside in 1889.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Eastern
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Great_Eastern


1893 - Explosion of the freighter Cabo Machichaco, at the port of Santander, Cantabria, Spain, with over 2000 injured. 590 death

Cabo_Machichaco_en_el_muelle.PNG

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabo_Machichaco


1918 – The German Revolution of 1918–19 begins when 40,000 sailors take over the port in Kiel.

The Kiel mutiny was a major revolt by sailors of the German High Seas Fleet on 3 November 1918. The revolt triggered the German revolution which was to sweep aside the monarchy within a few days. It ultimately led to the end of the German Empire and to the establishment of the Weimar Republic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiel_mutiny
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Revolution_of_1918–19


1943 - The battleship USS Oklahoma (BB 37) is refloated following months of laborious effort after being sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941. Too old and badly damaged to be worth returning to service, Oklahoma is formally decommissioned in September 1944.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Oklahoma_(BB-37)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
4 November 1702 – Death of John Benbow, English admiral (b. 1653)


John Benbow (10 March 1653 – 4 November 1702) was an English officer in the Royal Navy. He joined the navy aged 25 years, seeing action against Algerian pirates before leaving and joining the merchant navy where he traded until the Glorious Revolution of 1688, whereupon he returned to the Royal Navy and was commissioned.

800px-John_Benbow.jpg

Benbow fought against France during the Nine Years War (1688–97), serving on and later commanding several English vessels and taking part in the battles of Beachy Head, Barfleur and La Hogue in 1690 and 1692. He went on to achieve fame during campaigns against Salé and Moor pirates; laying siege to Saint-Malo; and fighting in the West Indiesagainst France during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714).

Benbow's fame and success earned him both public notoriety and a promotion to admiral. He was then involved in an incident during the Action of August 1702, where a number of his captains refused to support him while commanding a squadron of ships.[3][4] Benbow instigated the trial and later imprisonment or execution of a number of the captains involved, though he did not live to see these results. These events contributed to his notoriety, and led to several references to him in subsequent popular culture.

Benbow_wounded.jpg
An engraving produced in 1804 that helped to promote the legend of the event, entitled The gallant Benbow defeating the French Squadron. It shows Benbow's leg as completely shot away. Underneath another hand has written Benbow gives chase to de Grasse.

Years of service 1678–1702
Rank Vice-admiral

Commands held
HMS York
HMS Bonaventure
HMS Britannia
HMS Sovereign
HMS Norwich
HMS Northumberland
HMS Charles Galley
HMS Suffolk
HMS Duke
HMS Gloucester
HMS Breda
Jamaica Station

Battles/wars
Battle of Beachy Head
Battles of Barfleur and La Hogue
Action of August 1702

"Brave Benbow"

Benbow's fame led to his name entering popular culture. A monument by sculptor John Evan Thomas was erected in 1843 by public subscription in St Mary's Church, Shrewsbury commemorating Benbow as "a skillful and daring seaman whose heroic exploits long rendered him the boast of the British Navy and still point him out as the Nelson of his times." A 74-gun ship of the line and two battleships were named HMS Benbow.

Robert Louis Stevenson named a tavern the "Admiral Benbow", where Jim Hawkins and his mother live, in his romantic adventure novel Treasure Island. He also titled the first chapter "The Old Sea Dog at the Admiral Benbow". There are a number of real life Admiral Benbow public houses around the world, and other institutions have also borne his name.

The incident of August 1702 also took hold on the popular imagination, and was celebrated in an alehouse song:

Come all you seamen bold
and draw near, and draw near,
Come all you seamen bold and draw near.
It's of an Admiral's fame,
O brave Benbow was his name,
How he fought all on the main,
you shall hear, you shall hear.

Brave Benbow he set sail
For to fight, for to fight
Brave Benbow he set sail for to fight.
Brave Benbow he set sail
with a fine and pleasant gale
But his captains they turn'd tail
in a fright, in a fright.

Says Kirby unto Wade:
We will run, we will run
Says Kirby unto Wade, we will run.
For I value no disgrace,
nor the losing of my place,
But the enemy I won't face,
nor his guns, nor his guns.

The Ruby and Benbow
fought the French, fought the French
The Ruby and Benbow fought the French.
They fought them up and down,
till the blood came trickling down,
Till the blood came trickling down
where they lay, where they lay.

Brave Benbow lost his legs
by chain shot, by chain shot
Brave Benbow lost his legs by chain shot.
Brave Benbow lost his legs,
And all on his stumps he begs,
Fight on my English lads,
'Tis our lot, 'tis our lot.

The surgeon dress'd his wounds,
Cries Benbow, cries Benbow
The surgeon dress'd his wounds, cries Benbow.
Let a cradle now in haste,
on the quarterdeck be placed
That the enemy I may face
'Til I die, 'Til I die.
Its musical theme forms one of the three arrangements on which English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams based his Sea Songs, originally arranged for military band in 1923 as the second movement of his English Folk Song Suite,[62] and subsequently re-arranged for full orchestra in 1942 by the composer.

Another song has survived from the period with different air and rhythm but also known as Admiral Benbow, and it is often sung by folksingers. It begins We sailed from Virginia and thence to Fayal.




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Benbow
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
4 November 1786 – Launch of Spanish Conde de Regla ,112-guns at Havana - Stricken 14 July 1810 and BU 1811


Conde de Regla was a 112-gun three-decker ship of the line built at Havanna for the Spanish Navy in 1786 to plans by Romero Landa. One of the eight very large ships of the line of the Santa Ana class, also known as los Meregildos. Conde de Regla served in the Spanish Navy for three decades throughout the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, finally being sold at Ferrol in 1815. Although she was a formidable part of the Spanish battlefleet throughout these conflicts, the only major action Conde de Regla participated in was the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797.

Plano_navio_112_cañones.jpg
Plano para un navío de 112 cañones serie Santa Ana.

Construction
The Santa Ana class was built for the Spanish fleet in the 1780s and 1790s as heavy ships of the line, the equivalent of Royal Navy first rate ships. The other ships of the class were the Santa Ana, Mexicano, Salvador del Mundo, Real Carlos, San Hermenegildo, Reina María Luisa and Príncipe de Asturias. Three of the class were captured or destroyed during the French Revolutionary Wars.

Conde de Regla was constructed at Havanna, funded by Pedro Romero de Terreros, Count of Regla, after whom the ship was named.

History
Conde de Regla's sea-trials took place in 1787 under Juan de Lángara y Huarte, who reported that the ship sailed smoothly and the gun batteries operated efficiently.

In 1797, Conde de Regla was with the Spanish fleet which fought the British at the Battle of Cape St Vincent. The Spanish fleet was defeated and four ships were lost, although Conde de Regla survived the battle with losses of 9 killed, including Commodore Count Amblimont and 16 seriously wounded, including Comandante Jerónimo Bravo.

Between 1799 and 1801, Conde de Regla was with the combined French and Spanish fleet stationed at Brest after participating in the Croisière de Bruix campaign. During the Napoleonic Wars Conde de Regla was laid up at Arsenal de la Carraca and in 1811 the ship was broken up to provide timber for repairs to the Spanish and British ships based in the port.

Class and type: Santa Ana-class ship of the line
Tonnage: 2,112 tonnes
Length: 56.14 m
Beam: 15.5 m
Draught: 7.37 m
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Complement: 801
Armament:
  • On launch:
  • 30 × 36-pounder cannon
  • 32 × 24-pounder cannon
  • 32 × 12-pounder cannon
  • 18 × 8-pounder cannon




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_ship_Conde_de_Regla_(1786)
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conde_de_Regla_(1786)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
4 November 1787 – Launch of Spanish Real Carlos, 112-guns at Havana - Blew up in action, 12 July 1801


Real Carlos was a 112-gun three-decker ship of the line built at Havanna for the Spanish Navy in 1787 to plans by Romero Landa. One of the eight very large ships of the line of the Santa Ana class, also known as los Meregildos, Real Carlos served in the Spanish Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars and was destroyed with heavy loss of life during the Second Battle of Algeciras.

RealCarlosAlejoBerlingeromuseonavaldemadrid.jpg
Navío Real Carlos de la Armada Española, realizado por Alejo Berlinguero (1750-1810), museo naval de Madrid

Construction
The Santa Ana class was built for the Spanish fleet in the 1780s and 1790s as heavy ships of the line, the equivalent of Royal Navy first rate ships. The other ships of the class were the Santa Ana, Mexicano, Salvador del Mundo, Conde de Regla, San Hermenegildo, Reina María Luisa and Príncipe de Asturias. Three of the class were captured or destroyed during the French Revolutionary Wars.

History
In 1793 the Real Carlos was under the command of Baltasar Sesma y Zaylorda as the flagship of Admiral Francisco de Borja. Borja led an expedition to Sardinia, capturing the islands of San Pietro Island for Spain and Sant'Antioco for France.

On 8 April 1799, Real Carlos was flagship of the Ferrol squadron under Francisco Melgarejo, alongside Argonauta, Monarca, San Agustín, Castilla and three smaller ships. This squadron sailed in an effort to unite with the French Atlantic Fleet operating in the Croisière de Bruix, but missed the rendezvous and spent much of the rest of the year at anchor in Rochefort, returning on 11 September. The following year Real Carlos participated in repelling the British Ferrol Expedition.

By July 1801, Real Carlos was at Cádiz. When a French squadron defeated a British force at the First Battle of Algeciras on 6 July, Real Carlos joined the squadron sent to escort the French from Algeciras back to Cádiz. During the night of 12 July the combined force was returning through the Straits of Gibraltar when a British squadron attacked them at the Second Battle of Algeciras. During the confused night action which followed, HMS Superb cut through the rearguard and between Real Carlos and San Hermenegildo. The Spanish ships opened fire, striking one another, as a fire spread across Real Carlos's decks. In the darkness the two huge Spanish ships collided, fire spreading out of control until both exploded in a fireball that could be seen from shore. More than 1,700 men were killed in the blast, one of the greatest losses of life at sea to that time.

Class and type: Santa Ana-class ship of the line
Tonnage: 2,112 tonnes
Length: 56.14 m
Beam: 15.5 m
Draught: 7.37 m
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Complement: 801
Armament:
  • On launch:
  • 30 × 36-pounder cannon
  • 32 × 24-pounder cannon
  • 32 × 12-pounder cannon
  • 18 × 8-pounder cannon

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_ship_Real_Carlos_(1787)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Algeciras
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
4 November 1800 - HMS Marlborough (1767 - 74), Cptn. Thomas Sotheby, wrecked on the Bervadeux Shoal, near L'Orient, France.


HMS Marlborough was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 26 August 1767 at Deptford. She was one of the Ramillies class built to update the Navy and replace ships lost following the Seven Years' War. She was first commissioned in 1771 under Captain Richard Bickerton as a guard ship for the Medway and saw active service in the American Revolutionary War and on the Glorious First of June.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Ramillies' (1763); 'Terrible' (1762); 'Russell' (1764); 'Invincible' (1765); 'Magnificent' (1766); 'Prince of Wales' (1765); 'Marlborough' (1767); 'Robust' (1764), all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers. Note the pencil annotations of chain channels and gunports. An annotation on the reverse states that the class was similar to the 'Superb' (1760), specifically mentioning 'Monarch', 'Magnificent', and Marlborough'.
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At the battle of the First of June Marlborough, under Captain George Cranfield-Berkeley, suffered heavy damage after becoming entangled with Impétueux, and then with Mucius.The three entangled ships continued exchanging fire for some time, all suffering heavy casualties with Marlborough losing all three of her masts.

On the evening of 3 November 1800 Marlborough was at sea in a storm off Brittany's Belle Île when strong winds drove her onto a partially submerged ledge of rocks. A substantial breach was opened in her hull and she began to batter against the rocks with each incoming wave. Her commander, Captain Thomas Sotheby, ordered the ship's guns and stores to be thrown overboard to lighten her, but she remained stuck fast.

The storm abated by the following morning, but the ship had settled on the rocks and was awash to her orlop deck as waves flowed in through the hull. A distress signal was raised and answered by HMS Captain which drew close to Marlborough and succeeded in taking off all 600 of her crew. No attempt was made to salvage the ship itself

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard profile for 'Bellona' (1760), 'Dragon' (1760), and 'Superb' (1760), 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers, and with alterations for the Arrogant class (1758): 'Arrogant' (1761); 'Cornwall' (1761), 'Defence' (1763), 'Kent' (1762), 'Edgar' (1779), 'Goliath' (1781), 'Vanguard' (1787), 'Excellent' (1787), 'Saturn' (1786), 'Zealous' (1785), 'Elephant' (1786), 'Audacious' (1785), and 'Illustrious' (1789) all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers, and with further alterations for 'Monarch' (1765); 'Magnificent' (1766), both 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers of the Monarch class (1760), although this plan implies they were originally to be of the Arrogant class.
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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the sheer lines illustrating the lead sheathing, and the longitudinal half-breadth for Marlborough (1767), a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker. The Marlborough was sheathed in lead in October 1768, and then re-sheathed in wood in March 1770.
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Class and type: Ramillies-class ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1642 bm
Length: 168 ft 8.5 in (51.422 m) (gun deck)
Beam: 46 ft 11 in (14.30 m)
Depth of hold: 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m)
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Complement: 600
Armament:
  • 74 guns:
  • Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs
  • Upper gundeck: 28 × 18 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 14 × 9 pdrs
  • Forecastle: 4 × 9 pdrs


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Marlborough_(1767)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Captain_(1787)
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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
4 November 1805 - Battle of Cape Ortegal - Part I


The Battle of Cape Ortegal was the final action of the Trafalgar Campaign, and was fought between a squadron of the Royal Navy and a remnant of the fleet that had been destroyed earlier at the Battle of Trafalgar. It took place on 4 November 1805 off Cape Ortegal, in north-west Spain and saw Captain Sir Richard Strachan defeat and capture a French squadron under Rear-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley. It is sometimes known as Strachan's Action.

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One of a pair of paintings showing an incident from the Napoleonic War, 1803-15. After their defeat at Trafalgar in 1805, the remnants of the Franco-Spanish fleet dispersed and sought safety to seaward. Off Cape Ortegal, north-west Spain, was a squadron of British ships under the command of Sir Richard Strachan with four ships of the line 'Caesar', 80 guns, 'Courageux', 74 guns, 'Hero', 74 guns, 'Namur', 74 guns and four frigates; 'Revolutionnaire', 38 guns, 'Phoenix', 36 guns, 'Santa Margarita', 36 guns, and 'Aeolus', 32 guns. Strachan's brief was to apprehend Captain Allemand's Franco-Spanish Rochefort squadron and when his frigates sighted a group of enemy ships he initially assumed that they were Allemand's. In fact they were commanded by Rear-Admiral Dumanoir-Le-Pelley who was trying to reach safety with his four ships of the line the 'Formidable', 80 guns, 'Mont Blanc', 74 guns, 'Scipion', 74 guns and 'Duguay-Trouin', 74 guns. The painting shows the British ships giving chase, with all possible sails set, fourteen days after Trafalgar. Strachan's ship the 'Cæsar', 80 guns, is shown in broadside and stern view in the centre of the picture. It is bathed in light and flies a commodore's pendant. The four French ships have formed a line with 'Duguay-Trouin', 'Formidable', 'Mont Blanc', and 'Scipion', in that order. On the right, the British 'Hero', and 'Courageux', are present while out of view the 'Namur', and 'Revolutionnaire', were known to have been positioned considerably astern of their consorts. The 'Cæsar', was chasing the 'Formidable', 'Hero', the 'Mont Blanc', and 'Courageux', the 'Scipion'. The French ships declined battle but Strachan's frigates forced them to form a line and in the action that ensued, Strachan's squadron captured all four French ships. The artist was the second son of J. N. Sartorius (1759-1828) and belonged to an illustrious family of painters working in England, though originally from Germany. They were particularly adept at developing and maintaining a lucrative network of patronage. Francis and his brother C. J. Sartorius (active, 1810-21) became marine artists and exhibited a total of 17 works at the Royal Academy between 1799 and 1821. Francis's paintings are often reminiscent of the work of Dominic Serres.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/12065.html#yAOGIWxvQ7h5Q1pY.99



Dumanoir had commanded the van of the line at Trafalgar, and had managed to escape the battle having suffered relatively little damage. He initially attempted to continue the fleet's mission and enter the Mediterranean, but fearful of encountering strong British forces, changed his mind and headed north to skirt round Spain and reach the French Atlantic ports. On his journey he encountered two British frigates but drove them off, but shortly afterwards came across a single British frigate and chased it. The frigate led Dumanoir within range of a British squadron under Strachan, who was patrolling the area in search of a different French squadron. Strachan immediately gave chase, while Dumanoir fled from the superior force he had been lured towards. Strachan's squadron took time to form up, but he was able to use the frigates attached to it to harass and slow the French, until his larger ships of the line could catch up.

There then followed several hours of fierce fighting, before Strachan was able to outmanoeuvre his opponent and double his line with frigates and ships of the line. The French ships were then overwhelmed and forced to surrender. All four ships were taken back to Britain as prizes and commissioned into the Navy. Strachan and his men were handsomely rewarded by a public who viewed the successful outcome as completing Nelson's victory at Trafalgar.


Prelude
Dumanoir escapes
Four French ships of the line stationed towards the head of the combined fleet's line escaped the Battle of Trafalgar under Rear-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley, and sailed southwards. Pelley's initial intention was to carry out Villeneuve's original orders, and make for Toulon. The day after the battle he changed his mind, remembering that a substantial British squadron under Rear-Admiral Thomas Louis was patrolling the straits. With a storm gathering in strength off the Spanish coast, Pelley sailed westwards to clear Cape St Vincent, prior to heading north-west, and then swinging eastwards across the Bay of Biscay, aiming to reach the French port at Rochefort. His squadron represented a still-considerable force, having suffered only slight damage at Trafalgar.[a] In escaping from Trafalgar Dumanoir's flagship, Formidable had jettisoned twelve 12-pounder guns from her quarterdeck in order to lighten her load and effect her escape. Dumanoir doubled Cape St Vincent on 29 October and made for Île-d'Aix, entering the Bay of Biscay on 2 November.

Baker sights the French
There were a number of British ships and squadrons already in the bay, and on the lookout for French ships. Zacharie Allemand, commander of the Rochefort squadron, had sailed from the port in July 1805, and was currently cruising in the Atlantic, raiding British shipping. One of the British ships sent out on patrol was the 36-gun HMS Phoenix, under the command of Captain Thomas Baker. Baker had orders to patrol west of the Scilly Isles, but in late October he received news from several neutral merchants that Allemand's squadron had been sighted in the Bay of Biscay. Baker immediately left his station and sailed southwards, reaching the latitude of Cape Finisterre on 2 November, just as Dumanoir was entering the bay. Baker sighted four ships steering north-north-west at 11 o'clock, and immediately gave chase. The ships, which Baker presumed to be part of the Rochefort squadron, but were actually Dumanoir's ships, bore up at noon and began to chase Phoenix, which fled south. In doing so Baker hoped to lure the French onto a British squadron under Captain Sir Richard Strachan that he knew to be in the area.

Baker kept ahead of the pursuing French, and at 3 o'clock that afternoon he sighted four sails heading south. Dumanoir's forces also saw them, and stood to the east, while Baker, no longer pursued, kept the French sails under observation. Having ascertained the strength and disposition of the French ships, Baker resumed sailing to the south-east, firing guns and signalling to the four ships he had seen and supposed to be British. Dumanoir's forces had already had a run-in with the British, having been chased by two frigates, the 38-gun HMS Boadicea under Captain John Maitland, and the 36-gun HMS Dryad under Captain Adam Drummond.[5] Boadicea and Dryad sighted Phoenix and the four sails to the south at 8.45 that evening, and made signals to them. Baker was suspicious of the new sails, standing between him and the French ships, and so did not stand towards them, instead continuing on to the sails in the south. By now it was clear on Boadicea and Dryad that a substantial force was gathering, as Phoenix closed with four ships of the line, and three other sails were also sighted in the vicinity. They eventually drew to within two miles of the weather-most ship, the 80-gun HMS Caesar, but received no reply to their signals, and drew away at 10.30pm, where after they lost sight of both the French and British ships, and took no further part in the battle

Strachan gives chase

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0h 55m pm

By 11pm Baker had finally reached the ships, and passing under the stern of Caesar received confirmation that the ships were Strachan's squadron, as he had initially surmised. Baker informed Strachan that he had sighted a part of the Rochefort squadron to leeward, and Strachan immediately determined to seek an engagement. Strachan's squadron was however badly scattered by this stage, and after setting sail to intercept the French, sent Baker to round up the remaining ships and order them on to support him. Strachan's squadron consisted at this time of the 80-gun Caesar, the 74-gun Hero, Courageux, Namur and Bellona, and the frigates the 36-gun Santa Margarita and 32-gun Aeolus. Strachan began the chase with only Caesar, Hero, Courageux and Aeolus, and chased the French, who were by now pressing on sail for the north west, until losing them in hazy weather at 1.30 in the morning. They then shortened sail to await the rest of the squadron, and were joined at daylight on 3 November by Santa Margarita. The chase began again in earnest, and at 7.30 am Cape Ortegal was sighted, 36 miles to the southeast. The French ships were again sighted at 9am, and at 11am the lead British ships sighted Namur and Phoenix astern, and hurrying to catch up. With them was another frigate, the 38-gun HMS Révolutionnaire, under Captain Hon. Henry Hotham, who had stumbled across the chase. The chase continued throughout the day and into the night, by which time the faster Santa Margarita and Phoenix were well ahead of the main British force. The Bellona had been unable to rejoin the squadron, and took no part in the battle.

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Early in Action. English - - - Namur coming into the line from Sd. Sir R Strachan & Dumanoir 4 Sail All Captured (PAD8804)
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to be continued.......


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_Ortegal
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
4 November 1805 - Battle of Cape Ortegal - Part II


Action

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Strachan's Action on November 4, 1805
Sir R. Strachan's Action Nov 4 1805 (PAD5759)
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The battle began at 5.45 on the morning of 4 November, when Santa Margarita closed on the stern of the rear-most French ship, Scipion, and opened fire, being joined by Phoenix at 9.30. At this stage the French were sailing roughly in line abreast, with Phoenix and Santa Margarita snapping at Scipion's heels. Strachan was about six miles behind the French with Caesar, Heroand Courageux, accompanied by Aeolus, while Namur and Révolutionnaire were some way astern of them. The British continued to overhaul the French, while Scipion exchanged fire with the harassing frigates from her stern-chasers. At 11.45 with an action now unavoidable Dumanoir ordered his ships to form line ahead on the starboard tack, as Strachan likewise lined his ships up and approached from windward on the French ships' starboard side.

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3h 35m pm

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Sir R. Strachan, Capturing Part of the Trafalgar Fleet (PAD7694)
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By noon all four British frigates were in action, harassing Scipion on the port side, while Namur had nearly joined the ships of the line, who were firing on the rear-most French ships' starboard side. Dumanoir had ordered his ships to tack in succession in 11.30, and so bring his leading ship, Duguay-Trouin into the action to support his centre. The Duguay-Trouin made no move to obey the signal until 12.15, and the French line began to turn towards the British ships of the line, and to pass down alongside them. Dumanoir had planned to carry out this manoeuvre at 8 that morning, but had cancelled it before it could be carried out. The two lines passed alongside each other, with Dumanoir finding that Strachan had doubled his line, with frigates on one side and ships of the line on the other. His ships suffered heavy damage as the two British lines and the French one passed by on opposite tacks, with Dumanoir aiming to isolate Namur before she could join the British line.

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The Battle of Cape Ortegal by Thomas Whitcombe

The damage his ships had sustained rendered them slow and unmanoeuvrable, and Strachan was able to order his ships to tack themselves, to keep them alongside the French, while adding Namur to his line. Under heavy fire from the frigates on the starboard side and the ships of the line on their port, the French ships were worn down and by 3.10 Scipion and Formidable had been forced to strike their colours. Seeing their fate Mont Blancand Duguay-Trouin attempted to escape but were chased down by Hero and Caesar and battered into submission by 3.35.

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Sir Richard Strachan's Action, Novr. 4th. 1805 (PAD5757)
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Sir Richard Strachan's Action, Novr. 5th. 1805 (PAD5756)
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Aftermath
Strachan's triumph completed the rout of the French that Nelson had begun at Trafalgar. With the four ships taken at Cape Ortegal only five ships remained of the French portion of the combined fleet, and they were bottled up at Cadiz. All four captured ships were taken back to Britain and commissioned into the Royal Navy, with their crew transferred to prison camps. One of the ships, the former Duguay-Trouin served with the British for the next 144 years under the name HMS Implacable. The British crews who had fought at Cape Ortegal were included in the large scale rewards made for the victory at Trafalgar. Captain Sir Richard Strachan was promoted to rear-admiral of the blue, while all first-lieutenants were advanced to commander. In addition Strachan was admitted to the Order of the Bath and his captains received gold medals.

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One of a pair of paintings showing an incident from the Napoleonic Wars 1803-15. After their defeat at Trafalgar in 1805, the remnants of the Franco-Spanish fleet dispersed and sought safety to seaward. Off Cape Ortegal, north-west Spain, was a squadron of British ships under the command of Sir Richard Strachan. His brief was to apprehend Captain Allemand's Franco-Spanish Rochefort squadron and when a group of enemy ships were sighted he initially assumed that they were Allemand's. In fact they were commanded by Rear-Admiral Dumanoir-Le-Pelley who was trying to reach safety with his four ships of the line; the 'Formidable', 80 guns, 'Mont Blanc', 74 guns, 'Scipion', 74 guns and 'Duguay-Trouin', 74 guns. An action ensued in which all four French ships were taken. The painting shows the four ships represented as prizes being carried home to Plymouth. The 'Caesar', 80 guns, is shown in broadside and bow view, flying the red ensign from the stern. The holes in her sails testify to the action and she has the captured French ship 'Formidable', 80 guns, in tow. Pendennis Castle, Falmouth, is visible in the background to the right together with the coastline of Cornwall. Other British ships involved in the action are also towing their captured ships along the English Channel. In the foreground a small boat flying the white ensign is laden with people watching the scene. Several of the men wave their hats to salute the vessels as they sail past and serve to underscore that this has been a British victory. The captured French ships were all added to the Royal Navy, with the 'Formidable', becoming the 'Brave', and the 'Duguay-Trouin', the 'Implacable'. Strachan's action gave the final blow to Napoleon's invasion plans. He was promoted to Rear-Admiral on 9 November 1805 and each of the captains involved in the action was presented with a gold medal. The artist was the second son of J. N. Sartorius (1759-1828) and belonged to an illustrious family of painters working in England, though originally from Germany. They were particularly adept at developing and maintaining a lucrative network of patronage. Francis and his brother C. J. Sartorius (active, 1810-21) became marine artists and exhibited a total of seventeen works at the Royal Academy between 1799 and 1821. Francis's paintings are often reminiscent of the work of Dominic Serres.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/12066.html#463kREHsWlV1dxbR.99


Dumanoir was less fortunate than his opponent. He and other French officers were quartered at Tiverton, where they were given considerable freedom, only required to be within the turnpike gates by 8pm in summer and 4pm in winter. While there he wrote to The Times to protest against unflattering comments made about his conduct at Trafalgar. He was released from captivity in 1809 and returned to France, where he faced not one but two courts of enquiry, one for his conduct at Trafalgar, and another for his defeat at Cape Ortegal. In the first he was accused of disobeying Villeneuve's instructions, not doing enough to support his admiral, and then fleeing the battle instead of fighting on. After the examination of various pieces of evidence, Dumanoir was acquitted of all charges. At the second court of enquiry Dumanoir was convicted of having failed to engage Strachan's squadron while it was still disorganised on the morning of 4 November, of having allowed the British frigates to harass his rear without trying to engage them, and for only turning to engage Strachan as his rear was being overwhelmed. The court concluded that he had been too indecisive. The verdict was passed to the Minister of Marine, Denis Decrès, in January 1810 but Decrès hesitated to order a court-martial. Napoleon wanted Dumanoir to be made an example of, but Decrès attempted to shield Dumanoir, and when he finally convened a court-martial at Napoleon's insistence, its orders were vague and it eventually acquitted Dumanoir and the surviving captains.

to be continued ........


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_Ortegal

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Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
4 November 1805 - Battle of Cape Ortegal - Part III


Order of battle

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The captured ships

Formidable was an 80-gun Tonnant class ship of the line of the French Navy, laid down in August 1794 and given the name Formidable, on 5 October, but renamed Figuieres on 4 December 1794, although the name was restored to Formidable on 31 May 1795 after she was launched at Toulon on 17 March 1795. She participated in the Battle of Algeciras, the Battle of Cape Finisterre and several other actions before the British captured her at the Battle of Cape Ortegal on 4 November 1805. The British took her into service as HMS Brave. She was sold to be broken up in April 1816

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The painting shows the four ships represented as prizes being carried home to Plymouth. The 'Caesar', 80 guns, is shown in broadside and bow view, flying the red ensign from the stern. The holes in her sails testify to the action and she has the captured French ship 'Formidable', 80 guns, in tow.
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French service
On 6 July 1801 she fought in the Battle of Algeciras under captain Landais Lalonde, who was killed in the action. Command then transferred to capitaine de frégate Amable Troude, formerly second in command of the Dessaix.



On 13 July, as she sailed isolated behind the French fleet, she was chased by the frigate HMS Thames and the ships of the line HMS Venerable (74), HMS Caesar (80) and HMS Superb (74). She allowed the Venerable catch up and took her under heavy fire, leaving her dismasted and in danger of sinking. The rest of the British squadron had to come to aid the Venerable, allowing the Formidable to escape to Cádiz, acclaimed by the population. Troude was immediately promoted to capitaine de vaisseau. Bonaparte later met with him and called him "the French Horatius".

In 1802 and 1803, Formidable served in Toulon under Admiral Latouche Tréville.

On 17 January 1805 she went to sea under Admiral Villeneuve, together with ten other ships of the line and eight frigates, and on 20 January the fleet sailed for the Martinique in the Caribbean, which it reached on 13 May. The fleet captured Diamond Rock from the British, but Villeneuve returned to Europe on hearing that Nelson had arrived in the West Indies.

On 22 June 1805, the returning Franco-Spanish fleet was intercepted by a British fleet under Sir Robert Calder, resulting in the Battle of Cape Finisterre. After a violent artillery exchange and the capture of two of the Spanish ships, the fleets were separated in the fog. Exhausted after six months at sea, the fleet anchored in Cádiz to rest and refit. With his command under question and planning to meet the British fleet to gain a decisive victory, Villeneuve left Cádiz and met the British fleet near Cape Trafalgar.

Formidable was the flagship of Rear-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley, who commanded the six-ship vanguard of the French fleet, along with Formidable, Scipion, Duguay-Trouin, Mont-Blanc, Intrépide and Neptune. The vanguard was kept as a reserve, and joined the battle around 16:00. They only sailed close to the battle and fired a few shots.

On 4 November 1805 at the Battle of Cape Ortegal, Admiral Sir Richard Strachan, with Caesar, Hero, Courageux, Namur and four frigates, defeated and captured what remained of the squadron. Formidable was taken and commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Brave.

Fate
Brave was broken up in 1816.


Scipion was a 74-gun French ship of the line, built at Lorient to a design by Jacques Noel Sane. She was launched as Orient in late 1798, and renamed Scipion in 1801. She was first commissioned in 1802 and joined the French Mediterranean fleet based at Toulon, in the squadron of Admiral Leissègues. Consequently she was one of the ships afloat in that port when war with England reopened in May 1803. She participated in the Battle of Cape Finisterre and the Battle of Trafalgar. The British captured her in the subsequent Battle of Cape Ortegal. In 1810 she participated in the Java campaign, which in 1847 earned her surviving crew the Naval General Service Medal. She participated in the blockade of Toulon in 1813 and was paid off in 1814. She was broken up in 1819.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Scipion' (1805), a captured French Third Rate, as taken off prior to fitting?/as fitted? as a 74-gun Third Rate, two-decker.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/80976.html#98KmbOca1tLdvHKw.99

French Navy service
In 1805, she was part of Admiral Villeneuve's fleet. She took part in the Battle of Cape Finisterre and was one of Rear-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley's ships at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Dumanoir commanded the six-ship vanguard of the French fleet, with Formidable, Scipion, Duguay-Trouin, Mont-Blanc, Intrépide and Neptune. Nelson's attacks left these ships downwind of the main confrontation and Dumanoir did not immediately obey Villeneuve's orders to return to the battle. When the ships did turn back, most of them only exchanged a few shots before retiring.

On 4 November 1805, in the Battle of Cape Ortegal, Admiral Sir Richard Strachan, with HMS Caesar, HMS Hero, HMS Courageux, HMS Namur and four frigates, defeated and captured what remained of the squadron. HMS Phoenix and HMS Révolutionnaire took Scipion, which the Royal Navy commissioned as HMS Scipion.

Royal Navy service
Scipion arrived in Plymouth on 4 November 1805 and was laid up. She underwent repairs between June 1808 and November 1809, being commissioned under for the Channel in July 1809. Captain Charles Phillips Butler Bateman took command on 25 September 1809.

She became the flagship of Rear Admiral the Hon. Robert Stopford in 1810. Bateman and Stopford sailed her in the Bay of Biscay.

On 8 October she sailed for the Cape of Good Hope and then the East Indies. In 1811 Captain James Johnson took command. Stopford's fleet consisted of four sail of the line (including Scipion), thirteen frigates, seven sloops and eight cruisers of the East India Company, captured the island of Java on 18 September 1811. In 1847, the surviving members of the expedition were awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Java".

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Blockade of Toulon, 1810-1814: Pellew's action, 5 November 1813, by Thomas Luny

Captain Henry Heathcote took command on 28 April 1812. He then sailed Scipion for the Mediterranean on 20 July 1812.[2]Here she participated in the blockade of Toulon, including Admiral Edward Pellew's skirmish with the French fleet on 5 November 1813.

Fate
Scipion was paid off at Portsmouth on 29 October 1814. She underwent a Middling Repair in September 1818, but then was broken up in January 1819.


Mont-Blanc was a Téméraire class 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the French Navy. In the course of her career, she was renamed no less than four times, reflecting the tides of politics with the French Revolution.

During the Wars of the First and Second Coalitions, Mont-Blanc took part in the last actions of the Glorious First of June, in the Croisière du Grand Hiver, in the Battle of Hyères Islands and in Bruix' expedition of 1799; after peace was restored in the Treaty of Lunéville, she served during the Saint-Domingue expedition.

Mont-Blanc took part of the vanguard of the French fleet the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, and consequently saw little action as this division was cut off from the battle. The squadron was destroyed during the Battle of Cape Ortegal on 4 November 1805, where Mont-Blanc was captured. She was recommissioned in the Royal Navy but never saw action again.

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The Mont-Blanc off Marseille (detail of this image), by Antoine Roux.

Career
She was built at Rochefort as Pyrrhus in 1791. She was renamed Mont-Blanc in 1793 before being renamed Trente-et-un Mai in 1794. Under that name she fought at the Glorious First of June in 1794 under Captain Ganteaume. She took part in the Croisière du Grand Hiver, where she rescued the crew of the sinking Scipion.

In 1795 she was renamed Républicain, taking part in the Battle of Hyères Islands, and Ganteaume's expedition of 1795, and then became Mont-Blanc again in 1796. She took part in Bruix' expedition of 1799 under Captain Maistral.

In 1802 she took part in the Saint-Domingue expedition under Magon.

She was one of the ships of Rear-Admiral Lepelley at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. Dumanoir commanded the six ship vanguard of the French fleet, with Formidable,Scipion, Duguay-Trouin, Mont-Blanc, Intrépide and Neptune. Nelson's attacks left these ships downwind of the main confrontation and Dumanoir did not immediately obey Villeneuve's orders to return to the battle. When the ships did turn back, most of them only exchanged a few shots before retiring.

On 4 November 1805, Admiral Sir Richard Strachan, with HMS Caesar, Hero, Courageux, Namur and four frigates, defeated and captured what remained of the squadron at the Battle of Cape Ortegal.

Mont-Blanc was taken and commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Mont Blanc. She was used as a gunpowder hulk from 1811, and was sold in 1819



HMS Implacable was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was originally the French Navy's Téméraire-class ship of the line Duguay-Trouin, launched in 1800.

more in the following post ......



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_Ortegal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Formidable_(1795)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Scipion_(1798)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Mont-Blanc_(1791)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
4 November 1805 - Battle of Cape Ortegal - Part IV


HMS Implacable was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was originally the French Navy's Téméraire-class ship of the line Duguay-Trouin, launched in 1800.

large (1).jpg
This print, which has been signed by the artist, depicts the third-rate ship of the line 'Implacable' at sea. HMS 'Victory' is in the background to the right, and more sails are visible on the horizen to the left. Sailors are at the top of 'Implacable's' fore- and mainmasts reefing the topgallant sails, and she flies a captain's pennant from the mainmast. A boat has been launched, as indicated by the port side's extended booms and dangling ropes, and appears to be returning to the ship. 'Implacable' was built as the French 'Duguay-Trouin' at Rochefort in 1800.

She survived the Battle of Trafalgar only for the British to capture her at the subsequent Battle of Cape Ortegal. In British service she participated in the capture of the Imperial Russian Navy 74-gun ship of the line Vsevolod (Russian: Всеволод) in the Baltic in 1808 during the Anglo-Russian War. Later, Implacable became a training ship. Eventually, she became the second oldest ship in the Royal Navy after HMS Victory, Lord Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar. When the Royal Navy finally scuttled Implacable in 1949, she flew both the French and British flags side-by-side as she sank.

French career

HMS_Implacable_(1805)_stern.JPG
The stern gallery of HMS Implacable, formerly the Duguay-Trouin, on display at the National Maritime Museum.

Originally named Duguay-Trouin after René Trouin, Sieur du Gué. Construction, to a plan by Rolland but updated to a plan by Sané, began in 1794 but was interrupted in 1795. She was finally laid down in 1797, and launched at Rochefort in 1800.

On 22 November 1802, under Captain Claude Touffet, she departed Toulon as part of a squadron commanded by Commodore Quérangal, also comprising the frigate Guerriere and the flagship Duquesne, a sister Téméraire-class vessel armed en flûte. Bound for Santo Domingo, the squadron found itself blockaded in Cap Français during the Blockade of Saint-Domingue by HMS Elephant, Bellerophon, Theseus and Vanguard. After a successful sortie in the dark, the squadron split up. Guerrière and Duguay-Trouin managed to escape but Vanguard, with Tartar, captured Duquesne.

Under Capitaine de Vaisseau Lhermite she participated in an action at Cap Français.

On 21 October 1805, Duguay-Trouin took part in the Battle of Trafalgar, where she was part of the vanguard of the French fleet under Contre-amiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley, and was one of four French ships that escaped capture that day.

Capture

800px-HMS_Implacable_2887104801_cb3f578284_b.jpg
Figurehead of HMS Implacable in Neptune Court of the National Maritime Museum

On 3 November 1805, British Captain Sir Richard Strachan, with Caesar, Hero, Courageux, Namur and four frigates, defeated and captured what remained of the Franco-Spanish fleet. In the battle, the captain of Duguay-Trouin, Claude Touffet, was killed, her masts were shot away, and she was eventually captured.

British service in the Napoleonic Wars
The Royal Navy commissioned her as a third rate under the name HMS Implacable. Implacable served with the Royal Navy for the rest of the Napoleonic Wars.

large.jpg
The image shows a broadside view of Implacable in the harbour at Malta, with her sails loosely unfurled to dry. Other vessels, including local harbour craft, can be seen. Warehouse-type buildings are depicted on the shoreline and the walled Citadel dominates the scene. The margins of the lithograph have been cut, so removing the inscription and the names of the artist, engraver and publisher.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/102830.html#3ih6w4iO37qp9m6k.99

Anglo-Russian War
In early 1808 Russia initiated the Finnish War in response to Sweden's refusal to bow to Russian pressure to join the anti-British alliance. Russia captured Finland and made it a Grand Duchy under the Russian Empire. The British decided to take counter-measures and in May sent a fleet, including Centaur, under Vice-Admiral Sir James Saumarez to the Baltic. Thus in March 1808 Implacable was in the Baltic, under the command of Captain Thomas Byam Martin.

On 9 July, the Russian fleet, under Admiral Peter Khanykov, came out from Kronstadt. The Swedes massed a fleet under Swedish Admiral Cederstrom, consisting of 11 line-of-battle ships and 5 frigates at Örö and Jungfrusund to oppose them. On 16 August, Saumarez then sent Centaur and Implacable to join the Swedish fleet. They chased two Russian frigates on 19 July and joined the Swedes the following day.

On 22 August, the Russian fleet, which consisted of nine ships of the line, five large frigates and six smaller ones, moved from Hanko and appeared off the Örö roads the next day. The Swedish ships from Jungfrusund had joined Rear-Admiral Nauckhoff and by the evening of 24 August the combined Anglo-Swedish force had made its preparations. Early the next day they sailed from Örö to meet the Russians.

The Anglo-Swedish force discovered the Russians off Hango Udd but the Russians retreated as the Allied ships followed them. Centaur and Implacable exhibited superior sailing and slowly outdistanced their Swedish allies. At 5am on 26 August Implacable caught up with a Russian straggler, the 74-gun Vsevolod (also Sewolod), under Captain Rudnew (or Roodneff).

Implacable and Vsevolod exchanged fire for about 20 minutes before Vsevolod ceased firing. Vsevolod hauled down her colours, but Hood recalled Implacable because the Russian fleet was approaching. During the fight Implacable lost six dead and 26 wounded; Vsevolod lost some 48 dead and 80 wounded.

The Russian frigate Poluks then towed Vsevolod towards Rager Vik (Ragerswik or Rogerswick), but when Centaur started to chase them the frigate dropped her tow. The Russians sent out boats to bring her in, in which endeavor they almost succeeded. They did succeed in putting 100 men aboard her as reinforcements and to replace her casualties.

However, just outside the port, Centaur was able to collide with Vsevolod. A party of seamen from Centaur then lashed her mizzen to the Russian bowsprit before Centaur opened fire. Vsevolod dropped her anchor and with both ships stuck in place, both sides attempted to board the other vessel. In the meantime, Implacable had come up and added her fire to the melee. After a battle of about half an hour, the Russian vessel struck again.

Implacable hauled Centaur off. Their prize was so firmly aground that after taking out the prisoners and wounded men, Sir Samuel Hood, in Centaur, ordered Vsevolod to be burnt. The British removed their prisoners and then set fire to Vsevolod, which blew up some hours later. Centaur had lost three killed and 27 wounded. Vsevolod lost another 124 men killed and wounded in the battle with Centaur; 56 Russians escaped by swimming ashore. In all, Vsevolod had lost 303 killed, wounded and missing.

The action with Vsevolod was the largest engagement during the Anglo-Russian War. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with the clasps "Implacable 26 Augt. 1808" and "Centaur 26 Augt. 1808" to all surviving claimants from the action.

Vice-Admiral Saumerez with his entire squadron joined the Anglo-Swedish squadron the next day. They then blockaded Khanykov's squadron for some months. After the British and the Swedes abandoned the blockade, the Russian fleet was able to return to Kronstadt.

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The Russian ship Vsevolod burning, after the action with the Implacable and Centaur, destroyed in the presence of the Russian Fleet near Rogerwick bay on 26 August 1808.

Return to the Baltic
By the summer of 1809 Martin and Implacable were back in the Baltic, and Admiral Saumarez sent her and Melpomene to sail east of Nargen Island. At the beginning of July 1809 she and Melpomene sailed into the Gulf of Narva, some 110 miles east of Tallinn. There they captured nine vessels laden with timber, spars and cordage, which were the property of the Russian Emperor. Implacable, Melpomene and Prometheus deployed their boats to search all the creeks and inlets around the gulf, which yielded them three more cargo vessels. More importantly, the British discovered that a convoy was sheltering under Percola Point with an escort of eight gunboats. Each Russian gun-boat mounted both a 32 and a 24-pounder gun, and had a crew of 46 men. The British decided to send in a cutting out party to seize the convoy, and its protectors. In Martin's word, the intent was "to impress these Strangers with that Sense of Respect and Fear, which His Majesty's other Enemies are accustomed to show to the British Flag".

At 9pm on 7 July, Implacable, Melpomene, Prometheus and Bellerophon assembled 17 boats, all under the command of Lieutenant Joseph Hawkey of Implacable.[9] The Russians expected the British attack and positioned their vessels between two rocks off Hango Head (Hangöudde). This meant that the British would have to come straight towards the gunboats' cannon rather than flanking them. The British came straight in, enduring the fire without firing back, until they reached the Russians, at which point they boarded the gunboats.

Of the eight gunboats, the British captured six, among them gun boats Nos. 5, 10, 13, and 15. They sank one gunboat and one escaped. The British also captured all twelve of the ships and vessels the gunboats had been protecting, as well as a large armed ship, which they burnt. These were laden with powder and provisions for the Russian army. British losses were heavy. Grapeshot killed Hawkey while he was boarding his second gunboat. Including Hawkey, Implacable lost six men killed and 17 wounded. In all, the British lost 17 men killed and 37 wounded. The Russians lost at least 65 men killed, and 127 taken prisoner, of whom 51 were wounded. For this action, the Admiralty issued the clasp "7 July Boat Service 1809" to the Naval General Service Medal.

France and Spain
In January 1810, Captain George Cockburn took command of Implacable. She then sailed to Quiberon Bay with a small squadron that also included Disdainful, a brig and the schooner Nonpareil, all escorting the Baron de Kolli. His mission was to arrange the escape of Ferdinand VII of Spain, whom the French had imprisoned at the Chateau of Valençay. The mission failed when Ferdinand refused to have anything to do with the British, and Kolli was arrested. Implacable then returned to Spithead.

On 17 July Rear Admiral Sir Richard Keats arrived on Implacable to take charge of the British support of the Spanish in the Siege of Cádiz. Marshal Victor's French army had completely blockaded the Isla de León by land and were further fortifying the coast with works that supplemented the existing defences. Eleven or twelve British and Spanish line-of-battle ships anchored as close to shore as they could without grounding. The allied troops defending Leon consisted of 16,500 Spaniards, 4,000 British and Germans, and 1,400 Portuguese.

In August the Allies attacked the French at Moguer, a town in the province of Huelva. Cockburn, sailing in the brig-sloop Jasper, directed the naval portion of the attack. General Lacey's Spanish troops and horses landed from the transports on 23 August about 22 miles south of the town. They then marched along the beach with 11 flat boats under Lieutenant Westphal of Implacable moving with them. The boats then ferried the troops across a large branch of the river, enabling the troops to reach Moguer next morning. The Spanish took the French somewhat by surprise and drove them out of the town. The French, numbering perhaps 1100 men, rallied and counter-attacked several times, but without success. The Spaniards followed them, but most of the French were cavalry and were able to withdraw towards Seville. Spanish casualties were slight.

Milford arrived in Cadiz on 2 September and Rear Admiral Keats moved to her. On 6 September Implacable sailed from Cadiz to Havana as escort to two Spanish 3-deckers. From there she sailed to Vera Cruz, Mexico, to pick up specie. She returned to Cadiz on 18 February 1811 with 2,000,000 dollars on board. Implacable then participated in the defense of the Isla de Leon. In August Captain I. R. Watson took command. By 1813 Implacable was back in Plymouth.

Post war
From August to November 1840 Implacable participated in the bombardment and capture of Acre, and operations on the coast of Syria. The Ottoman government awarded medals to the officers and men employed during the campaign. In 1847 the Admiralty issued the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Syria" to the officers and men who had participated in the campaign and who claimed the medal.

From the Eastern Mediterranean Implacable sailed to Malta and then spent about a year in the Mediterranean, though she made one trip to Plymouth. She visited Syracuse, Corfu, Gibraltar and Tunis. By 15 February 1842, she was in Devonport, condemned as unfit for sea service. She was to be docked to extend her life.

Post active service

The old Implacable, by Charles Dixon.

From 1844 she was out of commission at Devonport. A conversion to a training ship permitted her to return to service in June 1855 in the Hamoaze. Initially she was under the command of Captain Arthur Lowe. In January 1865, under Commander Edward Hay, she became a training ship for boys. Commander Henry Carr took command in October 1877, with Commander Thomas Sturges Jackson following him in 1880.


In 1908 King Edward VII intervened to save the ship. In 1912 she was handed over to philanthropist Geoffrey Wheatley Cobb (died 1931) for preservation, and for use as a boys' training ship. There were several appeals to help preserve Implacable over the years, especially in the 1920s. Funds were raised and she underwent several restorations, which continued in the 1930s. In conjunction with HMS Trincomalee, she served as an accommodation ship, a training ship, a holiday ship and a coal hulk, and the two ships were renamed Foudroyant in 1943. H. V. Morton saw her at Devonport Dockyard during one of the restorations and was told she had been "lying for years in Falmouth, and we are giving her a wash and brush up before sending her back as a training ship".

The_Royal_Navy_during_the_Second_World_War_A19880.jpg
View of Implacable during World War II flying the first part of the historic "England expects..." signal on Trafalgar Day in 1943


Fate
Unlike the unfortunate Wellesley, Implacable survived the Second World War. Still, the Admiralty scuttled her by an explosive charge on 2 December 1949. A fireboat towed her to a spot east of the Isle of Wight and she sank into Saint Catherine's Deep, about five miles from Ventnor. Implacable was by then the second-oldest ship of the Navy after Victory, and there were heavy protests against her disposal. However, given the postwar austerity the British decided against the cost of her restoration, which was estimated at £150,000 with another £50,000 for re-rigging. In 1947 they had offered her to the French, who too declined to spend the money to turn her into a museum. Still, her figurehead and stern galleries were saved and are on display in the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, while her capstan is on display at the maritime museum at Rochefort. Her Captain's Cabin doors are in the collection of HM Frigate Unicorn, Dundee. Public reaction to the "criminal action against the maritime history of Britain" forced the government to support the preservation of Cutty Sark


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Implacable_(1805)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
4 November 1834 - HMS Nimble (1826 - 5), Chas. Bolton, wrecked in the Old Bahama Channel


HMS Nimble was a Royal Navy 5-gun schooner-of-war. She was employed in anti-slave trade patrol from 1826 until 1834, when she was wrecked on a reef with the loss of 70 Africans who had been rescued from a slave ship.

Background
In 1818, the United Kingdom and Spain entered into a treaty forbidding the importation of slaves into Spanish territories. One provision of the treaty set up a Mixed Commission Court in Havana to deal with Spanish ships caught by the Royal Navy while trying to carry Africans to slavery in Cuba. A similar British-Portuguese court in Sierra Leone ruled on Portuguese slave ships caught by the Royal Navy. The Nimble was assigned to the squadron that the Royal Navy maintained on the approaches to Cuba to enforce the provisions of the treaty. Slave ships captured near Africa and their cargoes of Africans were taken to Sierra Leone for disposition. Spanish slave ships captured near Cuba were taken to Havana to be dealt with by the Mixed Commission Court, while Portuguese ships caught in Caribbean or North American waters had to be taken to Sierra Leone. Despite the efforts of the Royal Navy, large numbers of Africans continued to be carried to slavery in Cuba, in part because Spanish officials in Cuba were often complicit in the illegal slave trade. More than 64,000 Africans may have been illegally landed in Cuba between 1822 and 1829.

Construction
She was built in 1822 as the Gran Colombian schooner Bolivar. She may have been used as a slave ship at some point in her career. After the Magpie-class schooner Nimble (built by McLean of Jamaica) was rejected as unsatisfactory in 1826,[1] the Royal Navy purchased Bolivar, renamed her Nimble, and assigned her to the Royal Navy's West Indies Squadron. In Royal Navy service, Nimble carried four 18-pounder (8.2-kg) carronades and one 18-pounder cannon.

Tons burthen: 168 (bm)
Length:
  • 83 ft 7 in (25.5 m) (gundeck)
  • 64 ft 7 1⁄2 in (19.7 m) (keel)
Beam: 22 ft 2 in (6.8 m)
Depth of hold: 9 ft 5 in (2.9 m)
Sail plan: Schooner
Complement: 41
Armament:


Career
From the records of slave ships captured, it is clear that Nimble was engaged in the interception of slavers throughout the years 1827 to 1834.

On 19 December 1827, Nimble ran aground near the Florida Keys while engaged in a gun battle with the Spanish slave ship Guerrero. Guerrero sank and 41 Africans imprisoned in the hold drowned. The crew and 520 surviving Africans were rescued from Guerrero by wreckers. Spanish crew members from Guerrero hijacked two of the wrecking vessels and escaped to Cuba with 398 of the Africans. The remaining 120 Africans were taken to Key West. Nimble had lost her rudder when she went aground, but the wreckers helped Nimble's crew float her off the reef and fit the rudder from Guerrero on her.

She is recorded as salvaging the US vessel La Fayette on 13 May 1829.[6] In June 1829, Nimble assisted HMS Monkey after Monkey had captured the Spanish slave ship Midas near Bimini. Midas had left Africa in April 1829 with 562 Africans. Only 369 were still alive when Midas was captured by Monkey, and 72 more died (of "smallpox, diarrhea & scurvy") before Monkey and Nimble could take Midas to Havana.

Lieutenant Joseph Sherer transferred from Monkey to Nimble. On 16 November 1829, Nimble captured the Spanish slave ship Gallito, carrying 16 crew and 136 Africans, near the Berry Islands, and took her to Havana. Head money for the 136 slaves was paid in 1831.[Note 3] Sherer was promoted to Commander on 29 December for his successes while captain of Monkey.

On 13 July 1832, Nimble captured the Portuguese slave ship Hebe, which was carrying 401 "Angolans". The Africans were in such poor condition that they were deemed unfit for a voyage to Sierra Leone, and were kept in the Bahamas. At first settled on isolated Highburn Cay, many were later recruited into the West India Regiment and the rest were apprenticed to white Bahamians.

In May 1833, Nimble captured the Spanish slave ship La Negrita, carrying 189 Africans. When Nimble tried to take the captured ship to Havana for disposition by the Mixed Commission Court, she was turned away because of a cholera epidemic in Cuba, and the Africans were taken to Trinidad.

On 10 November 1833, Nimble captured the Spanish slave ship Joaquina, carrying 348 Africans, after a battle near the Isle of Pines. The Spanish captain and two captive Africans were killed in the battle (another African died later of his wounds), and Joaquina sank. On 7 December 1833, Nimble captured the Spanish slave ship Manuelita, carrying a crew of 34 and 485 Africans, near the Isle of Pines. In August 1834, Nimble captured a Portuguese slave ship carrying 162 Africans and delivered them to the Bahamas.

While under the command of Lieutenant Bolton from 24 February 1833 until the wreck, Nimble captured six slave vessels with a total of 1,902 Africans aboard.

Fate
In November 1834, Nimble pursued the Spanish slave ship Carlota until she was wrecked on the Cuban coast. Nimble rescued 272 African slaves, which contributed to her wrecking. On the way to Havana, Nimble met bad weather, and on 4 November was driven onto a reef near Cay Verde on the north side of the Old Bahama Channel. The ship was lost and 70 of the Africans drowned. It was reported that the Africans in the hold were making so much noise that the crew could not hear the sound of the breakers on the reef. All her crew were saved, as were some 200 slaves.

Nimble's captain, Lieutenant Charles Bolton, was cleared by a court martial of all blame in the wreck of the Nimble.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Nimble_(1826)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
4 November 1875 - SS Pacific, an 876-ton sidewheel steamer, sunk after a collision southwest of Cape Flattery, Washington. Pacific had an estimated 275 passengers and crew aboard when she sank. Only two survived.


SS Pacific was an 876-ton sidewheel steamer built in 1851 most notable for its sinking in 1875 as a result of a collision southwest of Cape Flattery, Washington. Pacific had an estimated 275 passengers and crew aboard when she sank. Only two survived. Among the casualties were several notable figures, including the vessel's captain at the time of the disaster, Jefferson Davis Howell (1846–1875), the nephew of ex-Confederate President Jefferson Davis

SS_Pacific_(1851).jpg
SS Pacific, from a drawing commissioned early in its career.

History
Originally in service on passenger runs between Panama and San Francisco, Pacific was among the many vessels who ferried miners from California to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in 1858. She was damaged from a grounding in the 1860s and was repaired but was retired from service. The onset of the Cassiar Gold Rush in far northern British Columbia saw her returned to service in the period 1872 to 1875, by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, on a regular run from San Francisco to and from Victoria, British Columbia and the American cities of Puget Sound.

Sinking
On 4 November 1875, she boarded passengers and freight in Victoria for the regular run to San Francisco in the climate of an unregulated and highly competitive market where passage was often offered free just to hurt the competing shipping line's business (the regular Victoria-San Francisco fare was $5 – about $200 in modern currency). Loaded to the gunwales and listing badly, efforts to right the ship included filling lifeboats with water to bring her to trim, and then doing the same with the lifeboats on the other side to re-compensate when the vessel began to list too heavily in the opposite direction. No lifeboat drills were held, and at a subsequent inquest it was revealed that even if the lifeboats had been available for use, only 145 passengers could have been saved, with at least another 155 left on board to go down with the ship (the official estimate of the number of passengers was 275, but as children paid no fare the death toll is believed to have been much higher).

Around 8 p.m. on the evening of 4 November, Pacific hit the SS Orpheus,[2] although both vessels continued on their course and the captain of Orpheus later testified he was unaware of the collision. With only a few lifeboats usable, some crew joined the women who had managed to get into one, in one case going so far as to throw out the husband of one woman despite her pleas to let her husband stay. None of the lifeboat parties survived, and went down soon after many of the 300-odd people struggling in the cold water drowned. The women drowned first because of the voluminous skirts then in fashion. An estimated 20 survived the sinking and managed to survive for a while by clinging to large pieces of wreckage. All but two of these eventually succumbed to hypothermia, as did one of the remaining pair, leaving Henry Jelley as only one of two survivors.

Jelley, of Port Stanley, Ontario, had been a surveyor for the exploratory surveys of the then-planned Canadian Pacific Railway in British Columbia; he survived by clinging to the wheelhouse where he had seen another survivor, a man from Maine who had been in the Cariboo goldfields and, like Jelley, was on his way home to the eastern part of the continent via the transcontinental railway from San Francisco. The other survivor succumbed to cold by about 4 a.m. of the Saturday morning following as the wreckage drifted closer to Vancouver Island. Only three miles from shore, Jelley was rescued by the American bark Messenger at 10 a.m. and brought ashore at Port Angeles, Washington, returning shortly thereafter from there to Victoria, just across the Strait of Juan de Fuca. He was one of two survivors who testified at the inquest into the sinking.

The other survivor was a crewman, Neil Henley of the Hebrides, who had been rescued by the United States customs ship SS Oliver Walcott, of 1100 tons burthen. Like Jelley, Henley had survived by climbing onto some wreckage, where he joined the captain, three other crew members, two male passengers and a woman. All the others succumbed to the cold, but Henley survived from the Thursday evening of the sinking until Monday morning.

Testimony by the crew of Orpheus indicated that her Captain Sawyer had been drinking, and had been unsure of his location and had come alongside Pacific in hopes of consulting with the latter's captain, with the collision damaging Pacific's rigging in the process. Rather than wait to see what damage might have been done to the other vessel, Captain Sawyer sailed the Orpheus away after determining his own ship was not damaged, a fact that was observed to contribute greatly to the loss of life of those on board Pacific. Shortly afterwards, Orpheus ran aground in Barkley Sound, after Sawyer had confused the Cape Beale lighthouse there with that of Cape Flattery.

A separate American inquiry exonerated Captain Sawyer, despite protestations from the Victoria press, on the unfounded basis that Orpheus had been unable to assist Pacific because of panic on board that ship after the collision. In fact, no one on Pacific had been aware of the damage until after Orpheus was already sailing away. Sawyer later died at Port Townsend in 1894.

Aftermath
In addition to Captain Howell, who had been a Confederate naval officer as well as nephew to the Confederacy's president, there were several notable persons in British Columbia history among the casualties. These included lumberman Sewell "Sue" Moody, founder of Moodyville, Captain Otis Parsons who had just sold off his fleet of Fraser River steamers, and J.H. Sullivan, who had been Gold Commissioner of the Cassiar mining district. Most of the freight was coal and potatoes.[citation needed]

British Columbia historian Frederick W. Howay estimated that there was $100,000 on board, but this may have been the same as a known $40,000 in the possession of the aforementioned Captain Otis Parsons who was one of those who went down with the ship. This number is believed by contemporary British Columbia historian Garnet Basque to have been much higher, based on an 1861 manifest of another voyage of Pacific on November 18 of that year, as quoted in the Victoria Colonist in Basque's chapter on the Pacific disaster in his book Lost Bonanzas of British Columbia:

"The steamship Pacific went to sea yesterday morning, from Esquimalt, at 9 o'clock. She had on board nearly 200 miners and others as passengers from this place, and 120 United States soldiers from the Sound [Puget Sound]. Wells, Fargo and Co. shipped 205,998 dollars in gold dust. The total shipment, including the amounts in private hands, will reach 400,000 dollars (£80,000)."​
Basque observes that whatever its amount, the "Treasure of the SS Pacific" "lies in only 12 to 13 fathoms of water off Cape Flattery"



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Pacific_(1851)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
4 November 1914 – SMS Yorck made a navigational error in heavy fog and accidentally sailed into a German defensive minefield. The ship sank quickly with heavy loss of life, though sources disagree on the exact number of fatalities.


SMS Yorck ("His Majesty's Ship Yorck") was the second and final ship of the Roon class of armored cruisers built for the German Imperial Navy. Yorck was named for Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg, a Prussian field marshal. She was laid down in 1903 at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, and finished in November 1905, at the cost of 16,241,000 marks. She displaced up to 9,875 metric tons (9,719 long tons; 10,885 short tons) and was armed with a main battery of four 21 cm (8.3 in) guns. Her top speed was 20.4 knots (37.8 km/h; 23.5 mph).

SMS_Yorck_NH_45198.jpg
Yorck in the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal

The ship had a short career; she served with the fleet for the first seven years, after which she was decommissioned and placed in reserve. After the outbreak of World War I, she was reactivated and returned to front-line service. After returning from the raid on Yarmouth on 3–4 November 1914, the ship made a navigational error in heavy fog and accidentally sailed into a German defensive minefield. The ship sank quickly with heavy loss of life, though sources disagree on the exact number of fatalities. Her commander was court-martialled and imprisoned for disobedience and negligent homicide. Yorck was broken up incrementally, with work occurring in 1929–30, 1965, and finally completed in 1982.

Construction

Roon_linedrawing.png
Plan and elevation of the Roonclass
Main article: Roon-class cruiser

Yorck was ordered under the provisional name Ersatz Deutschland and built at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg under construction number 167.[1][Note 2] Her keel was laid in 1902 and she was launched on 14 May 1904. Fitting-out work was completed by 21 November 1905, being commissioned into the Imperial German Navy the same day. She had cost the Imperial German Government 16,241,000 Goldmarks.

Yorck displaced 9,087 t (8,943 long tons) as built and 9,875 t (9,719 long tons) fully loaded, with a length of 126.50 m (415 ft 0 in), a beam of 19.60 m (64 ft 4 in) and a draft of 7.43 m (24 ft 5 in) forward. She was powered by three vertical triple expansion engines, which developed a total of 17,272 indicated horsepower (12,880 kW) and yielded a maximum speed of 20.4 knots (37.8 km/h; 23.5 mph) on trials. She carried up to 1,630 t (1,600 long tons) of coal, which enabled a maximum range of up to 5,080 nautical miles (9,410 km; 5,850 mi) at a cruising speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph).

She was armed with four 21 cm (8.3 in) guns arranged in two twin gun turrets, one on either end of the superstructure. Her secondary armament consisted of ten 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/40 guns, four in single turrets arranged two each on either side, the rest in casemates amidships, fourteen 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/30 guns and four 45 cm (18 in) underwater torpedo tubes, one in the bow, one in the stern, and one on both beams.

Service history
Peacetime
Yorck was launched on 14 May 1904, and commissioned into the German navy on 21 November 1905. At the commissioning Field Marshal Wilhelm von Hahnke spoke, saying, "old wisdom, si vis pacem, para bellum—he who wants peace shall be prepared for war...may the guns and machines of the Yorck be operated only by men with iron hearts and an iron will, men who know no other order than to put their lives at risk when the might, the greatness and honor of the German people are being fought for." After her commissioning, Yorck served with the fleet in the cruiser squadron. In 1908–1909, Erich Raeder served aboard the ship as Yorck's navigation officer. From 1 October 1911 to 26 January 1912, Franz von Hipper, later commander-in-chief of the German navy, served as the ship's commanding officer.

In early March 1913, the fleet conducted maneuvers off the island of Helgoland in the North Sea. Early on 4 March, the destroyer S178 fell out of formation in heavy seas and attempted to cross in front of Yorck. The destroyer was caught by a large wave and thrown into Yorck, which cut S178 in half. Out of a crew of 83 men, only 13 were pulled from the stormy sea. Yorck was decommissioned and laid up in the reserve fleet in May 1913 with most of her crew transferring to the newly completed battlecruiser Seydlitz. Hipper, by now the deputy commander of the battlecruiser squadron, stated that "the Seydlitz has a fine spirit and high morale, having carried over the spirit of the old Yorckcrew." On 12 August 1914 Yorck was recommissioned and assigned to III Scouting Group.

First World War[

Bundesarchiv_DVM_10_Bild-23-61-82,_Panzerkreuzer_der_Roon-Klasse.jpg
An unidentified Roon-class cruiser

On 3 November, Yorck participated in the first offensive operation of the war conducted by the German fleet. She augmented the forces assigned to the I Scouting Group, which primarily consisted of the battlecruisers Seydlitz, Moltke, and Von der Tann and the large armored cruiser Blücher. The I Scouting Group, commanded by Rear Admiral Hipper, was ordered to bombard Great Yarmouth on the English coast. The four large cruisers bombarded the port but inflicted little damage; minelayers laid minefields off the coast, which sank British submarine D5. Upon returning to the Heligoland Bight late that day, Hipper's forces encountered heavy fog. The fog prevented the ships from entering Wilhelmshaven; instead, they anchored for the night in the Schillig roadstead. Yorck attempted to enter Wilhelmshaven early on the 4th,[12] but her crew made a navigational error which led the ship into a German defensive minefield. She struck two mines, and capsized and sank with heavy loss of life.

Sources disagree on the exact figures; V. E. Tarrant's Jutland: The German Perspective, states that 127 men out of a crew of 629 were rescued, while Erich Gröner's German Warships 1815–1945 indicates that there were only 336 fatalities. Daniel Butler's Distant Victory states that "some 235" men perished in the sinking. The Norddeutsche Volksblatt reported "the loss of over 300 men" at the time of the court-martial on the sinking; this report was echoed around the world.

Yorck's commanding officer, Captain Piper, was among those rescued. In December 1914 he was court-martialled and sentenced to two years' imprisonment for negligence, disobedience of orders, and homicide through negligence. The ship's wreck was partially scrapped in 1929–30; more work was done in 1965, though the ship was not completely removed until work resumed in 1982.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Yorck
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 4 November


1766 – Launch of French Enjouée at Le Havre - hulked at Brest in 1777 and dismantled in 1783.

Infidèle class (32-gun design by Jean-Joseph Ginoux, with 26 x 12-pounder and 6 x 6-pounder guns).


1778 - HMS Maidstone (1758 - 28), Cptn. Alan Gardner, took French Lion (40) about 60 leagues to the east of Cape Henry.

HMS Maidstone was a 28-gun Coventry-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy.

Construction
The vessel was named after Maidstone, a county town in Kent, England, 32 miles (51 km) south-east of London. In selecting her name the Board of Admiralty continued a tradition dating to 1644 of using geographic features for ship names; overall, ten of the nineteen Coventry-class vessels were named after well-known regions, rivers or towns. With few exceptions the remainder of the class were named after figures from classical antiquity, following a more modern trend initiated in 1748 by John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich in his capacity as First Lord of the Admiralty.

In sailing qualities Maidstone was broadly comparable with French frigates of equivalent size, but with a shorter and sturdier hull and greater weight in her broadside guns. She was also comparatively broad-beamed with ample space for provisions and the ship's mess, and incorporating a large magazine for powder and round shot. Taken together, these characteristics would enable Maidstone to remain at sea for long periods without resupply. She was also built with broad and heavy masts, which balanced the weight of her hull, improved stability in rough weather and made her capable of carrying a greater quantity of sail. The disadvantages of this comparatively heavy design were a decline in manoeuvrability and slower speed when sailing in light winds.

Her designated complement was 200, comprising two commissioned officers – a captain and a lieutenant – overseeing 40 warrant and petty officers, 91 naval ratings, 38 Marinesand 29 servants and other ranks. Among these other ranks were four positions reserved for widow's men – fictitious crew members whose pay was intended to be reallocated to the families of sailors who died at sea

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Maidstone_(1758)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry-class_frigate


1789 – Launch of French Jupiter, a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy

Jupiter was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.
Between 1791 and 1793, she was based in Saint-Domingue. In March 1794, she was renamed Montagnard. On 29 May, during the May 1794 Atlantic campaign, she encountered a British squadron; in the ensuing battle, she sustained damage which prevented her from taking part in the subsequent battle of the Glorious First of June itself.
She was renamed Démocrate on 18 May 1795, and back to Jupiter on 30 May. On 7 August, she took part in the recapture from the British of Censeur.
She was renamed Batave on 27 April 1798. The next year, she took part in the Cruise of Bruix.
Condemned in 1807, she was broken up in Brest

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Jupiter_(1789)


1803 - Boats of HMS Blanche (1800 - 36), Cptn. Zachary Mudge, cut out a French schooner and Albion.

HMS Blanche (1800) was a 36-gun fifth rate launched in 1800 and captured and burnt in 1805 by four French ships off Puerto Rico.


1806 - HMS Redbridge (12), Lt. Edward Burt, wrecked near Providence


1810 - Boats of HMS Blossom, an 18-gun Cormorant-class sloop-of-war, captured Cesar.

HMS Blossom was an 18-gun Cormorant-class sloop-of-war. She was built in 1806 and is best known for the 1825–1828 expedition under Captain Beechey to the Pacific Ocean. She explored as far north as Point Barrow, Alaska, the furthest point into the Arctic any non-Inuit had been at the time. She was finally broken up in 1848.

HMS_Blossom_(1806).jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Blossom_(1806)


1858 – Launch of french Entreprenante, at Lorient as a steam transport- deleted 6 July 1885.

Vengeance class (60-gun first rate type, 1829 design by Mathurin-François Boucher, with 30 x 30-pounder guns, 28 x 30-pounder carronades and 2 x 18-pounder guns):


1940 - Operation MB8

Operation MB8 was a British Royal Navy operation in the Mediterranean Sea during 4–11 November 1940. It was made up of six forces—totalling two aircraft carriers, five battleships, 10 cruisers and 30 destroyers, including much of Force H—protecting four supply convoys.

The_Merchant_Navy_during_the_Second_World_War_A11269.jpg
20 mm Oerlikon cannon anti aircraft gunners on board a merchant ship on a Malta bound convoy

It consisted of several phases: Operation Coat, Operation Crack, Convoy MW 3, Convoy ME 3, Convoy AN 6 and the main element, Battle of Taranto (Operation Judgement)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_MB8
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
5 November 1775 - Commodore Esek Hopkins is appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy. Early in 1778, he is dismissed from his position due to dissatisfaction with his service but remains popular in his local community, serving in the Rhode Island legislature.


Commodore Esek Hopkins (April 26, 1718 – February 26, 1802) was the only Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. He was also an accomplished merchant captain and privateer.

EsekHopkins.jpg

Early life and career
Esek Hopkins was born in Scituate, in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Before the Revolutionary War he had sailed to nearly every quarter of the earth, commanded a privateer in the French and Indian War, and served as a deputy to the Rhode Island General Assembly. In September 1764, during his time as a privateer and merchant, Hopkins took command of the slave ship Sally, owned by Nicholas Brown and Company. Hopkins had no prior experience in operating a slave trading vessel at the time, and the 15-month voyage would result in the death of 109 out of 196 slaves. In late 1765, Sally arrived at its first trading destination in the West Indies, but the surviving African captives were in such poor health that most sold for very little. Hopkins' failed command of Sally contributed to the Brown brothers reconsidering their participation in the active slave trade of Rhode Island in the 18th century.

Revolutionary War service

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Esek Hopkins and other Rhode Island Merchants in Sea Captains Carousing in Surinam from 1755 (he is second from the left at the table)

Hopkins was appointed a brigadier general to command all military forces of Rhode Island in October 4, 1775, he immediately began to strengthen Rhode Island's defenses with the help of his deputy, William West. A few months later, December 22, 1775, Hopkins was appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Navy authorized by the Continental Congress to protect American commerce.On January 5, 1776, Congress gave Hopkins his set of orders: "You are instructed with the utmost diligence to proceed with the said fleet to sea and if the winds and weather will possibly admit of it to proceed directly for Chesapeake Bay in Virginia and when nearly arrived there you will send forward a small swift sailing vessel to gain intelligence....If...you find that they are not greatly superior to your own you are immediately to enter the said bay, search out and attack, take or destroy all the naval force of our enemies that you may find there. If you should be so fortunate as to execute this business successfully in Virginia you are then to proceed immediately to the southward and make yourself master of such forces as the enemy may have both in North and South Carolina...Notwithstanding these particular orders, which it is hoped you will be able to execute, if bad winds, or stormy weather, or any other unforeseen accident or disaster disenable you so to do, you are then to follow such courses as your best Judgment shall suggest to you as most useful to the American cause and to distress the Enemy by all means in your power."

Hopkins took command of eight small merchant ships that had been altered as men-of-war at Philadelphia. After much deliberation about taking on the overwhelming British forces listed in his orders, Hopkins utilized the last portion of his orders. Hopkins sailed south February 17, 1776 for the first U.S. fleet operation that took the fleet to Nassau in the Bahamas. He felt that it would be much more advantageous to seize a prize for the Continental Army than take a chance of destroying the Continental Navy in its infancy. He knew that the British port in Nassau would be poorly guarded and had friends there who would help his cause.

The Raid of Nassau, an assault on the British colony there March 3, 1776 was also the first U.S. amphibious landing. Marines and sailors landed in "a bold stroke, worthy of an older and better trained service," capturing munitions desperately needed in the War of Independence. The little fleet returned to New London on April 8, 1776, having also made prizes of two British merchantmen and a six-gun schooner, but failing to capture but injuring severely HMS Glasgow on April 6.

John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, wrote Hopkins: "I beg leave to congratulate you on the success of your Expedition. Your account of the spirit and bravery shown by the men affords them [Congress] the greatest satisfaction..." Not only did Hopkins' expedition get needed war supplies for the Continental Army, but it showed the British Navy that they would have to divert their ships from the belligerent colonies to protect non-belligerent areas, thereby leaving fewer British ships to fight on the war front. John Paul Jones was a lieutenant at this time under Hopkins.

Hopkins' decision to go to Nassau rather than pursue another part of his orders concerning Chesapeake Bay of Virginia and North and South Carolina, upset southern members of the Continental Congress, which added to the political, social, economic, religious, and philosophical differences already occurring between members of the Congress.

What happened next in the ensuing months was politically complex and controversial. The Continental Congress and individual state governors through their legislatures allowed privately owned ships to help in the battle against Britain by issuing letters of marque. There were virtually thousands of these ships, which overtook British ships, helping the war effort at sea. These privateer ships were allowed to claim any items found on the British ships they conquered as their own. They therefore were able to pay their seamen and officers nearly twice the amount that the Continental Navy could pay their crews, since the items captured by Continental ships went for the good of the colonies. Even after the Congress built and outfitted several more ships for Commodore Hopkins to use, he could not find adequate personnel to man the ships. John Adams, Sam Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Richard Henry Lee, Robert Treat Paine, and John Paul Jones came to the defense of Hopkins.

Nevertheless, on August 12, 1776, Congress censured Hopkins. Humiliation and an injured reputation followed. Many sources say it would have been better if Hopkins was relieved of his command after the censure, rather than resume his command with a disgraced reputation and a loss of respect from his officers. Yet shortly after this John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, wrote a resolution to have a schooner remade into a war ship and named the Hopkins, although there are no records that indicate his resolution was fulfilled.


Esek Hopkins House, built ca. 1754

Hopkins' little fleet was mostly blockaded in Narragansett Bay by the superior British sea power for the rest of Hopkins' tenure as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy, partly due to the fact that he had inadequate manpower to confront the enemy. A disloyal group[who?] of Hopkins' officers finally went directly to the Congress while at the same time leaving their ships without permission. Later it was proven that the allegations the officers took to Congress could not be substantiated—not in time, though, to squelch what was to happen. Pressure on the nature of Hopkins' character and ability became increasingly significant. Even though John Hancock had congratulated Hopkins at the time, Hopkins' decision to go to Nassau in the Bahamas and the escape of Glasgow was used by politically charged legislators against him.

Even with the impassioned defense of John Adams, the Continental Congress voted on 2 January 1778 to relieve Hopkins of his command permanently. Nevertheless, the first act Hopkins did at the beginning of the war in Nassau, which proved later to be an effective method for the Continental Navy to use against an overwhelming British Navy, was politically used against him. Substantiating this, John Paul Jones, who had been a lieutenant directly under Hopkins, gained great respect while continuing this same type of naval warfare against the much larger Royal Navy. "Furthermore, and perhaps most importantly, the Raid on Nassau brought the war to the English in an area where they felt more strategically threatened than the American Colonies. The West Indies was a location of importance to the British both due to trade concerns and due to its pivotal role in naval conflicts with the English nemesis France. Paranoia over losing the West Indies would frequently deflect English interests and military assets away from the war in America. English preoccupation with this area would nearly cause her to abandon the war in 1778 and may well have cost her the war in the long run. If true, it might well be said that this raid was the first tweaking of this English concern and a tweaking which may have set the tone for those later English decisions. As such, the Raid of Nassau was not just a minor tactical victory but a great strategic victory as well."

Hopkins's commission was terminated by the Congress on 30 July 1778 for his part in the arrest of Richard Marven and Samuel Shaw, a pair of early whistleblowers. Hopkins is singlehandedly responsible for the resolution of Congress "That it is the duty of all persons in the service of the United States, all well as all other inhabitants thereof to give the earliest information to Congress or any other proper authority of any misconduct, frauds or other misdemeanours committed by any persons in the service of these states, which may come to their knowledge."

After the Revolution and legacy
Hopkins was a founding member of the Society of the Cincinnati.[citation needed] He was highly respected in Rhode Island and continued to serve the Rhode Island General Assembly through 1786, then retired to his farm where he died February 26, 1802. His home, the Esek Hopkins House, is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. He was buried in the North Burial Ground of Providence, Rhode Island.

USS Hopkins has been the name of more than one United States Navy ship, named in honor of Commodore Esek Hopkins, and may refer to:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esek_Hopkins
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
5 November 1783 - HMS Superb (74), driven from her anchors in Tellicherry Roads, struck a rock and sank.


HMS Superb was a 74-gun Bellona-class third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 27 October 1760 at Deptford Dockyard.
The Superb was Admiral Edward Hughes's flagship in India in 1782 during a notable series of engagements with the French under Suffren.
On 20 June 1783 the Superb took part in the Battle of Cuddalore before returning to Bombay for copper sheathing along her hull. On 7 November she developed a severe leak through the sheathing into the bilge, and sank in Tellicherry Roads off the Bombay coast, with the loss of all hands.

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Scale: 1:48. Contemporary carvel built block design model of the 'Superb' (1760), a 74-gun two-decker ship of the line. The model is decked and has the name ‘Superbe’ on the stern. The figurehead is a warrior (?) holding a sword. Although not as elaborate when compared with models such as those built in the Navy Board style, block models are considered a valuable source of information in terms of hull shape and decoration. They were constructed from layers of wood, the lines of which were lifted from the plan, and assembled in a ‘bread and butter’ fashion, after which the hull was carved and faired to produce a final smooth finish. It was the normal practise to paint on various fittings such as gun-port lids, channels and in some cases elaborate decoration.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/66467.html#edfKXShLxG3Tu4Rc.99

Class and type: Bellona-class ship of the line
Tons burthen: 161214⁄94 (bm)
Length:
  • 168 ft (51 m) (gundeck)
  • 137 ft 11.25 in (42.0434 m) (keel)
Beam: 46 ft 10.5 in (14.288 m)
Draught: 21 ft 6 in (6.55 m)
Depth of hold: 19 ft 9 in (6.02 m)
Sail plan: Full-rigged ship
Armament:
  • 74 guns:
  • Lower gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs
  • Upper gundeck: 28 × 18 pdrs
  • Quarterdeck: 14 × 9 pdrs
  • Forecastle: 4 × 9 pdrs
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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Dragon' (1760) and 'Superb' (1760), and 'Bellona' (1760), 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81148.html#CYVlukIpfOyGiUgi.99


The Bellona-class ships of the line were a class of five 74-gun third rates, whose design for the Royal Navy by Sir Thomas Slade was approved on 31 January 1758. Three ships were ordered on 28 December 1757, with names being assigned on 1 February 1758. Two further ships to this design were ordered on 13 December 1758, at the same time as two ships of a revised design – the Arrogant class.

Design
Slade's Bellona class was the first class of British 74s to have a gun deck length of 168 ft (51 m), and marked the beginning of a stabilisation of the design of this size of ship. Several subsequent classes designed by Slade were almost identical to the Bellona draught, with the main differences restricted to the underwater hull – the most numerous of these being the Arrogant and Elizabeth classes.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard profile with alterations to the mizzen and main masts, proposed for 'Dragon' (1760) and 'Superb' (1760), both 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers building at Deptford Dockyard. Initialled by Thomas Slade [Surveyor of the Navy, 1755-1771].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81149.html#70tikG6ZoewzVZlg.99


Ships
Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Ordered: 28 December 1757.
Laid down: 10 May 1758
Launched: 19 February 1760.
Completed: 6 April 1760.
Fate: Broken up at Chatham, September 1814.
Builder: Deptford Dockyard
Ordered: 28 December 1757.
Laid down: 28 March 1758.
Launched: 4 March 1760.
Completed: 19 April 1760.
Fate: Sold to be broken up, June 1784.

LindsayCambridge.jpg
The bombardment of Morro Castle on Havana - Left to right: HMS Marlborough, HMS Dragon, HMS Cambridge.
Builder: Deptford Dockyard
Ordered: 28 December 1757.
Laid down: 12 April 1758.
Launched: 27 October 1760.
Completed: 19 December 1760.
Fate: Wrecked at Bombay, 7 November 1783.
Builder: Deptford Dockyard
Ordered: 13 December 1758.
Laid down: 24 April 1759.
Launched: 26 March 1762.
Completed: 8 July 1762.
Fate: Sold to be broken up, August 1784.
Builder: Plymouth Dockyard
Ordered: 13 December 1758.
Laid down: 14 May 1759.
Launched: 31 March 1763.
Completed: 19 October 1770.
Fate: Wrecked off Jutland, 24 December 1811.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Superb_(1760)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellona-class_ship_of_the_line
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
5 November 1799 - HMS Sceptre (64), Cptn. Valentine Edwards, wrecked in storm after dragging anchors and drifting in Table Bay.


HMS Sceptre was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 8 June 1781 at Rotherhithe.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth for building Dictator (1783), and in February 1779 for Sceptre (1781), both 64-gun, Third Rate, two-deckers. The design was similar to the 74-gun Albion (1763). Signed by John Williams [Surveyor of the Navy, 1765-1784] and Edward Hunt [Surveyor of the Navy, 1778-1784].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81230.html#vGHd6iwBTvpdoH5U.99


Career
Shortly after completion she was sent out to the Indian Ocean to join Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes's squadron. She arrived in time for the Battle of Trincomalee in 1782. This was the fourth battle of a bloody campaign between Vice-Admiral Hughes and the French Admiral Suffren's squadron.

The following year, she took part in the Battle of Cuddalore (1783), the final battle in the East Indies campaign. In the run-up to the battle Sceptre captured the Naïade, under captain Villaret, on the night of 11 April 1783. Naïade was armed with eighteen to twenty 8-pounder guns and ten swivel guns, and had a crew of 160 men. The British took her into service but never commissioned her; they then sold her in August 1784.

She was then laid up for the peace.[citation needed] In 1794, under the command of Commodore John Ford, Sceptre assisted in the capture of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

On 12 March 1795, under the command of Captain William Essington, Sceptre sailed for the Cape of Good Hope as escort to fleet of East Indiamen sailing to India and China.

Capture of eight Dutch East Indiamen off St Helena

The_East_Indiaman_'General_Goddard'_Capturing_Dutch_East_Indiamen,_June_1795.jpg
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The Honble East India Company's Ship, General Goddard.... with His Majesty's Ship Sceptre and Swallow Packet Capturing seven Dutch East Indiamen off St Helena, on the 14th of June 1795 (PAH7885)
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/147832.html#FIXPcRQcJSMjUzyx.99
General Goddard, HMS Sceptre, and Swallow capturing Dutch East Indiamen, by Thomas Luny;
National Maritime Museum

When Sceptre arrived at St Helena she brought the news that France had invaded the Netherlands in January. Furthermore, under an order dated 9 February 1795, Royal Navy vessels and British letters of marque were to detain Dutch vessels and cargoes and bring them into British ports that they might be detained provisionally. Then on 2 June the British East India Company packet ship Swallow arrived from the Cape of Good Hope with the news than a convoy of Dutch East Indiamen had left the Cape, sailing for the Netherlands.

On 18 May 1795, the Dutch brig Komeet, under the command of Captain-Lieutenant Mynheer Claris, and the Dutch corvette Scipio, under the command of de Jong, set out from Table Bay with a convoy of sixteen East Indiamen, for Europe. Bad weather forced eight Indiamen back to the Cape. These eight sailed again on 22 May.

The remaining eight Indiamen, which had sailed on 18 May together with their two escorts, and a private Dutch ship from the Cape, the whaler Herstilder, sailed on.[4] All but two of this group reached ports in then-neutral Norway.

Essington prevailed upon Colonel Brooke, the governor of St Helena, to lend him some troops and to put the British East India Company (EIC) vessels there at the time to form a squadron to try and intercept the Dutch. Providentially, General Goddard, an East Indiaman under the command of Captain William Taylor Money, was resting at St Helena while on her way back to England. On 3 June, Sceptre, General Goddard, Manship (also an EIC ship), and Swallow set out. Five other HEIC ships set out later, of which only Busbridge met up with the squadron. On 10 June the British captured the Dutch Indiaman Hougly, which Swallow escorted into St Helena, before returning to the squadron with additional seamen. Due to bad weather, Manship and Busbridge lost contact with Essington's squadron.

In the afternoon of 14 June, Essington's squadron sighted seven sail. At 1 a.m. the next morning General Goddard sailed through the Dutch fleet, which fired on her. She did not fire back. Later that morning, after some exchange of shots between the British and Dutch vessels, the Dutch surrendered. The HEIC ships Busbridge, Captain Samuel Maitland, and Asia, Captain John Davy Foulkes, arrived on the scene and helped board the Dutch vessels. There were no casualties on either side. The British then brought their prizes into St Helena on 17 June.

On 1 July, Sceptre, General Goddard and the prizes sailed from St Helena to gather in other returning British East Indiamen. They then returned to St Helena, where George Vancouver and Discovery, which had arrived there in the meantime, joined them. The entire convoy, now some 20 vessels or so strong, sailed from there in August to Shannon, where most arrived on 13 December. (Three Dutch vessels were lost. Houghly was lost on 1 September. Surcheance was lost on 5 September. Zeelelie escaped and wrecked off the Scilly Islands on 26 September.) General Goddard reached the Downs on 15 October.

Because the captures occurred before Britain had declared war on the Batavian Republic, the vessels become Droits to the Crown. Still, prize money, in the amount of two-thirds of the value of the Dutch ships amounted to £76,664 14s. Of this, £61,331 15s 2d was distributed among the officers and crew of Sceptre, General Goddard, Busbridge, Asia, and Swallow.

Wrecking

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"Slowing wreckage of Sceptre of Craig's Tower" Sketch Lady Anne Barnard

While under the command of Captain Edwards, Sceptre was caught at anchor in a storm on 5 November 1799 along with seven other ships in Table Bay, near the Cape of Good Hope. At 10:30am, the captain ordered the topmasts struck, and the fore and main yards lowered in order to ease the ship in the strengthening winds. At midday, the ship fired a feu de joie on the occasion of the Gunpowder Plot, suggesting no apparent apprehension about the oncoming storm. However within half an hour, the main anchor cable parted followed by the secondary one. At approximately 7pm, the ship was driven ashore onto a reef at Woodstock Beach at the site of the present-day Royal Cape Yacht Club. The ship was battered to pieces, and approximately 349 seamen and marines were killed or drowned. One officer, two midshipmen, 47 seamen and one marine were saved from the wreck, but nine of these died on the beach

Class and type: Inflexible-class ship of the line
Tons burthen: 1398 (bm)
Length: 159 ft (48 m) (gundeck)
Beam: 44 ft 4 in (13.51 m)
Depth of hold: 18 ft 10 in (5.74 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: Full rigged ship
Armament:
  • Gundeck: 26 × 24-pounder guns
  • Upper gundeck: 26 × 18-pounder guns
  • QD: 10 × 4-pounder guns
  • Fc: 2 × 9-pounder guns

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the framing profile (disposition) for Inflexible (1780), and later for Africa (1781), Dictator (1783), and Sceptre (1781), all 64-gun Third Rate, two-deckers.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81266.html#Q74chD6dxEBJohjk.99

The Inflexible-class ships of the line were a class of four 64-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir Thomas Slade. The lines of this class were based heavily on Slade's earlier 74-gun Albion-class.

Ships
Builder: Barnard, Harwich
Ordered: 26 February 1777
Launched: 7 March 1780
Fate: Broken up, 1820
Builder: Barnard, Deptford
Ordered: 11 February 1778
Launched: 11 April 1781
Fate: Broken up, 1814
Builder: Batson, Limehouse
Ordered: 21 October 1778
Launched: 6 January 1783
Fate: Broken up, 1817
Builder: Randall, Rotherhithe
Ordered: 16 January 1779
Launched: 8 June 1781
Fate: Wrecked, 1799

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Sceptre_(1781)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-346472;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=S
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
5 November 1799 - HMS Orestes (18), Cptn. W. Haggitt, foundered during a cyclone in the Indian Ocean


HMS Orestes was an 18-gun Dutch-built brig-sloop of the Royal Navy. She was originally built as the privateer Mars, and was captured by the British in 1781. She went on to serve during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War and the French Revolutionary Wars.

The privateer was one of two captured in the North Sea in November 1781, both of which were taken into the Navy. Orestes became an effective anti-privateer vessel, taking several enemy vessels while serving off the British coast. She divided her time between a number of the Royal Navy's stations, serving in the West Indies and departing for the East Indies after time spent on the French coast. Her career in the Indian Ocean was short-lived, as she disappeared at sea in 1799, and is presumed to have foundered in a hurricane with the loss of her entire crew.

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Dutch service
Mars was built at Amsterdam in 1781, to prey on British shipping during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War. On 30 November she sailed from the Texel with another large privateer, the Hercules. The vessels were commanded by a father and son team, by the name of Hogeboom; the father had been active as a privateer operating out of Flushing during the Seven Years' War under the alias John Hardapple. The two vessels were estimated to have cost upwards of 20,000 l. Their career as privateers was short-lived, and they managed to capture only a single British fishing smack before the 40-gun frigate HMS Artois, under the command of Captain John MacBride sighted them off Flamborough Head at 10 o'clock in the morning on 3 December

Capture
The two Dutch vessels initially approached Artois, apparently appearing 'confident'. The action began at 2pm, with one privateer standing off Artois's bow, while the other attacked her quarter. MacBride concentrated his fire on the ship on his quarter, forcing her to break away, while MacBride turned his attention to the ship off his bow. After thirty minutes this ship surrendered, while the other attempted to escape. MacBride wore around and chased her down, at which she struck her colours. MacBride wrote in his report that the two ships mounted '24 nine-pounders and ten cohorns each.' He described them as 'perfectly new, and alike; sail as fast as the Artois, and are the completest privateers I ever saw.' Mars was described as carrying 146 men, of whom nine were killed and fifteen were wounded. Artois had one man killed and six wounded in the whole engagement. Impressed by MacBride's report, the Admiralty approved their purchase for service with the Royal Navy, and she was registered as the sloop HMS Orestes on 16 February 1782.

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lines & profile 18-gun Sloop. NMM, Progress Book, volume 5, folio 366, states that 'Orestes, was at Portsmouth, Plymouth and Deptford Dockyards between February 1782 and August 1788 for repairs. At Portsmouth Dockyard between 4 October and 18 October she was fitted as a Fireship. She foundered in November 1799.
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Royal Navy service
Orestes was fitted out at Deptford between February and August 1782, with her armament consisting of 18 short nine-pounders and ten ½-pounder swivel guns. The cost for her to be fitted and coppered came to £3,961.19.11p. Orestes was commissioned in July 1782 under her first captain, Commander John Bowers, and on 30 November that year she captured the privateer Complaissance. Command of Orestes passed to Commander James Ellis in November the following year. In 1784 she was involved in a skirmish, the Battle of Mudeford, with South Coast smugglers, during which the smugglers fatally wounded her master William Allen. Ellis remained as captain for the next two and a half years, being succeeded by Commander Manley Dixon in June 1786. Commander Thomas Shivers took over in June 1789, and in December 1790 Commander Sir Harry Burrard was Orestes's new captain. While he was in command Orestes's main armament was reduced from nine-pounders to six-pounders. Burrard sailed her to the West Indies in 1792, where in January 1793 Commander Lord Augustus Fitzroy took over as captain. Orestes and Fitzroy returned to Britain in April 1793, during the first few months of the French Revolutionary Wars.

French Revolutionary Wars
Fitzroy was replaced in May 1794 by Commander Thomas Orrock, who was in turn superseded in September 1796 by Commander Christopher Parker. Orestes had been fitted with two eighteen-pounder carronades on 26 August 1794. Parker captured the privateer Furet in the English Channel on 3 September 1797, and relinquished command in February the following year to Commander William Haggitt. Orestes served in the Channel and was one of the ships watching the Battle of the Îles Saint-Marcouf on 7 May 1798, reduced to a spectator owing to the calm weather.

Fate
Orestes sailed for the East Indies in August 1798, remaining on that station until disappearing in the Indian Ocean in November 1799. She is presumed to have been caught in a hurricane that struck the area and to have foundered on or about 5 November, with the loss of her 120-man crew.

Class and type: 18-gun brig-sloop
Tons burthen: 396 40⁄94 (bm)
Length:
  • 94 ft (28.7 m) (overall)
  • 81 ft (24.7 m) (keel)
Beam: 30 ft 4 in (9.2 m)
Depth of hold: 12 ft 1 in (3.68 m)
Propulsion: Sails
Sail plan: brig-sloop
Complement: 125
Armament:
  • 18 × short 9-pounder guns (reduced to 6-pounder in 1792)
  • 12 × ½-pounder swivels
  • 2 × 18-pounder carronades added in 1794

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Orestes_(1781)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-336344;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=O
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
5 November 1813 - Action of 5 November 1813


The Action of 5 November 1813 was a brief naval clash during the Napoleonic Wars, between part of the British Mediterranean Fleet led by Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, and a French force under Rear-Admiral Julien Cosmao-Kerjulien. The engagement took place outside the French port of Toulon.

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The Blockade of Toulon, 1810-14: Pellew's Action, 5 November 1813, Thomas Luny, 1830, National Maritime Museum.
An incident in the blockade of Toulon, the principal French Mediterranean naval port, towards the end of the Napoleonic War. By the autumn of 1813 the French fleet at Toulon had built up to 21 sail of the line and 40 frigates, all ready for sea. Units of this fleet exercised regularly and on 5 November between 12 and 14 ships of the line, six frigates and a schooner, all commanded by Vice-Admiral Maurice Emeriau, left port with a favourable wind that later changed direction and caused them some difficulties. The inshore squadron of Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Pellew's fleet consisted of four frigates, 'Mulgrave', 'Pembroke', 'Armada', and 'Scipion'. Captain Henry Heathcote, the British senior officer in charge of the squadron, immediately made efforts to cut off the French ships frantically trying to return to port. In the early afternoon several larger British units, including Pellew in his flagship, 'Caledonian', 120 guns, managed to make contact with the French who none the less succeeded in escaping. Luny has interpreted the moment when Rear-Admiral Cosmao-Kerjulien and his squadron head for the safety of Toulon Harbour. This is depicted in the left middle distance, where units of the French fleet can also be seen moored bow-on in the extreme left background. The high coast of France around Toulon has been depicted in the backgound, with a defence post visible on the hill to the left and one on a rocky outcrop on the far right. In the centre left foreground is a French two-decker that has stayed behind. She has just received a broadside on her port quarter from the 'Caledonian', seen almost in starboard-broadside view. The Frenchman's main topmast is shot through and falling and her spanker yard is shot in two. To the right of the 'Caledonian' is Captain George Burlton's 'Boyne', 98 guns, in starboard-bow view. The painting dates from seventeen years after the event and the artist has inscribed it 'T.Luny 1830' on the left, on a floating spar.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/12096.html#Bky7IPz9Srvb49Ue.99


The clash occurred when a French fleet under Vice-Admiral Maxime Julien Émeriau de Beauverger took advantage of a favourable wind and the temporary absence of the British blockading force, to leave port to carry out exercises. Émeriau abandoned the exercises when the wind changed, but while returning to port his rear came under attack from the recently returned British inshore squadron. The British attack was reinforced by newly arrived ships from the main fleet, but the French were able to escape into Toulon after exchanging cannon fire with the British. Casualties on both sides were light.

Background
The French Mediterranean Fleet had been blockaded in their principal base at Toulon for several years. Their commander from early 1811, Vice-Admiral Maxime Julien Émeriau de Beauverger made occasional sorties from the port in order to exercise his fleet, but preferred to avoid any chance of action with the patrolling British fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Pellew. Émeriau instead preferred to make brief sorties when the wind was in his favour and the British were absent, undertake exercises, and then return to Toulon when Pellew's fleet appeared. Pellew in turn hoped to tempt the French out and then cut them off from their homeport, forcing a decisive battle upon them. To this end he kept the main part of his fleet, including his largest ships, some distance from Toulon, and relied on a small inshore squadron composed of 74-gun ships to maintain the blockade. Strong gales in late October 1813 had forced both the inshore squadron and the main battlefleet off their stations, and Émeriau decided to make a sortie to exercise his fleet off Cape Sicié.

The French fleet, consisting of between twelve and fourteen ships of the line, six frigates and a schooner duly put to sea at 9:30 am on the morning of 5 November. Émeriau, flying his flag aboard the Impérial, was assisted in his manoeuvres by a strong east-north-east wind and made for the usual exercise area. The British inshore squadron, commanded by Captain Henry Heathcote, had only arrived back on their station the night before, and the main British fleet under Sir Edward Pellew was some distance to the south. Heathcote, commanding four 74-gun ships, was observing the French movements, when at 11:30 am, the wind suddenly changed direction, shifting to the north-west. Concerned about the sudden arrival of the British and unfavourable winds, Émeriau abandoned the exercises and ordered the fleet to make for Toulon. The advanced squadron of the French fleet, commanded by Rear-Admiral Julien Cosmao-Kerjulien and consisting of five ships of the line and four heavy frigates, now found itself to leeward, beating back to port. Heathcote immediately saw a chance to cut off the French rear, and ordered his squadron to attack.

Engagement

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Fight of the Wagram, by Auguste Mayer

Heathcote, commanding HMS Scipion, took his ship in and at 12:34 pm passed the French rear, firing on them with her port guns, as the French stood in for Toulon on the starboard tack. The rest of the squadron, joined by the 74-gun HMS Pompee from Pellew's fleet, followed in succession. The British ships then turned about and tacked across in the opposite direction, cannonading the fleeing French with their starboard batteries. At 1:00 pm the advance ships of Pellew's fleet, HMS Caledonia, HMS San Josef and HMS Boyne arrived and opened fire on the rear-most French ship, the Wagram. The British ships tacked and wore, exchanging fire with the French until the wind carried Cosmao-Kerjulien's squadron under the safety of the shore batteries covering the approach to Toulon.

Casualties and damage on both sides were light. On the British side, twelve men were wounded by French fire, while one man was killed and another two wounded in accidents, bringing total British casualties to 15. Caledonia sustained a shot to her mainmast and three or four in her hull, as well as some damage to her shrouds and backstays. Her launch and barge were also destroyed. The French had a total of 17 men wounded to varying degrees, mostly aboard the Agamemnon, which suffered damage to her masts, hull and rigging, and had nine men wounded. The Borée had her wheel shot away, and the frigates Pénélope and Melpomène were damaged in their sails, masts and rigging. Pellew sailed for Menorca soon afterwards, reducing the inshore squadron to a minimum, but Émeriau declined to come out.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_5_November_1813
 
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