Naval/Maritime History 27th of August - Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History

Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 March 1804 – French privateer Grande Decide captures British merchantman Caldicot Castle


Caldicot Castle (or Caldecot Castle), was built in 1794 at Caldicot, Wales. The French captured her twice, and she survived the perils of the sea in 1803 and 1807. She was last listed in 1832.

Career
Caldicot Castle appears in the 1794 volume of Lloyd's Register with P. Driscoll, master, and trade Bristol—Quebec.

In March 1795, as Caldecot Castle, Driscol, master, was sailing from Barcelona to Guernsey, the French captured her. However, Admiral Colpoy's squadron recaptured her and took her into Falmouth. Ten British warships, Astraea, London, Colossus, Robust, Hannibal, Valiant, Thalia, Cerberus, and Santa Margarita, shared in the proceeds of Caldicot Castle's recapture on 28 March.

In January 1803 Caldicot Castle was returning to Liverpool from Quebec when she had to put in at Crookhaven. She had lost her mizzen mast and rudder, and sustained other damage.

Lloyd's List reported on 4 May 1804 that privateers had captured Sarah, Caldicot Castle, Skerrett, master, and Hector, and taken them into Guadeloupe. Captain Richard Sherrat wrote a letter from Barbados on 14 April in which he described the attack. He had sailed Caldicot Castle from Demerara on 27 February and by 8 March was about 200 miles east of Guadeloupe when at 8 pm two privateers, a schooner and a ship, came up and opened fire. After about 15 minutes, the schooner had sustained damages and had sheered off. By 9:20 the ship also sheared off but remained in sight. Next morning at 6am the ship recommenced the engagement. After about 15 minutes Sherrat had to strike. Caldicot Castle's rigging had been cut to pieces and he an two other men had been wounded, one mortally. The privateer was Grand Decide, which was armed with twenty 9-pounder and two 12-pounder brass guns, and had a crew of 160 men.



 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 March 1810 - The Purísima Concepción, a Spanish first-rate ship of the line of the Kingdom of Spain's Armada Real in service since 1779, wrecked 1810


The Purísima Concepción, was a Spanish first-rate ship of the line of the Kingdom of Spain's Armada Real in service between 1779 and 1810.

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The Second Battle of Cape St Vincent in which the Purísima Concepción took part.

Commission and construction
The name Purísima Concepción translates into English directly as Immaculate Conception, a religious reference to the veneration of the Virgin Mary. The names of contemporary Spanish ships commonly had religious undertones as with general Spanish naming traditions of the period.

The Purísima Concepción was likely commissioned sometime in the mid 1770s though the exact date is unknown and was laid down and constructed at the Royal Dockyards at Ferrol, A Coruña, Galicia. She was designed by Spanish shipbuilder Francisco Gautier. She was launched in 1779 and handed over to the Armada Real.

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Service
La Purísima Concepción was recorded as having been at Cádiz in 1780, her first action involved attachment to the 3rd Franco-Spanish fleet for the Campaign of the English Channel.

On 9 August 1780, Purísima Concepción was part of the Spanish fleet that captured a British convoy of 52 ships under the command of Admiral Luis de Córdova y Córdova and Vice Admiral Jose de Mazarredo y Salazar.

On 5 October 1781, Purísima Concepción was anchored at Cádiz.

In 1782, Purísima Concepción supported Spanish actions at Gibraltar during the Great Siege of Gibraltar and was back at Cádiz on 15 April 1782.

On 22 October 1782, Purísima Concepción was one of 38 ships of the line of the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Cape Spartel though she did not see any action that day.[2]

In 1784, Purísima Concepción was sailed from Cádiz to Cartagena where she was ordered set in commission. On 13 August 1784, she left Cartagena in a patrol squadron together with the Sixth-rate, 24 gun frigate Santa Gertrudis returning to Cádiz. The following day, 14 August, Purisima Concepción assisted the Gertrudis in the capture of a 14 gun Algerian vessel. The action lasted around a half-hour beginning when the Purísima Concepción opened fire on the Algerian ship at around 10 o'clock in the morning. The Algerian vessel was boarded around a half-hour later resulting in the smaller vessel's capitulation. The Algerian vessel had 4 heavy cannons, 2 deck mounted guns and 8 swivel guns. On 15 August, Purísima Concepción arrived in Cádiz together with the Gertrudis and their Algerian prize vessel.

In early February 1793, Purísima Concepción arrived at Cartagena for commissioning and soon after returned to Cádiz. On 23 February 1793, she sailed from Cádiz with 6 other ships of the line to Cartagena where they would join the Siege of Toulon. On 2 October 1793, the fleet left Cartagena bound for Toulon, arriving in the theater on 21 October to join the combined British-Spanish fleet. After the victory at Toulon on 19 December, Purísima Concepción left on 25 December bound for Cartagena, arriving on 31 December 1793.

On 3 March 1795, Purísima Concepción was at Cádiz.

On 26 June 1796, Purísima Concepción was at Cartagena. While docked, a fire broke out on the ship but it was extinguished by the crew before causing significant damage.

In 1797, Purísima Concepción was at Cádiz and was trapped there by the British blockade of the port. Spain eventually prevailed in the battle. On 14 February 1797, she took part in the Second Battle of Cape St Vincent. She was the flagship for the second Spanish squadron. Her commander was Lieutenant-General Francisco Javier Morales de los Ríos and her Flag Captain & Brigadier was José Escaño. The Spanish fleet was commanded by Admiral José de Córdoba y Ramos. During the action, she suffered 8 killed and 21 wounded. The Spanish defeat at Cape St. Vincent enabled the British Navy under Admiral Horatio Nelson back into the Mediterranean Sea.

In 1800, Purísima Concepción was attached to the Spanish fleet in the Second Campaign of the English Channel. Later in the year she was blockaded by the British Fleet under Rear Admiral John Colpoys at Brest. She remained blockaded at Brest until 1801.

In 1808, Purísima Concepción was careened at Ferrol and sailed from Ferrol to Cádiz later in the year when the process was complete.

In 1809, Purísima Concepción was at Cádiz.

In 1810, Purísima Concepción was at Cádiz. On 6 March, a big storm swept the harbor at Cádiz. On 7 March, Purísima Concepción lost her anchors and ran ashore on the French occupied Spanish coast. On 8 August 1810, Purísima Concepción was under heavy shot from French warships and land forces. On 9 August, she was burned by French troops and sunk off the coast. At the time of the loss, the ship was under the command of Rafael Mastre. Two other Spanish line ships, the Montañés and the San Ramón, a Spanish frigate Paz, a Portuguese warship, a British brigantine and 20 merchant ships were similarly lost as a result of the storm and subsequent French attacks.

sistership
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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with sternboard decoration, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, and a longitudinal half-breadth for San Josef (captured 1797), a captured Spanish First Rate, as taken off at Plymouth Dockyard in 1799. The San Josef was fitted between June 1799 and January 1801 at Plymouth as a 114-gun First Rate, three-decker. The plan is heavily colour washed with external details, although there is evidence of water damage along the bottom edge.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sternboard outline with decoration detail, sheer lines with inboard detail, quarter decoration and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for San Josef (captured 1797), a captured Spanish First Rate, as fitted at Plymouth Dockyard for a 114-gun First Rate, three-decker. The alterations in pencil, dated April 1808, refer to how she was to be fitted during her Large Repair and refit at Plymouth Dockyard between May 1807 and June 1809. Any subsequent alterations were to be recorded on the plan and returned showing how the ship was exactly fitted. Signed by John Marshall [Master Shipwright, Plymouth Dockyard, 1795-1802]


Purísima Concepción class

Purísima Concepción
112 (launched 24 December 1779 at Ferrol) - Wrecked in storm 9 March 1810 and burnt by the French
San José 112 (launched 30 June 1783 at Ferrol) - Captured by Britain at the Battle of Cape St Vincent, 14 February 1797, renamed HMS San Josef, BU 1849

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Print of San Josef in Spanish service

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HMS San Josef


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_ship_Purísima_Concepción_(1779)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 March 1810 - Spanish Montañés, a 74 gun third-rate Spanish ship of the line, lost in heavy storm


The Montañés was a 74 gun third-rate Spanish ship of the line. The name ship of her class, she was built in the Ferrol shipyards and paid for by the people of Cantabria. She was built following José Romero y Fernández de Landa's system as part of the San Ildefonso class, though her were amended by Retamosa to refine her buoyancy. She was launched in May 1794 and entered service the following year. With 2400 copper plates on her hull, she was much faster than other ships of the same era, reaching 14 (rather than the average 10) knots downwind and 10 (rather than 8) knots upwind.

In 1795 she fought a French force of 8 ships of the line (including one three-decker) and 2 frigates single-handed in the bay of San Feliu de Guíxols - thanks to her superior speed, the Montañés managed to get within range of a coastal artillery battery, forcing the French to break off the chase.

In June 1805 she was put under the command of Francisco Alcedo and made part of Alcalá Galdiano's division, defending Cadiz from a possible British attack. At the battle of Trafalgarshe was assigned to the second division of Gravina's squadron. Both Alcedo and his deputy Antonio Castaños were killed (with the ship's command passing to lieutenant Joaquín Gutiérrez de Rubalcava), but overall the ship lost only 20 dead and 29 wounded and was able to recapture the Santa Ana and Neptuno after their capture by the British. The Montañés returned to Cadiz on the night of 21 October 1805.

Now commanded by José Quevedo, on 14 July 1808 the Montañés took part in the capture of the Rosily Squadron at Cadiz. She also made several voyages to the Canary Islands, Balearics and Havana before being lost in a heavy storm on 10 March 1810.


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Graduated Bar Scale. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Montanes' (1794), a Spanish 74-gun two-decker. Signed by Julian Martin de Retamosa [Shipbuilder and designer, and Lieutenant General of the Spanish Royal Navy].

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Graduated Bar Scale. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for 'Neptuno' (1795) and 'Argonauta' (1798), both Spanish 80-gun two-decker. These two ships were taken at the battle of Trafalgar, but neither survived the storm - the first being retaken and foundering, and the second scuttled. Signed by Julian Martin de Retamosa [Shipbuilder and designer, and Lieutenant General of the Spanish Royal Navy].


Montañés class. Two were ordered at Ferrol in late 1792 and the third in November 1795. Although the first of these ships was rated at 74 guns and the other two at 80 guns, all three were built to the same design (by Julian Retamosa) and each actually carried 80 guns.

Montañés 74 (launched 14 May 1794 at Ferrol) - Wrecked 9 March 1810

Neptuno
80 (launched 26 November 1795 at Ferrol) - Wrecked in storm after the Battle of Trafalgar, 23 October 1805

Argonauta 80 (launched 7 July 1798 at Ferrol) - Captured by Britain at the Battle of Trafalgar and sank in storm, 21 October 1805


 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 March 1836 – Launch of The first USS Columbia of the United States Navy was a three-masted, wooden-hulled sailing frigate of the US Navy, rated for 50 guns.


The first USS Columbia of the United States Navy was a three-masted, wooden-hulled sailing Raritan-class frigate of the US Navy, rated for 50 guns. She was built at Washington Navy Yard. Her keel was laid in 1825, but as was typical of much Navy construction during this period, she was not launched until much later, on 9 March 1836.

On her first cruise, from May 1838 – June 1840 with Lieutenant George A. Magruder in command, Columbia rounded the Cape of Good Hope to become flagship of Commodore George C. Read in the East India Squadron. She returned to the United States by way of Cape Horn, becoming one of the first U.S. naval ships to circumnavigate the globe. She participated in the 1838 Second Sumatran Expedition in response to a Maylay attack on an American merchant vessel.

Columbia served as flagship of the Home Squadron from January–May 1842; cruised on Brazil Squadron from July 1842 – February 1844 and in the Mediterranean Squadron from May–December 1844. She returned to the Brazil Squadron as flagship from November 1845 – October 1847, and was placed in ordinary at Norfolk Navy Yard upon her return home. Except for a cruise as flagship of the Home Squadron from January 1853 – March 1855, she remained at Norfolk until the outbreak of the American Civil War. Columbia was scuttled and burned by Union forces to avoid her capture by Confederates upon the surrender of Norfolk Navy Yard on 21 April 1861. Following the close of the war she was raised and sold at Norfolk on 10 October 1867.



 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 March 1847 – Mexican–American War: The first large-scale amphibious assault in U.S. history is launched in the Siege of Veracruz.


The Battle of Veracruz was a 20-day siege of the key Mexican beachhead seaport of Veracruz, during the Mexican–American War. Lasting from March 9–29, 1847, it began with the first large-scale amphibious assault conducted by United States military forces, and ended with the surrender and occupation of the city. U.S. forces then marched inland to Mexico City.

Background
After the battles of Monterrey and Buena Vista, much of Zachary Taylor's Army of Occupation was transferred to the command of Major General Winfield Scott in support of the upcoming campaign. That campaign, determined by Scott and other Washington officials, would be a Veracruz landing and an advance inland. Mexican military intelligence knew in advance of U.S. plans to attack Veracruz, but internal government turmoil left them powerless to send crucial reinforcements before the American assault commenced.

Opposing forces
Main article: Veracruz order of battle
Mexican defenses
Veracruz was considered to be the strongest fortress in North America at the time. Brigadier General Juan Esteban Morales commanded a garrison of 3,360 men which manned three major forts guarding Veracruz:
  • Fort Santiago – south end of town
  • Fort Concepción – north top of town
    • These two forts included 3,360 men and 89 guns: artillery, 2d and 8th infantry regiments, 3d Light Regiment, a picket of 11th Regt., Puebla Libres, Orizaba, Veracruz, Oaxaca and Tehuantepec national guards. Battalions, sappers and enlisted marines.
  • Fort San Juan de Ulúa – offshore on the Gallega Reef. Gen. Jose Durán with 1,030 men and 135 guns: artillery, Puebla and Jamiltepec activo battalions, companies of Tuxpan, Tampico and Alvardo activo battalions.
  • See Orders of Battle Mexican War.
Landings

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The amphibious assault on Veracruz

The Americans arrived at Anton Lizardo, Veracruz in early March. Scott agreed with Conner's suggestion for a landing site at Collado Beach, 3 mi (4.8 km) south of Veracruz. The 1st Regular Division under Worth was chosen to make the landing first, followed by Patterson's volunteers and then Twiggs' regular division.

Conner's Mosquito Fleet moved to within 90 yd (82 m) of the beach to supply covering fire if necessary. By 12:15 pm on 9 March, this force was off Collado Beach, followed by larger vessels over the next three hours and a signal for landing the surfboats at 5:30 pm. Just before the main force touched the beach, a gig dashed ahead, and General Worth with his staff jumped ashore. Worth's whole division landed without firing or receiving a single shot. By 11 pm, Scott's entire army had been brought ashore without a single man lost, and the first large scale amphibious landing conducted by the U.S. military was a success.

Siege
Envelopment

Once ashore Patterson's division began marching northward to effect a complete envelopment of the city. One of Patterson's brigades under Gideon Pillow drove off a Mexican cavalry at Malibrán, cutting off the Alvarado road and the city's water supply. Quitman and Shields managed to drive off cavalry with one shot attempting to prevent the investment. By 13 March, the U.S. had completed a 7 mi (11 km) siege line from Collado in the south to Playa Vergara in the north. On 17 March, siege lines were dug for Scott's siege artillery, sufficient for taking the city but not Ulua.

Investment
The besiegers were plagued by sorties from the city, and Col. Juan Aguayo used the cover of a storm to slip his Alvarado garrison into Veracruz. Commodore Matthew C. Perry, Conner's successor, returned from Norfolk, Virginia after making repairs on the USS Mississippi, on 20 March. Perry and Conner met with Scott regarding the Navy's role in the siege, and offered six guns that were to be manned by sailors from the ships. The naval battery was constructed under the direction of Captain Robert E. Lee 700 yd (640 m) from the city walls.

On March 22, Morales declined a surrender demand from Scott, and the American batteries opened fire at 4:15 pm followed by those of Commander Josiah Tattnall's Mosquito Fleet at 5:45 pm. The Naval battery's heavy cannonballs easily broke the coral walls. Congreve rockets were fired into the defenses and the combined fire forced the abandonment of Fort Santiago as Mexican morale began to drop.

On March 24, Persifor F. Smith's brigade captured a Mexican soldier with reports that Antonio López de Santa Anna was marching an army from Mexico City to the relief of Veracruz. Scott dispatched Colonel William S. Harney with 100 dragoons to inspect any approaches that Santa Anna might make. Harney reported about 2,000 Mexicans and a battery not far away, and he called for reinforcements. General Patterson led a mixed group of volunteers and dragoons to Harney's aid and cleared the force from their positions, chasing them to Madellin.

Surrender

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Attack of the Gun Boats, San Juan de Ulloa, after a sketch by J. M. Ladd, USN

Scott made plans for an assault on the city when on 25 March, the Mexicans called for a cease-fire to evacuate women and children which Scott refused. That night, Morales' council of war advised surrender prompting Morales to resign while General José Juan Landero assumed command. A truce was called at 8 am on 26 March while terms of surrender were negotiated and concluded by 27 March. On 29 March, the Mexicans officially surrendered their garrisons in Veracruz and Fort Ulúa and later that day, the U.S. flag flew over San Juan de Ulúa.

Aftermath
The obstacle to an advancement to Mexico City was removed and Scott made immediate plans to leave a small garrison at Veracruz and march inland, his first objective being Jalapa. Along the way, Scott would in fact encounter a sizable Mexican army under Santa Anna at the Battle of Cerro Gordo.



 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 March 1862 – Battle of Hampton Roads - 2.nd Day
USS Monitor and CSS Virginia fight to a draw in the Battle of Hampton Roads, the first battle between two ironclad warships.



March 9: Monitor engages Virginia

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Ironclads engaged in terrific combatby Currier and Ives

Both sides used the respite to prepare for the next day. Virginia put her wounded ashore and underwent temporary repairs. Captain Buchanan was among the wounded, so command on the second day fell to his executive officer, Lieutenant Catesby ap Roger Jones. Jones proved to be no less aggressive than the man he replaced. While Virginia was being prepared for renewal of the battle, and while Congress was still ablaze, Monitor, commanded by Lieutenant John L. Worden, arrived in Hampton Roads. The Union ironclad had been rushed to Hampton Roads in hopes of protecting the Union fleet and preventing Virginia from threatening Union cities. Captain Worden was informed that his primary task was to protect Minnesota, so Monitor took up a position near the grounded Minnesota and waited. "All on board felt we had a friend that would stand by us in our hour of trial," wrote Captain Gershom Jacques Van Brunt, Minnesota's commander, in his official report the day after the engagement.

The next morning, at dawn on March 9, 1862, Virginia left her anchorage at Sewell's Point and moved to attack Minnesota, still aground. She was followed by the three ships of the James River Squadron.[59] They found their course blocked, however, by the newly arrived Monitor. At first, Jones believed the strange craft—which one Confederate sailor mocked as "a cheese on a raft"—to be a boiler being towed from the Minnesota, not realizing the nature of his opponent. Soon, however, it was apparent that he had no choice but to fight her. The first shot of the engagement was fired at Monitor by Virginia. The shot flew past Monitor and struck Minnesota, which answered with a broadside; this began what would be a lengthy engagement. "Again, all hands were called to quarters, and when she approached within a mile of us I opened upon her with my stern guns and made a signal to the Monitor to attack the enemy," Van Brunt added.

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The heart of battle, from an 1871 wood engraving published by A.S. Barnes & Co.

After fighting for hours, mostly at close range, neither could overcome the other. The armor of both ships proved adequate. In part, this was because each was handicapped in her offensive capabilities. Buchanan, in Virginia, had not expected to fight another armored vessel, so his guns were supplied only with shell rather than armor-piercing shot. Monitor's guns were used with the standard service charge of only 15 lb (6.8 kg) of powder, which did not give the projectile sufficient momentum to penetrate her opponent's armor. Tests conducted after the battle showed that the Dahlgren guns could be operated safely and efficiently with charges of as much as 30 lb (14 kg).

The battle finally ceased when a shell from Virginia struck the pilot house of Monitor and exploded, driving fragments of paint and iron through the viewing slits into Worden's eyes and temporarily blinding him. As no one else could see to command the ship, Monitor was forced to draw off. The executive officer, Lieutenant Samuel Dana Greene, took over, and Monitor returned to the fight. In the period of command confusion, however, the crew of Virginia believed that their opponent had withdrawn. Although Minnesota was still aground, the falling tide meant that she was out of reach. Furthermore, Virginia had suffered enough damage to require extensive repair. Convinced that his ship had won the day, Jones ordered her back to Norfolk. At about this time, Monitor returned, only to discover her opponent apparently giving up the fight. Convinced that Virginia was quitting, with orders only to protect Minnesota and not to risk his ship unnecessarily, Greene did not pursue. Thus, each side misinterpreted the moves of the other, and as a result each claimed victory.

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First Battle of Iron Ships of War by Henry Bill. Shown are USS Monitor, CSS Virginia, USS Cumberland, CSS Jamestown, USS Congress, and USS Minnesota
Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory wrote to Confederate President Davis of the action:

The conduct of the Officers and men of the squadron … reflects unfading honor upon themselves and upon the Navy. The report will be read with deep interest, and its details will not fail to rouse the ardor and nerve the arms of our gallant seamen. It will be remembered that the Virginia was a novelty in naval architecture, wholly unlike any ship that ever floated; that her heaviest guns were equal novelties in ordnance; that her motive power and obedience to her helm were untried, and her officers and crew strangers, comparatively, to the ship and to each other; and yet, under all these disadvantages, the dashing courage and consummate professional ability of Flag Officer Buchanan and his associates achieved the most remarkable victory which naval annals record.
In Washington, belief that Monitor had vanquished Virginia was so strong that Worden and his men were awarded the thanks of Congress:

Resolved . . . That the thanks of Congress and the American people are due and are hereby tendered to Lieutenant J. L. Worden, of the United States Navy, and to the officers and men of the ironclad gunboat Monitor, under his command, for the skill and gallantry exhibited by them in the remarkable battle between the Monitor and the rebel ironclad steamer Merrimack.
During the two-day engagement, USS Minnesota shot off 78 rounds of 10-inch solid shot; 67 rounds of 10-inch solid shot with 15-second fuse; 169 rounds of 9-inch solid shot; 180 9-inch shells with 15-second fuse; 35 8-inch shells with 15-second fuse and 5,567.5 pounds of service powder. Three crew members, Alexander Winslow, Henry Smith and Dennis Harrington were killed during the battle and 16 were wounded. One of Monitor's crew, Quartermaster Peter Williams, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hampton_Roads
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 March 1875 – Launch of HMS Opal, an Emerald-class corvette of the Royal Navy, laid down as Magicienne by William Doxford & Sons Ltd, Sunderland


HMS
Opal
was an Emerald-class corvette of the Royal Navy, laid down as Magicienne by William Doxford & Sons Ltd, Sunderlandand launched on 9 March 1875.

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Photograph of British corvette HMS Opal, probably in Sydney while on the Australia Station.

She was completed with an armament of 14 muzzle-loading 64-pounder rifled guns (2 as bow and stern chasers mounted on centre-line swivelling slides, and 12 on broadside slide mountings) and initially commenced service on the Pacific Station, and while on passage in 1876 hit a rock in the Strait of Magellan. She was damaged and repairs were undertaken at Esquimalt. She returned to England in 1880 for refit, in which her broadside armament was reduced by 2 guns and she was re-rigged as a barque.

She sailed for service on the Cape of Good Hope and West Africa Station in 1883.[2] Enroute she arrived at Limbe, Cameroon on 19 July 1884, she was carrying the British Consul for the for the Bights of Benin and Biafra, Edward Hyde Hewett on his mission to claim the Victoria area (the Cameroon) for Britain. He arrived and planted his flag too late, as Gustav Nachtigal had already raised the German flag at Douala a few days earlier on 14 July 1884.

She then commenced service on the Australia Station in 1885. She returned to England in 1890 and was placed into reserve. She was sold for breaking up at Sheerness in August 1892.


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HMS Turquoise at anchor

The Emerald-class corvettes were a class of composite screw corvettes built for the Royal Navy in the mid-1870s.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Opal_(1875)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 March 1876 – Launch of SMS Zieten was the first torpedo-armed aviso built for the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine). She was built in Britain in 1875–1876, and was the last major warship built for Germany by a foreign shipyard


SMS
Zieten
was the first torpedo-armed aviso built for the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine). She was built in Britain in 1875–1876, and was the last major warship built for Germany by a foreign shipyard. Ordered as a testbed for the new Whitehead torpedo, Zieten was armed with a pair of 38 cm (15 in) torpedo tubes, and was capable of a top speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph), making her the fastest ship in the German fleet at the time. Zieten proved to be the first torpedo-armed vessel in a series of avisos that ultimately developed into the first light cruisers. In addition to her impact in German warship design, Zieten also influenced numerous other navies, who built dozens of similar avisos and torpedo vessels of their own.


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German aviso SMS Zieten in port.

Zieten served for the first two decades of her career with the torpedo boat flotilla. In 1878–1880, she was captained by Alfred von Tirpitz, the future architect of the High Seas Fleet. In 1882, she cruised the Mediterranean Sea with several other German warships, and was present during the British bombardment of Alexandria, where she protected German interests. Zieten was used as a fishery protection ship from 1899 until 1914, when the outbreak of World War I necessitated her mobilization as a coastal patrol ship. She served in this capacity for the duration of the war, and was stricken from the naval register in December 1919. The ship was finally sold for scrapping in August 1921, after forty-five years of service.

Design
In 1869, the Prussian Navy sent then-Korvettenkapitän Alexander von Monts to Austria to examine the new Whitehead torpedoesthen being developed there. Albrecht von Stosch, the commander in chief of the new Imperial German Navy, approved a plan to develop a torpedo arm for the German fleet, and placed Monts in charge of the program in 1873. That year, Stosch's naval construction program called for a tender for the new torpedo boats. The tender was ordered from the British firm the Thames Iron Works, and named Zieten. She was to be the last major warship purchased by the German navy from a foreign shipyard.

In addition to the planned role as a tender for torpedo boats, she was also intended to serve as a test platform for the new self-propelled torpedo. Up to the mid-1870s, the German navy had only experimented with a handful of torpedo ships, all of which were equipped with the old spar torpedo. The ship's design provided the basis for both later German avisos—the Blitz class—and all subsequent light cruisers, but also to numerous foreign designs, such as several classes of French, Italian, and Austrian avisos and torpedo craft.

General characteristics
Zieten was 69.5 meters (228 ft) long at the waterline and 79.4 m (260 ft) long overall. She had a beam of 8.56 m (28.1 ft) and a draftof 3.8 m (12 ft) forward. She displaced 1,001 metric tons (985 long tons; 1,103 short tons) as designed and up to 1,170 t (1,150 long tons; 1,290 short tons) at full combat load. The hull was constructed with transverse iron frames and contained eight watertight compartments. Initially, Zieten had only a small bridge forward, but in 1899, a new superstructure was built; it included a conning tower with a compass platform. A chart house was also added forward of the funnel.

Zieten was a good sea boat with a gentle motion, but she was very crank. She was very maneuverable, but she handled poorly in a head sea. In bad weather, she took on considerable amounts of water and was very dangerous. The ship had a crew of 6 officers and 88 enlisted men, though later in her career the figure rose to 7 and 99, respectively. During her career as a fishery protection ship, it rose further, to 7 officers and 104 sailors. Zieten carried a number of smaller boats: one picket boat, one cutter, two yawls, and one dinghy. Later in her career, the picket boat was removed and two barges were added.



 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 March 1892 – Launch of Georgii Pobedonosets (Russian: Георгий Победоносец Saint George the Victorious) was a battleship built for the Imperial Russian Navy, the fourth and final ship of the Ekaterina II class.


Georgii Pobedonosets (Russian: Георгий Победоносец Saint George the Victorious) was a battleship built for the Imperial Russian Navy, the fourth and final ship of the Ekaterina II class. She was, however, only a half-sister to the others as her armor scheme was different and she was built much later than the earlier ships. She participated in the pursuit of the mutinous battleship Potemkin in June 1905, but her crew mutinied themselves. However, loyal crew members regained control of the ship the next day and they ran her aground when Potemkin threatened to fire on her if she left Odessa harbor. She was relegated to second-line duties in 1908. She fired on SMS Goeben during her bombardment of Sevastopol in 1914, but spent most of the war serving as a headquarters ship in Sevastopol. She was captured by both sides during the Russian Civil War, but ended up being towed to Bizerte by the fleeing White Russians where she was eventually scrapped.

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Broadside view of Georgii Pobedonosets

Design and development
Georgii Pobedonosets was originally intended as a version of Sinop rearmed with three 12-inch (300 mm) and four 9-inch (230 mm) guns, but this changed when the decision was made to provide her with three twin 12-inch turretsrather than the barbettes used by her sisters. The turrets were significantly heavier than the barbette mountings so the armour scheme was revised in compensation. However this revised design was still deemed overweight and rejected. The Naval Ministry held a competition for a replacement, but these were rejected by the Naval Technical Committee in turn. So a modified version of Sinop, with barbettes, was chosen again as the most readily available choice. The height of her armour was lowered to reduce the overweight condition of her half-sisters. Other changes were made while building, but they came early in the process and did not seriously delay her completion past her contractual date of 13 September 1893. These changes included smaller mountings for her main guns that eliminated the sponsons needed in her sisters for the forward barbettes, the substitution of 35-calibre guns for the older 30-calibre guns and steel armor imported from Schnider et Cie of France replaced the compound armour used in her half-sisters.

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Right elevation and deck plan as depicted in Brassey's Naval Annual 1896

Georgii Pobedonosets was 347 feet 6 inches (105.9 m) long at the waterline and 339 feet 4 inches (103.4 m) long overall. She had a beam of 68 feet 11 inches (21.0 m) and a draft of 27 feet 11 inches (8.5 m). She displaced 11,032 long tons (11,209 t) at load, over 700 long tons (710 t) more than her designed displacement of 10,280 long tons (10,440 t).

She had two 3-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engines driving screw propellers 16 feet 5 inches (5.0 m) in diameter. Sixteen cylindrical boilers provided steam to the engines. The engines and boilers were both imported from Maudslay and Sons of the United Kingdom and were 114 long tons (116 t) overweight. The engines had a total designed output of 10,000 indicated horsepower (7,500 kW), but they only produced 9,843 ihp (7,340 kW) on trials and gave a top speed of 16.5 knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph). At full load she carried 900 long tons (910 t) of coal that provided her a range of 2,800 nautical miles (5,200 km; 3,200 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) and 1,367 nautical miles (2,532 km; 1,573 mi) at 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph).

Her main armament consisted of three pairs of 12-inch (305 mm) Obukhov Model 1886 35-calibre guns mounted in two twin barbette mounts side by side forward and one aft of the superstructure. They had a maximum elevation of 15° and could depress to −2°. Each of the forward mounts could traverse 30° across the bow and 35° abaft the beam, or a total of 155°. The rear mount could traverse 202°. Their rate of fire was one round every four minutes, fifty seconds, including training time. They fired a 731.3-pound (331.7 kg) shell at a muzzle velocity of 2,090 ft/s (640 m/s) to a range of 11,600 yards (10,600 m) at maximum elevation. They also had a 'heavy' shell available that weighed 1,003 lb (455 kg) that was fired at a velocity of 2,000 ft/s (610 m/s) although the range is not available.

The seven 6-inch (152 mm) 35-calibre guns were mounted on broadside pivot mounts in hull embrasures, except for one gun mounted in the stern in the hull. The eight 47-millimeter (1.9 in) single-barrelled Hotchkiss guns were mounted on the battery deck to defend the ship against torpedo boats. Ten 37-millimeter (1.5 in) Hotchkiss guns were mounted in the fighting top. She carried seven above-water 14-inch (356 mm) torpedo tubes, three tubes on each broadside and a tube in the stern.

In contrast to her half-sisters the armour used on Georgii Pobedonosets was steel. The belt armor had a maximum thickness of 16 inches (410 mm) which reduced, in 2-inch (51 mm) steps, down to 6 inches (150 mm) forward and down to 8 inches (200 mm) aft. Its height was reduced by 1 foot (0.30 m) in comparison to the other ships of the class to 7 feet (2.1 m) to reduce weight. However this left only six inches of her belt above her load waterline as she was still overweight, a decrease of 7 inches (180 mm) from her half-sisters. The deck armour was 2.25 inches (57 mm) outside the citadel and reduced to 1.5 inches (38 mm) over it.


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Chesma, showing both forward barbettes

The Ekaterina II class were a class of four battleships built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the 1880s. They were the first battleships built for the Black Sea Fleet. Their design was highly unusual in having the main guns on three barbettes grouped in a triangle around a central armored redoubt, two side-by-side forward and one on the centerline aft. This was intended to maximize their firepower forward, both when operating in the narrow waters of the Bosphorus and when ramming. Construction was slow because they were the largest warships built until then in the Black Sea and the shipyards had to be upgraded to handle them.

All four ships were in Sevastopol when the crew of the battleship Potemkin mutinied in June 1905. Ekaterina II's crew was considered unreliable and she was disabled to prevent her from joining the mutiny. Chesma's crew was also considered unreliable, but she did escort Potemkin as Sinop towed her back to Sevastopol from Constanța, Romania, where Potemkin's crew had sought asylum. Sinop and Georgii Pobedonosets both pursued Potemkin to Odessa, but the crew of the latter mutinied themselves in sympathy with the crew of the Potemkin. However loyal members of the crew regained control of the ship the next day and grounded her.

A number of proposals were made in the 1900s to reconstruct them and replace their obsolete armor and guns, but none of these were carried out. Ekaterina II and Chesma were both eventually sunk as target ships after being decommissioned in 1907, but both Sinop and Georgii Pobedonosets were converted into artillery training ships before becoming guardships at Sevastopol before World War I. There they spent most of the war and were captured by the Germans in 1918, who eventually turned them over to the British who sabotaged their engines when they abandoned the Crimea in 1919. Immobile they were captured by both the Whitesand the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War. Sinop was abandoned when Wrangel's fleet sailed for Bizerte, but Georgii Pobedonosets was towed there. Sinop was scrapped beginning in 1922 by the Soviets while Georgii Pobedonosets was eventually scrapped in Bizerte beginning in 1930 by the French.


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Ekaterina II in 1902


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_battleship_Georgii_Pobedonosets
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
9 March 1895 - Reina Regente – the cruiser sank in a storm on 9 March 1895, with the loss of all 420 crew.


Reina Regente was a Reina Regente-class protected cruiser of the Spanish Navy. Entering service in 1888, she was lost in 1895 during a storm in the Gulf of Cádiz while she was travelling from Tangier, Morocco to Cádiz, Spain.

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Spanish protected cruiser Reina Regente around 1890

Construction
Reina Regente was the first cruiser built of her class. She was laid down on 20 June 1886 and launched on 24 February 1887 at the J&G Thomson shipyard in Govan, United Kingdom. She was completed on 1 January 1888 and named Reina Regente after Maria Christina, queen of Spain, and queen regent during the minority of her son, Alfonso XIII. The cruiser was part of the Spanish Navy from 1888 until her loss in 1895. Her sister ships were with sister ships Alfonso XIII and Lepanto. The ship was 97.3 metres (319 ft 3 in) long, with a beam of 15.4 metres (50 ft 6 in) and a draught of 8.92 metres (29 ft 3 in). The ship was assessed at 4,725 tons. She had 2 triple expansion engines driving a single screw propeller and 4 cylindrical boilers. The engine was rated at 11.500 nhp.

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Reina Regente in 1889

Fate
On 10 March 1895, Reina Regente sailed from Tangier, Morocco to Cádiz, Spain with 420 crew on board under the command of Captain Francisco Sanz de Andino. She was never seen again. A severe storm struck the Gulf of Cádiz during the time she was passing through it. In the following days a search was undertaken in the hope of finding the ship somewhere sheltered in an African port. However, wreckage from the cruiser started to wash up on the beaches of Tarifa and Algeciras. The cruiser had disappeared and had probably sunk somewhere in the Gulf of Cádiz with the loss of her entire crew. The current location of the ship is still unknown. This incident remains one of the deadliest shipwrecks of the Spanish Navy


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_cruiser_Reina_Regente_(1887)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
Other Events on 9 March


1500 – The fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral leaves Lisbon for the Indies. The fleet will discover Brazil which lies within boundaries granted to Portugal in the Treaty of Tordesillas.

Pedro Álvares Cabral
c. 1467 or 1468 – c. 1520) was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil. In 1500 Cabral conducted the first substantial exploration of the northeast coast of South America and claimed it for Portugal. While details of Cabral's early life remain unclear, it is known that he came from a minor noble family and received a good education. He was appointed to head an expedition to India in 1500, following Vasco da Gama's newly-opened route around Africa. The undertaking had the aim of returning with valuable spices and of establishing trade relations in India—bypassing the monopoly on the spice trade then in the hands of Arab, Turkish and Italian merchants. Although the previous expedition of Vasco da Gama to India, on its sea route, had recorded signs of land west of the southern Atlantic Ocean (in 1497), Cabral led the first known expedition to have touched four continents: Europe, Africa, America, and Asia.

His fleet of 13 ships sailed far into the western Atlantic Ocean, perhaps intentionally, and made landfall (April 1500) on what he initially assumed to be a large island. As the new land was within the Portuguese sphere according to the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas, Cabral claimed it for the Portuguese Crown. He explored the coast, realizing that the large land mass was probably a continent, and dispatched a ship to notify King Manuel I of the new territory. The continent was South America, and the land he had claimed for Portugal later came to be known as Brazil. The fleet reprovisioned and then turned eastward to resume the journey to India.

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A storm in the southern Atlantic caused the loss of several ships, and the six remaining ships eventually rendezvoused in the Mozambique Channel before proceeding to Calicut in India. Cabral was originally successful in negotiating trading rights, but Arab merchants saw Portugal's venture as a threat to their monopoly and stirred up an attack by both Muslims and Hindus on the Portuguese entrepôt. The Portuguese sustained many casualties and their facilities were destroyed. Cabral took vengeance by looting and burning the Arab fleet and then bombarded the city in retaliation for its ruler having failed to explain the unexpected attack. From Calicut the expedition sailed to the Kingdom of Cochin, another Indian city-state, where Cabral befriended its ruler and loaded his ships with coveted spices before returning to Europe. Despite the loss of human lives and ships, Cabral's voyage was deemed a success upon his return to Portugal. The extraordinary profits resulting from the sale of the spices bolstered the Portuguese Crown's finances and helped lay the foundation of a Portuguese Empire that would stretch from the Americas to the Far East.

Cabral was later passed over, possibly as a result of a quarrel with Manuel I, when a new fleet was assembled to establish a more robust presence in India. Having lost favor with the King, he retired to a private life of which few records survive. His accomplishments slipped mostly into obscurity for more than 300 years. Decades after Brazil's independence from Portugal in the 19th century, Cabral's reputation began to be rehabilitated by Emperor Pedro II of Brazil. Historians have long argued whether Cabral was Brazil's discoverer, and whether the discovery was accidental or intentional. The first question has been settled by the observation that the few, cursory encounters by explorers before him were barely noticed at the time and contributed nothing to the future development and history of the land which would become Brazil, the sole Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas. On the second question, no definite consensus has been formed, and the intentional discovery hypothesis lacks solid proof. Nevertheless, although he was overshadowed by contemporary explorers, historians consider Cabral to be a major figure of the Age of Discovery.



1777 - HMS Levant was a 28-gun sixth-rate frigate of the Coventry class, captured 18-gun American privateer General Montgomery

HMS Levant
was a 28-gun sixth-rate frigate of the Coventry class, which saw Royal Navy service against France in the Seven Years' War, and against France, Spain and the American colonies during the American Revolutionary War. Principally a hunter of privateers, she was also designed to be a match for small French frigates, but with a broader hull and sturdier build at the expense of some speed and manoeuvrability. Launched in 1758, Levant was assigned to the Royal Navy's Jamaica station from 1759 and proved her worth in defeating nine French vessels during her first three years at sea. She was also part of the British expedition against Martinique in 1762 but played no role in the landings or subsequent defeat of French forces at Fort Royal.

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Levant's sister ship in the Coventry class, HMS Carysfort

The frigate was decommissioned following Britain's declaration of peace with France in 1763, but returned to service in 1766 for patrol duties in the Caribbean. Decommissioned for a second time in 1770, she was reinstated at the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War and sent to the Mediterranean as part of a small British squadron based at Gibraltar. Over the next three years she captured or sank a total of fourteen enemy craft including an 18-gun American privateer. In 1779 she brought home news of an impending Spanish assault on Gibraltar, ahead of Spain's declaration of war on Great Britain.

The ageing frigate was finally removed from Navy service later that year, and her crew discharged to other vessels. She was broken up at Deptford Dockyard in 1780, having secured a total of 31 victories over 21 years at sea.



1778 - HMS Victory's first captain Sir John Lindsay took command of her

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with sternboard decoration, sheer lines with inboard detail, decoration and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for Victory (1765), a 100-gun First Rate, three-decker. Even though the plan is dated 1830, the plan illustrates the vessel prior to her 1800-3 'Large Repair' at Chatham Dockyard. The plan commemorates the death of Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson despite the plan representing the ship prior to when she was his flagship in 1803. There are also differences in gunport layouts when compared to the plan signed by Thomas Slade in 1759.



1806 Death of Federico Carlos Gravina y Napoli

Federico Carlos Gravina y Nápoli, OCIII, KOS (August 12, 1756 - May 9, 1806) was a Spanish Admiral during the American Revolution and Napoleonic Wars. He died of wounds sustained during the Battle of Trafalgar. Spanish explorer Jacinto Caamañonamed the Gravina Island in Alaska in his honor.

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


1847 Commodore David Connor USN leads successful amphibious assault near Vera Cruz, Mexico


1895 – Launch of Suma (須磨) was a protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy, designed and built by the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in Japan.


Suma (須磨) was a protected cruiser of the Imperial Japanese Navy, designed and built by the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal in Japan. She was the lead ship in the Suma-class cruiser, and her sister ship was Akashi. The name Suma comes from a geographic location near Kobe, in Hyōgo Prefecture.

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


1944 - USS Lapon (SS 260), while pursuing a Japanese convoy in the South China Sea, sank two freighters and survived a counterattack by Japanese gunboat.

USS Lapon (SS-260)
, a Gato-class submarine, was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the lapon, a scorpionfish of the Pacific coast of the United States.

 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 March 241 BC – First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates: The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end.


The Battle of the Aegates (Italian Battaglia delle Isole Egadi) was fought off the Aegadian Islands, off the western coast of the island of Sicily on 10 March 241 BC. It was the final naval battle fought between the fleets of Carthage and the Roman Republicduring the First Punic War. The better-trained Roman fleet[1] defeated a hastily raised, undermanned and ill-trained Punic fleet, which was a decisive Roman victory as Carthage sued for peace, resulting in the Peace of Lutatius leading to Carthage surrendering Sicily and some adjoining islands to Rome.

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Prelude

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Carthaginian naval ram from the Battle of the Egadi Islands. Shows damage in the form of V-shaped scratches, attributed to frontal collision(s) with Roman ships (ram against ram).

The Carthaginians had gained command of the sea after their victory in the Battle of Drepanum and the Battle of Phintias in 249 BC, but they held only two cities in Sicily: Lilybaeum and Drepanum. The Carthaginian state was led by the landed aristocracy at the time, and they preferred to expand across northern Africa instead of pursuing an aggressive policy in Sicily. Hanno "The Great"[2]has been in charge of operations in Africa since 248 BC and had conquered considerable territory by 241 BC. The Carthaginian leadership probably thought Rome had been defeated and invested little manpower in Sicily.

Carthage at this time was feeling the logistical strain of the prolonged conflict. In addition to maintaining a fleet and soldiers in Sicily, they were also fighting the Libyans and Numidians in northern Africa. As a result, Hamilcar Barca was given a fairly small army when he took command in Sicily in 248 BC, and the Carthaginian fleet was gradually withdrawn so that, by 242 BC, Carthage had no ships to speak of in Sicily. Carthage was also feeling the financial strain of the war, which had led Carthage to request a 2000 talent loan from Egypt, which was refused.

Rome had previously rebuilt her fleets even after losing up to 600 ships in a storm in 255 BC and another 150 ships in 253 BC. The Drepana defeat and loss of the fleet so demoralized the Romans that they waited seven years before building another fleet.[8][9] The absence of Roman ships probably caused Carthage, thinking the Romans would not venture into the sea again, to decommission her navy, sparing the financially strained state the expense of building, maintaining and repairing ships, plus and training and provisioning the crews.

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The Activity if Romans under Consul Lutatius Catulus to blockade Carthaginian strongholds of Drepana, Eryx and Lilybaeum in 241 BC during the First Punic War in Western Sicily. Carthage sent a fleet to lift the blockade. Romn won the ensuing naval battle, and Carthage sued for Peace.

The First Punic War, 247 – 243 BC
The years preceding the battle were relatively quiet. Hostilities between Roman and Carthaginian forces gradually stalled, becoming concentrated in small-scale land operations in Sicily. Hamilcar's strategic goal probably was to maintain a stalemate, as he had neither the resources to win the war nor the authority to peacefully settle it. Hamilcar was in command of a mercenary army composed of multiple nationalities and his ability to successfully lead this force demonstrated his skill as a field commander. He employed combined arms tactics, as Alexander and Pyrrhus had done, and his strategy was similar to the one employed by Quintus Fabius Maximus in the Second Punic War, ironically against Hannibal, the eldest son of Hamilcar Barca, in Italy during 217 BC.

Hamilcar’s landing at Heirkte (near Panormus) drew the Romans away to defend that port city and resupply point and gave Drepana some breathing room. Subsequent naval raids along the Sicilian and Italian coasts did not lead to a permanent result. Guerrilla warfare kept the Roman legions pinned down and preserved Carthage's toehold in Sicily, although Roman forces which had bypassed Hamilcar forced him to recapture Mount Eryx from Rome, so he could better defend Drepana.

New Model Roman Fleet
While Hamilcar’s activities kept the Carthaginian flag flying in Sicily and after 20 years of war both states were financially and demographically exhausted.. Realizing they could not defeat Hamilcar on land, and without a fleet, blockade Drepana and Lilybaeum, Rome decided to build a new fleet. With the state coffers exhausted, the Senate approached Rome's wealthy citizens. These Roman citizens showed their patriotism by financing the construction of one ship apiece. The result was a fleet of approximately 200 quinqueremes, built, equipped, and crewed without government expense. The Romans had copied tjhe design of a Carthaginian ship when first they decided to build a fleet in 260 BC. The Romans modelled the new fleet on the ship commanded by Hannibal the Rhodian, who had repeatedly evaded the Roman blockading ships at Lilybaeum until his fast and manoeuvrable ship was captured.

Carthage Cornered
The new Roman fleet was completed in 242 BC and entrusted to the consul Gaius Lutatius Catulus, assisted by the praetor Quintus Valerius Falto. Romans had learned from past misfortunes at sea and their light, manoeuvrable ships were now more resistant to adverse weather conditions, with the corvus having been abandoned. Catulus and Falto also to drilled the crews in manoeuvrers and exercises before leaving Italy, creating a fleet with crews at the peak of their fighting ability.

After arriving in Sicily with 200 Quinqueremes and 700 transports, Lutatius seized the harbour of Drepana and the anchorages off Lilybaeum uncontested, as there were no Carthaginian ships to counter the Roman fleet. Lutatius built siege works around Drepana. He also blockaded Lilybaeum (at the western tip of Sicily, now called Marsala) and Drepana, to cut their access to Carthage. The intent was to cut Hamilcar Barca's supply and communication lines with Carthage. For the rest of the year Catulus waited for the Carthaginian response. The fleet and its crew trained and drilled while the siege was conducted to remain in peak condition. The senate granted him a proconsulship for 241 BC.

The Carthaginians were totally unprepared for Rome's actions. The garrisons of Lilybaeum, Drepana and Hamilcar’s army at Eryx held fast, but without supplies from Carthage they could not hold out indefinitely. Now that Rome had seized the initiative with a battle ready fleet blockading Carthaginian holdings in Sicily, without warships the unescorted Carthaginian supply ships would fall prey to the Romans.

Carthage began to ready a fleet, fit out transports, gather supplies and train crews and marines to meet the Roman challenge at sea. It took nine months to ready 250 warships and between 150 to 350 transports. Carthage was pressed for time as supplies in their blockaded strongholds were running out, and in their haste had a hard time finding the required rowers to crew the ships and marines to man them.

Hanno the Great was conducting his campaign against Numidians, so Carthage may have also suffered financial difficulties in paying for the fleet. As a result, the fleet was undermanned and the crew poorly trained, and far below the fighting quality of the Romans. Hanno, the general who had lost the Battle of Agrigentum and Battle of Cape Ecnomus, may have commanded the fleet, but given the habit of Carthaginians to crucify defeated commanders, it is not likely. It is not known why the victors of Drepana, Adherbal and Carthalo were not in command.

Battle of Aegates Islands
The Carthaginian fleet arrived to relieve the blockade in March 241 BC. Hanno called a halt near the Western-most Aegates Island (“Holy Island”) for the night, planning to use a favourable breeze to speed his fleet to Eryx. However, the Carthaginian fleet was spotted by Roman scouts and Catulus abandoned the blockade to meet his enemy. The Roman fleet sailed and anchored off the middle island. On the morning of March 10, the Carthaginians and Hanno immediately set sail. Catulus measured the risk of attacking with the wind in his bow versus the risk of letting Hanno reach Sicily to relieve Hamilcar Barca and Lilybaeum.

Despite unfavourable conditions, the proconsul decided to intercept the Carthaginians and ordered his fleet to prepare for battle. He had the Roman ships stripped of their masts, sails and other unnecessary equipment in order to make them more seaworthy in the rough conditions. Catulus himself was unable to join the actual battle because of injuries suffered in an earlier engagement, so in the actual battle the ships were commanded by his second in command, Falto.

In the ensuing battle the Romans enjoyed a far greater mobility, since their vessels were carrying only the bare necessities, while the Carthaginians were burdened with men, equipment and provisions. The Carthaginian crews had also been hurriedly levied and thus were inexperienced. The Romans quickly gained the upper hand, using their ships' greater manoeuvrability to ram the enemy vessels. The Romans lost 30 ships sunk and another 50 damaged. 50 Carthaginian ships were sunk, 20 of them with all hands, and 70 were captured along with up to 6,000 men. The rest were saved only by an abrupt change in the direction of the wind, allowing them to flee from the Romans. Several rams from both Roman and Phoenician ships have been found along with amphora from the cargoes and helmets.

End of the First Punic War
Upon achieving decisive victory over the Carthaginian fleet, Catulus continued the land operations in Sicily against Lilybaeum, Eryx and Drepana which were being defended by Hamilcar Barca and his army. The Carthaginian senate was reluctant to continue the war by allocating the resources necessary to have another fleet built and manned. They ordered Hamilcar to negotiate a peace treaty with the Romans, which he left up to his subordinate commander Gesco. The Treaty of Lutatius was signed with conditions unfavourable to Carthage and brought the First Punic War to its end.

To celebrate his victory, Catulus built a temple to Juturna in the Campus Martius, in the area currently known as the Largo di Torre Argentina.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Aegates
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 March 1653 – Birth of John Benbow, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1702)


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.

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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 Indies against 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. 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.

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Thomas Murray's triple portrait of Thomas Phillips(left), John Benbow (centre) and Sir Ralph Delaval(right). The three had been important figures in British fleet operations against the north coast of France during 1692–93.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Benbow
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 March 1668 – Launch of HMS Charles, a 96-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Christopher Pett at Deptford Dockyard until his death in March 1668, then completed by Jonas Shish after being launched in the same month


HMS Charles
was a 96-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by Christopher Pett at Deptford Dockyard until his death in March 1668, then completed by Jonas Shish after being launched in the same month. Her name was formally Charles the Second, but she was known simply as Charles, particularly after 1673 when the contemporary Royal Charles was launched.

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The ‘Charles’, 96 guns, was built in 1668, renamed ‘St George’ in 1687, rebuilt in 1701 and 1740, and broken up in 1774. This drawing is probably an offset (rubbed on the back) and is worked up in graphite and wash with the exception of the quarter-gallery, of which there is a drawing in the NMM’s collection by the Younger dated 1676 (PAF6612). The decks of the ship are crowded with people, but the reason for this is not known.


The Charles was renamed HMS St George in 1687 and reclassified as a second rate in 1691. In 1699-1701 she was rebuilt at Portsmouth Dockyard as a 90-gun second rate. In 1707, she belonged to Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's fleet. Under the command of Captain James Lord Dursley, she saw action during the unsuccessful Battle of Toulon and was present during the great naval disaster off the Isles of Scilly when Shovell and four of his ships (Association, Firebrand, Romney and Eagle) were lost, claiming the lives of nearly 2,000 sailors. St George also struck rocks off Scilly, but got off.

The St George was taken to pieces at Portsmouth in 1726 to be rebuilt again. On 4 September 1733, St George was ordered to be rebuilt to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment. She was relaunched on 3 April 1740.

She was eventually broken up in September 1774.

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original art: drawing The ‘Charles’ viewed from before the port beam with the lower masts lightly sketched in. A flagstaff at the mizzen top suggests she was unrigged when drawn (M. S. Robinson, Van de Velde Drawings ... in the National Maritime Museum Vol I, p162). On the broadside she carries fifteen guns on the gun deck, fourteen on the middle deck, fourteen on the upper deck, and five on the quarterdeck; there are none on the forecastle and the poop armament is not visible. She has square decorated ports and a lion figurehead. The Charles was broken up in 1774. She is a late example of square decorated ports, and the lion figurehead is surprising on so large a ship. The London, 96 guns, built in 1670, also appears to have square decorated ports, and M. S. Robinson refers to a drawing by Captain Stephen Martin showing the London with a lion figurehead, but he thinks this head might be a replacement as a result of a large repair as another drawing (V1187) shows the London with a double equestrian figure. This is one of a group of similar pencil drawings (PAH1843, PAH3909, PAF6564, PAH1844, PAH1845, PAH1846, PAH3910) all of which show ships high out of the water, without guns, and possibly made while they were laid up in ordinary (reserve).

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Studies of the quarter gallery of the 'Charles', 1668 (Drawing) (PAF6612)
Drawing On the left is the starboard side of a quarter-gallery viewed from slightly abaft the beam. One of the wales indicated ‘dit sijn de leijste’. On the right is the same gallery from before the beam. Inscribed ‘de gallerij van de karlis 1676’. The side bays of the quarter gallery were now less important. A change in form that may well have attracted the attention of the Van de Veldes. More-over, giving quarter galleries height, rather than width was particular to English ships at this time. French and Dutch quarter galleries were wider and not so tall, a similarity which might in part be explained by Colbert's initially using Dutch-built ships when he organised the expansion of the French Navy after 1663. This is an unsigned pencil drawing by the Younger. This is one of three drawings of detail of ships which were being drawn probably at the same time by the Elder (PAJ2300, PAI7579).


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original art: drawing A trimmed drawing showing a close three-quarter view of the beakhead bulkhead (that is, the foremost section) of the Charles – identifiable from the lion figure-head, the top part of which is visible in the lower centre of the page. The forecastle and the ship’s distinctive projecting galleries are crowded with people. The image is an offset that has been worked with graphite overdrawing, and is similar to (though not taken from) the upper right section of PAJ2300.



 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 March 1704 – Launch of HMS Newcastle, a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Sheerness Dockyard


HMS
Newcastle
was a 50-gun fourth rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Sheerness Dockyard and launched on 10 March 1704.

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Service history
Newcastle was built at Sheerness by Sir J. Allin, and commissioned in 1704 under the command of Captain Vincent Cutter during the War of the Spanish Succession. Newcastle was attached to Admiral Sir John Leake's squadron, and took part in the Battle of Cabrita Point on 21 March 1705. In 1706-07 she served in Admiral George Byng's squadron in the Mediterranean, and by September 1708 was under the command of Captain Henry Herbert as part of Admiral James Mighells' squadron in the North Sea.

She sailed to Saint Helena in 1709 under the command of Captain Sampson Bourne, and was operating in the West Indies in 1711, part of the squadron commanded by Commodore James Littleton. On 10 June 1711 Newcastle engaged a French flotilla consisting of a 36-gun ship, a 24-gun hag-boat, nine privateer sloops, and two other vessels off Martinique, successfully driving them "in a very shattered condition" into the harbour of St. Pierre, and putting an end to their expedition against Antigua. On 11 August 1711 she took part in the Battle of Cartagena.

In 1713-14 she served under the command of Captain Richard Leake in the West Indies and Newfoundland, in 1717-18 under the command of Captain W. Passenger in Newfoundland and the Straits, and in 1719-20 was commanded by Captain J. Mihill in the Mediterranean, returning to Britain in 1721 commanded by Captain Edward Falkingham.

Orders were issued on 31 May 1728 for Newcastle to be taken to pieces and rebuilt at Woolwich according to the 1719 Establishment of dimensions. She was relaunched on 6 January 1732.

Newcastle was recommissioned and served under the command of Captain Ellis Brand in the West Indies from 1734 until 1736. She was recommissioned under the command of Captain Edward Baker in May 1738, serving in the Mediterranean into 1739. She was under the command of Captain T. Fox from October 1739, serving in the Channel until 1742, then in the Mediterranean until 1744. In April 1745 she was under the command of Captain J. Watkins in the Channel.

Newcastle was broken up in 1746.


another 50 gun ship built based on 1719 Establishment
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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the forward body plan, after body plan with stern board detail, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth with superimposed quarterdeck, upper and lower deck details, for Lichfield (1730), a 1719 Establishment 50-gun Fourth Rate, two-decker.


 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 March 1705 - Battle of Cabrita Point
A French squadron of 14 ships, under Rear Admiral Jean-Bernard Desjeans, blockading Gibraltar engaged by a combined British, Dutch and Portugese fleet, under Sir John Leake, off Marbella. HMS Revenge (70), Sir Thomas Dilkes, took Arrogant (60) and two more French line-of-battle ships were taken and two driven ashore where they were burnt.



The Battle of Cabrita Point, sometimes referred to as the Battle of Marbella, was a naval battle that took place while a combined Spanish-French force besieged Gibraltar on 10 March 1705 (21 March 1705 in the New Calendar) during the War of Spanish Succession.

The battle was an allied victory (English, Portuguese and Dutch) which effectively ended the Franco-Spanish siege of Gibraltar.

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Prelude
The allies had conquered Gibraltar on behalf of the Archduke Charles of Habsburg on 1 August 1704. The Spanish besieged the city by land, and in that year, the French had made a first failed attempt to attack from the sea in the Battle of Vélez-Málaga.

In January 1705 Philip V of Spain was determined to reconquer the city and had Villadarias replaced by Marshal de Tessé. Tessé realized that Gibraltar would never be retaken as long as the allies could access it from the sea. He therefore ordered Admiral Pointis to block up the place by sea with his squadron of 18 ships of the line. Some of these ships were Spanish under José Fernández de Santillán. Gibraltar was not a permanent harbour yet for the English fleet, which was anchored in Lisbon at the time.

The commander of Gibraltar, Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt, despatched an express to Lisbon, desiring Sir John Leake to sail to his assistance. This admiral set sail immediately with five sail of the line and a body of troops. By the morning of 10 March, he had a squadron of 23 English, eight Portuguese ships of various sizes, and four Dutch.

The battle

Cabrita Point in 1843

Leake's fleet reached the Strait late on the 9th, and laid to during the night. The next morning at about 5.30 a.m., they were within two miles of Cabrita Point, when they saw five sail coming out of the Bay. These proved to be the French ships Magnanime (74), Lys (86), Ardent (66), Arrogant (60), and Marquis (66). They made at first towards the Barbary Coast, but, finding that they were being gained upon, stood for the Spanish coast. At 9 a.m. Sir Thomas Dilkes in HMS Revenge, with the Newcastle, Antelope and a Dutch man-of-war, got within gunshot of Arrogant, which, after a slight resistance, struck. Before 1 p.m. two Dutch ships took Ardent and Marquis; Magnanime and Lys were driven ashore to the westward of Marbella. Magnanime, in which De Pointis had his flag, ran ashore with so much force that all her masts went by the board. The French subsequently burned Magnanime and Lys.

The rest of the French squadron had been blown from their anchorage by a gale and had taken shelter in the bay of Málaga. They now slipped their cables and made their way to Toulon.

Aftermath
The Marshal de Tessé, in consequence of this disaster, turned the siege of Gibraltar into a blockade, and withdrew the greater part of his forces on 31 March. Pointis retired from active service after this battle.

Leake had not only scored a remarkable victory, but had saved Gibraltar from attack and had enhanced his already high reputation.

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Attack of Gibraltar by the Baron de Pointis' fleet


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Revenge_(1699)
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 March 1781 – Launch of HMS Dolphin, a 44-gun fifth rate ship of the Royal Navy launched in 1781


HMS Dolphin
was a 44-gun fifth rate ship of the Royal Navy launched in 1781. Designed by Sir Thomas Slade, she carried her armament on two decks and had a main battery of 18-pound long guns. She made an appearance at the Battle of Dogger Bank in 1781. The rest of her 36-year career was uneventful, much of it being spent as a transport or hospital ship, armed only with twenty or twenty-four, 9-pounders. She was broken up at Portsmouth in 1817.

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Construction and armament
Dolphin was one of the nineteen Roebuck-class fifth-rates built for the Royal Navy between 1776 and 1783. A requirement for a two-deck ship capable of operating in the shallower waters of North America, led to the resurrection of a design by renowned naval architect, Sir Thomas Slade

Ordered by The Admiralty on 8 January 1777, Dolphin was the only one of her class not built under contract, and her keel of 115 feet 6 1⁄4 inches (35.2 m), was laid down on 1 May at Chatham Dockyard. As built, she was 139 feet 11 inches (42.6 m) long at the gundeck, had a beam of 37 feet 10 1⁄4 inches (11.5 m), and a depth in the hold of 16 feet 4 inches (5.0 m). She measured 880 47⁄94 tons burthen.

Dolphin was armed with 20 x 18-pounder guns on her lower deck, 22 x 9-pounder guns on her upper deck and 2 x 6-pounder guns on her forecastle. She did not carry guns on her quarter deck. She served a number of times as a transport or hospital ship, when she was armed with between twenty and twenty-four 9-pounders on her upper decks.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plans with stern board decoration, sheer lines with inboard detail and figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for Dolphin (1781), a 44-gun Fifth Rate, two-decker, as built at Chatham Dockyard. Note that she had a single level of stern gallery windows.

Service
Dolphin was commissioned for the North Sea in March 1781, under Captain William Blair, and was present at the Battle of Dogger Bank that summer. Britain had declared war on the Dutch Republic the previous December, in retaliation for the latter's support of the American war effort. Dolphin was part of Vice-Admiral Hyde Parker's squadron, which was escorting a convoy from the Baltic, when on 5 August it discovered a fleet of Dutch warships and merchant vessels near Dogger Bank.[4] Each of the forces selected seven ships to do battle. Dolphin stood second in the British line behind HMS Berwick, with HMS Buffalo, HMS Fortitude, HMS Princess Amelia, HMS Preston and HMS Bienfaisant. While the British supply ships continued their journey to England, the Dutch line of battle, comprising the 54-gun Erfprins, the 74-gun Admiraal Generaal, the 40-gun Argo, the 54-gun Batavier, the 68-gun Admiraal de Ruijter, the 54-gun Admiraal Piet Hein and the 68-gun Hollandia, positioned itself between its convoy and the enemy. After a general chase, the British, occupying the windward position, bore down on the Dutch, line abreast, at 06:10. At 08:00 a close action ensued, which continued until mid-morning when the Dutch warships sought to disengage and return to Texel with their convoy. By this time neither side was in a condition to continue the fight and although the British tried to reform their line, they were unable to pursue.

Under her new captain, Robert Manners Sutton, Dolphin sailed for Jamaica on 31 January 1782. When war with the colonies ended in September 1783, Dolphin returned to England where, between March and June 1784, £5,936.6.8d was spent on repairs at Chatham dockyard. She was then laid up in ordinary.

During the Nootka Crisis in the summer 1789, the Royal Navy began to prepare for war with Spain. In October 1790, work began converting Dolphin to a hospital ship. Costing £3,189, the conversion took until February 1791 by which time the conflict had all but been resolved and Dolphin was taken to Portsmouth where she was laid up once more.

Recommissioned as a store ship in January 1793, Dolphin was despatched to the Mediterranean when Britain entered the French Revolutionary War in February. In January 1797, Dolphin was part of Horatio Nelson's squadron, sent to evacuate Porto Ferrajo. The commander of the garrison there, General Ulysses de Burgh, refused to leave however and after salvaging what it could in the way of stores and equipment, the squadron left for Gibraltar two days later, on 29 January.

Dolphin was at the capture of Minorca in 1798. The squadron to which she was attached, arrived off the island on 7 November, troops were landed the following day, and by 15 November, the whole island had capitulated. Dolphin was then taken to Lisbon where she served as a hospital ship.

In January 1800, Dolphin underwent a £9,042 conversion to a troop ship at Deptford Dockyard. The refit took until April, during which time she had her lower guns removed, leaving her with twenty 9-pounders on her upper deck. And in this form, she served in the navy's Egyptian campaign. She was brought back home in January 1802 and paid off in March. Towards the end of 1804, work began turning her into a storeship. She was recommissioned in January the following year for the transport of supplies to Ireland.

Dolphin was taken to the Leeward Islands in October 1805 but returned to Deptford, two years later, for repairs and another refit. The work was completed in November 1808, then early in 1809, under a new command, she went back to the Leeward Islands. Between February and April 1811, Dolphin was in Portsmouth undergoing another large repair and refit. She was later broken up there in July 1817.

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Scale: 1:96. Plan showing the inboard profile, spar deck, upper deck, lower deck, and orlop deck of the Dolphin (1814), a 50-gun Fifth Rate, as converted to a Storeship. Signed by William Stone [Master Shipwright, Deptford Dockyard, 1813-1830].



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Dolphin_(1781)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roebuck-class_ship
 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 March 1783 - The last naval action of the American Revolution takes place when the Continental frigate USS Alliance, commanded by Capt. John Barry, battles HMS Sybil south of Cape Canaveral, Fla. Sybil is damaged in the fight and returns to the two warships that did not join in the battle.


HMS Sibyl
was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The Sibyl was first commissioned in October 1778 under the command of Captain Thomas Pasley.

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In 1783 Sibyl, Captain Vashon, was in company with HMS Alarm and Tobago when they encountered the American frigate Alliance, which was escorting USS Duc de Lauzun. An inconclusive engagement developed between Sibyl and Alliance that proved to be the last battle of the American Revolutionary War. Alarm and Tobago neither participated in the engagement nor captured Duc de Lauzun. Sibyl was renamed Garland in 1795.

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Monarch (left), Sybil (right) and Panther (right background) take the Dutch ship Mars (centre)

Loss
In February 1798 Captain J. C. Searle sailed Garland for the Cape of Good Hope. There Captain James Athol Wood replaced him.

Wood received information that a large French ship was anchored off Port Dauphiné, Madagascar. He sailed Garland to investigate but as she approached the vessel on 26 July, Garland struck a rock and sank before she could be run onshore. Still, the crew was able to take to the boats. Wood then decided to capture the French ship, which turned out to be a merchantman armed with 24 guns and carrying a crew of 150 men. The French crew had run their ship onshore at Garland's approach and abandoned her. However, when they saw Garland run onshore, they tried to retrieve their own vessel. Wood and his boats had the wind and reached the merchantman first. Wood was able to convince the natives to hand most of the Frenchmen over to the British. It was five months before Star arrived to rescue Wood, his crew, and his prisoners. Star took the prisoners to Île de France. Wood and his men returned to the Cape in their prize, a small boat of 15 tons burthen that they had built, and some small vessels that were prizes to the Cape squadron.

Wood returned to England, where on 15 December 1798 he and his officers were acquitted at the court martial for the loss of their ship.


The first USS Alliance of the United States Navy was a 36-gun sailing frigate of the American Revolutionary War.

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Originally named Hancock, she was laid down in 1777 on the Merrimack River at Amesbury, Massachusetts, by the partners and cousins, William and James K. Hackett, launched on 28 April 1778, and renamed Alliance on 29 May 1778 by resolution of the Continental Congress. Her first commanding officer was Capt. Pierre Landais, a former officer of the French Navy who had come to the New World hoping to become a naval counterpart of Lafayette. The frigate's first captain was widely accepted as such in America. Massachusetts made him an honorary citizen and the Continental Congress gave him command of Alliance, thought to be the finest warship built to that date on the western side of the Atlantic.

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Alliance at sail

1783
At the end of a largely uneventful passage, she anchored off Saint-Pierre, Martinique, on 8 January 1783. There Barry found orders to sail to Havana to pick up a large quantity of gold and to deliver it to Congress at Philadelphia. After brief repairs, Alliance resumed her voyage on the 13th, touched at St. Eustatius and Cape Francois, and reached Havana on the last day of January.

Another American warship, USS Duc de Lauzun, was already in port on the same mission. The specie had already been loaded on Duc de Lauzun and Barry decided to escort her home. The inevitable delays kept both ships in port until 6 March. The next day, they encountered two Royal Navy frigates that gave chase. Barry chose not to fight these warships rather than risk losing the funds his consort carried, and the American vessels successfully eluded their pursuers. Three days later they encountered the same pair – HMS Alarm and HMS Sibyl – in company with the sloop-of-war HMS Tobago.

Still striving to avoid risk to the desperately needed money he was carrying to Congress, Barry again headed southwest to escape from these unidentified strangers and ordered her consort to follow. Far off in that direction, the rigging of another ship appeared over the horizon, sailing away from the others.

Soon Alliance was noticeably pulling away from the pursuers but Duc de Lauzun – second in line – was losing ground to Alarm. In the distance, the newcomer was seen to change course and head toward Alliance. Alarm evidently gave up the chase and headed away. Sybil pressed on and soon began firing at Duc de Lauzun.

Confident in both Alliance's speed and her fighting ability, Barry maneuvered her between Sybil and Duc De Lauzun to demand the full attention of the former so that the latter might slip away to safety. Sybil then turned her fire toward Alliance and managed to send one shot from her bow chaser into the American frigate's cabin, mortally wounding a junior officer and scattering many splinters. Yet Barry held Alliance's fire until she was within a "pistol's shot" of her opponent. At that point, a broadside from the American warship opened some 40 minutes of close-in fighting which finally forced Sybil to flee in the wake of Alarm and Tobago. Ships' logs indicate that this battle was fought 140 miles (230 km) south of Cape Canaveral on March 10, 1783.[3] Captain Vashon, commander HMS Sybil, is recorded as saying "he had never seen a ship so ably fought as the Alliance." Captain Vashon is further quoted as saying of Barry, "every quality of a great commander was brought out with extraordinary brilliancy".[2]:60

Meanwhile, the Treaty of Paris which ended the war and recognized the independence of the United States had been ratified on 3 February 1783, some five weeks before the battle.

The two American ships again headed home on the day following their brush with the British, 11 March, but separated off Cape Hatteras a week later. On the 19th, Alliance met a British ship of the line as she headed in toward the Delaware capes. She gave chase and forced Alliance back out to sea. This created a diversion which allowed Duc De Lauzun to slip into the Delaware unmolested and ascend the river to Philadelphia.

Alliance continued on northward and arrived at Newport, Rhode Island, at midafternoon on 20 March 1783. Since that port could easily be raided by British men-of-war, she soon proceeded up Narragansett Bay and anchored just below Providence. There, her crew was reduced to peacetime needs, and she was thoroughly overhauled.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Alliance_(1778)

 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 March 1796 - HMS Phaeton (38), Cptn. Hon. Robert Stopford, captured Bonne Citoyenne (20) off Cape Finisterre



Bonne Citoyenne was a 20-gun corvette of the French Navy launched in 1794, the name ship of a four-vessel class. She was part of the French fleet active in the Bay of Biscay and English Channel. The Royal Navy captured her in 1796, commissioning her as the sloop-of-war HMS Bonne Citoyenne.

Under British command she served in the Mediterranean, including at the Battle of Cape St Vincent. She was taken out of service in 1803 but returned following refitting in 1808, then serving in the Atlantic. Her most famous action was the capture of the much larger French frigate Furieuse on 6 July 1809, for which her crew earned the Naval General Service Medal. The later part of her career was spent in South America. Her design was used as the basis for the Hermes-class post ships. She was laid up in 1815, and sold in 1819.

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French service and capture
Bonne Citoyenne (French for 'good citizen') was built and launched in 1794, put into service in 1795 and served in the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay.

On 4 March she left Rochfort under the command of Capitaine de vaisseau Mahé-La Bourdonnais. She was in the company of the French frigates Forte, Seine, and Regenerée, and the brig Mutine. They were sailing for the Île de France with troops and Bonne Citoyenne also had a great deal of soldiers' clothing on board.

Bonne Citoyenne had the misfortune to be damaged in a storm and to become separated from the rest of the French squadron. On 10 March she had the further misfortune to encounter the fifth-rate frigate HMS Phaeton, under the command of Robert Stopford, and his squadron. The squadron captured her 58 leagues off Cape Finisterre.

Stopford then took her back to England as his prize. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Bonne Citoyenne.

Two men from Bonne Citoyenne, Sélis, who had been chief helmsman, and Thierry, a pilot, made an unsuccessful attempt to escape from Petersfield Prison after seven months captivity. Consequently, they were put on board the Lady Shore, which was to carry them, another six French prisoners, and some convicts to Botany Bay. On the way they fomented a mutiny, seized the vessel, and took her into Rio de Janeiro, where a French frigate squadron under Captain Landolphe, comprising Médée, Franchiseand Concorde, rescued them.


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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with sternboard outline, sheer lines with inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth for Bonne Citoyenne (captured 1796), a captured French corvette as taken off at Portsmouth Dockyard prior to being fitted as a 20-gun Sixth Rate. Note the single bitts and the French-style capstan on the topgallant forecastle. Signed by Edward Tippet [Master Shipwright, Portsmouth Dockyard, 1793-1799].

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard profile with some external detail for the Bonne Citoyenne (captured 1796), a captured French corvette as fitted at Deptford Dockyard in 1810. She had been previously converted after capture in Portsmouth Dockyard to a 20-gun Sixth Rate. The plan includes undated alterations. The work at Deptford may have resulted from the damage caused to her when she captured the French 36-gun frigate Furieuse, which was armed 'en flute' at the time in August 1809.


The four Bonne Citoyenne-class corvettes were built to a design by Raymond-Antoine Hasan. All members of the class were flush-decked, but with a long topgallant forecastle. The corvettes were launched between 1794 and 1796, and the Royal Navy captured all four between 1796 and 1798.

After the Royal Navy captured Bonne Citoyenne, the Admiralty used her lines as the basis for the Hermes-class post ships.

Ships
  • Bonne Citoyenne, launched 1794, captured 1796 and as HMS Bonne Citoyenne; sold 1819.
  • Perçante, launched 1795, captured 1796 and renamed HMS Jamaica; sold 1814.
  • Vaillante, launched 1796, captured 1798 and renamed HMS Danae, returned to French control by mutineers in 1801 and renamed Vaillante; sold 1801.
  • Gaieté, launched in 1797, captured the same year and commissioned as HMS Gaiete (also Gayette); sold in 1808.

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La Furieuse is shown on the left of the picture having been captured and taken in tow by the British ship Bonne Citoyenne, 20 guns; Furieuse was captured in 1809 after she had escaped from Basse-Terre in June, having taken refuge there following the defeat of the French commander Commodore Troude.


 
Today in Naval History - Naval / Maritime Events in History
10 March 1800 - HMS Repulse (64), Cptn. John Alms, struck at sunken rock off Ushant.


HMS Repulse
was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 28 November 1780 at East Cowes, on the Isle of Wight.

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Mutiny at The Nore
At the mutiny at The Nore in 1797, Repulse made a 'miraculous' escape from the mutineers reaching shore despite receiving 'as was calculated two hundred shot'. Its First Lieutenant, Lieutenant T. Frances Douglas, was presented with a commemorative sword inscribed: ‘PRESENTED by the Committee of Merchants &c OF LONDON to LIEUT.T FRANCIS DOUGLAS for his Spirited and active conduct on board His Majesty’s Ship the REPULSE. Ja.s Alms Esq.r Commander during the MUTINY at the NORE in 1797. Marine Society Office, May 1o 1798 } Hugh Inglis Esq.r Chairman’

Loss
On 10 March 1800, having been driven off course by heavy weather, Repulse struck a submerged rock and began taking on water. The crew eventually abandoned the ship somewhere in the vicinity of the [[Cap Sizun]], on the Pointe de Penharn from where the majority of the survivors were taken away as prisoners of war. The first lieutenant took a number of men in Repulse's large cutter, and headed for England instead, arriving at Guernsey on 16 March.

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Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with stern-quarter decoration, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed for 'Polyphemus' (1782), and later for 'Repulse' (1780), both 64-gun Third Rate, two-deckers. Signed by John Williams [Surveyor of the Navy, 1765-1784].


The Intrepid-class ships of the line were a class of fifteen 64-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir John Williams. His design, approved on 18 December 1765, was slightly smaller than Sir Thomas Slade's contemporary Worcester class design of the same year, against which it was evaluated competitively. Following the prototype, four more ships were ordered in 1767–69, and a further ten between 1771 and 1779.



 
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