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

[Uwek]

17 August 1606 - Battle of Cape Rachado - Indecisive action between a Dutch fleet under Cornelis Matelief de Jonge and a Portuguese fleet near Malacca


The Battle of Cape Rachado, off the present day Malaccan exclave of Cape Rachado in 1606, was an important naval engagement between the Dutch East India Company and Portuguese fleets.


Battle for Malacca between the VOC fleet and the Portuguese, 1606.

It marked the beginning of a conflict between the combined Dutch/Johor forces against the Portuguese. It was the biggest naval battle in the Malay Archipelago between two naval superpowers of the time with 31 ships (11 of the Dutch VOC and 20 of the Portuguese). Although the battle ended with a Portuguese victory, the ferocity of the battle itself and the losses sustained by the victor convinced the Sultanate of Johor to provide supplies, support and later on much needed ground forces to the Dutch, forcing a Portuguese capitulation. 130 years of Portuguese supremacy in the region ended with the fall of the city and fortress of Malacca, almost 30 years later, in 1641.


Departure and alliance with Johor

Cornelius Matelief de Jonge

Malacca, which was earlier the capital of the Sultanate of Malacca, was besieged and wrested by the Portuguese in 1511, forcing the Sultan to retreat and found the successor state of Johor and continue the war from there. The port city, which the Portuguese had turned into a formidable fortress, was strategically situated in the middle of the strait of the same name giving control to both the spice trade of the Malay archipelago and supremacy over the sea lane of the lucrative trade between Europe and the Far East. The Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) decided that to expand further to the east, the Portuguese monopoly and especially Malacca must first be neutralised.

The fleet was the third sent by the VOC to the archipelago, with 11 ships – Oranje, Nassau, Middelburg, Witte Leeuw, Zwarte Leeuw, Mauritius, Grote Zon, Amsterdam, Kleine Zon, Erasmus and Geuniveerde Provincien. The Oranje lead with Admiral Cornelis Matelief de Jonge in command. The Dutch fleet set sail from Texel, Holland on 12 May 1605. The fleet departed with the sailors told that they were on a trade voyage as de Jonge was ordered to keep his true mission a secret, which was to siege Malacca and force a Portuguese surrender.

They passed Malacca on April 1606 and arrived at Johor on 1 May 1606 where de Jonge proceeded to negotiate for a term of alliance with Johor. The pact was formally concluded on 17 May 1606 in which Johor had agreed to a combined effort with the Dutch to attempt to dislodge the Portuguese from Malacca. Unlike the Portuguese, the Dutch and Johor agreed to respect each other's religion, the Dutch would get to keep Malacca and the right to trade in Johor. The Dutch also would not attempt to interfere or wage war against Johor. In effect, the agreement served to limit Dutch influence on the Malay Peninsula in contrast to the islands of the archipelago which would become the Dutch East Indies.


Battle

Portuguese Malacca and it's sorroundings in 1606.

Matelief de Jonge started the assault by besieging the fortress and city of Malacca. He was hoping that by blockading and cutting the supplies to the Portuguese, prolonged hunger and direct assault would force them to capitulate. However, this was not so, as their Johor allies were still unsure of the ability of the Dutch forces against Malacca and did not fully commit their resources to the attack, other than limited supplies and safe haven at their ports. The Dutch, with few soldiers, could not afford a land offensive against their well-entrenched opponent.

The Dutch maintained the siege for a time and the situation started to get worse for the Portuguese until 14 August 1606 when a Portuguese fleet from Goa arrived.
The ships known were the Nossa Senhora da Conceição 1000t, São Simeão 900t, São Salvador 900t, Nossa Senhora das Mercês (?)900t, Todos os Santos 800t, São Nicolau 800t, Santa Cruz 600t, Dom Duarte de Guerra's galleon (?)600t, António 240t.
Led by the Viceroy of Goa, Dom Martim Afonso de Castro, the siege was lifted when the 20-odd ships began to engage the VOC fleet off the Malaccan waters. The two fleets traded cannon fire and the Portuguese ships began to move northward, drawing the Dutch away from Malacca. On 16 August 1606, off the Portuguese lighthouse at Cape Rachado, the battle between the two fleets was enjoined.

Heavy cannons salvoes opened the battle with each side trying to weaken the opponent before the ships closed on each other and the battle would have to be fought hand-to-hand. After a couple of days of cannon duels, on the morning of 18 August, with the wind in favour of the Portuguese, Martim Afonso de Castro ordered the Portuguese to sail forth for the grapple. Matelief, seeing the danger, ordered his ships to turn sail away from the oncoming ships to evade boarding. But for some reason, the VOC ship Nassau, failed to turn quickly, and ended up lingering behind, dangerously isolated. The Portuguese ship Santa Cruz dashed forth and boarded the Nassau.

Matelief de Jonge ordered his own ship, the Oranje, to quickly turn around to rescue the hapless Nassau, but the awkward manoeuvre sent the Oranje into a collision with the Middelburg. While the Dutch captains were busy disentangling their ships, Martim de Castro's ship, the Nossa Senhora da Conceicão boarded the Nassau from the other side. The Dutch crew of the Nassau managed to jump into a lifeboat, leaving the fiercely burning Nassaubehind.

In the meantime, another Portuguese ship, the São Salvador, drove towards the entangled VOC ships and pierced headlong into the Middelburg, but was immediately itself grappled by the Oranje from the side, which was in turn rammed from its open side by the ship of D. Henrique de Noronha (the Nossa Senhora das Mercês). The entangled duo had now become a quartet. A furious battle raged between the hopelessly entangled ships, with point-blank cannonades quickly setting the ships ablaze, as much a danger to one as the other.


Location of the lighthouse of Cape Rachado and town of Port Dickson.

Into this confusion entered the galleon of Dom Duarte de Guerra, who sought to toss a line to help tow Noronha's ship away from the burning Oranje. But the winds were unfavorable and instead the rescuer found itself drifting straight across the bows of the entangled ships. Just then the Mauritius decided to join the fight and pierces Dom Duarte de Guerra's ship from the other side. The battle had reached its height in the sextet of burning, interlocked ships.

Matelief de Jonge realised that the smaller Dutch ships wouldn't last long, and that they must get out of this position before the larger Portuguese drop anchor. He ordered the Oranje to cut the grapple-lines' to the São Salvador, and sailed away from the mess. Albeit, Noronha's Mercês was still tied to Oranje and was dragged along with it. The Mauritius also decided to cut its grappling cables when it noticed Dom Duarte de Guerra's galleon had caught fire.

The remaining entangled ships – the Middelburg, the São Salvador and Dom Duarte de Guerra's galleon – would burn and go down together, still entangled.

In the meantime, a furious fight continued to be fought between Matelief's Oranje and Noronha's Mercês, who were still grappled. But at length Matelief proposes a truce to D. Henrique de Noronha, to allow them to put out their fires and save their ships. Noronha agrees. But the Oranje had dropped anchor, and as the crews went about extinguishing the flames, the winds were now sending the remaining Dutch ships towards the Oranje and the Portuguese ships away from it. Noronha's fate seemed doomed, but Matelief, not wishing to exploit a truce he had himself proposed, magnanimously offers to cut the grapple and allow Noronha to slip away unmolested back to the Portuguese line. For this honourable gesture, Noronha swears never to personally fight Matelief again.

This final gentlemanly exchange displeased the vice-roy Martim Afonso de Castro, who would have preferred to allow Noronha's ship to continue burning and take the Dutch flagship down with it. D. Henrique de Noronha was promptly dismissed from the command of the Mercês, and replaced by another.

Matelief de Jonge deemed that the losses suffered were too much and ordered the Dutch fleet to disengage and abandoned the fight. The battle was won by the Portuguese, but the failed Dutch attack marked the beginning of a serious threat to their dominance in the archipelago, which culminated in a massive Dutch-Johor-Aceh assault 30 years after which broke the gates and mights of the fortress of Malacca.

Aftermath
The Dutch requested shelter from Johor and arrived at Johor River on 19 August 1606. Overall the Dutch lost Nassau and Middelburg. 150 Dutch were killed and more wounded, Johor allied losses amount to several hundred. The Portuguese lost São Salvador and Dom Duarte de Guerra's smaller galleon while suffering 500 deaths (Portuguese and allies). The battle also proved the tenacity of the Dutch in their war against the Portuguese, which caused the Sultan of Johor to fully commit on providing the much needed armies and additional ships and resources. The Portuguese victory came to naught when the Dutch, having repaired their ships, returned to Malacca 2 months later to find the Portuguese fleet having left, leaving only 10 ships behind. The Dutch subsequently sank all 10 ships.


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

 

[Uwek]

17 August 1712 – Action of 17 August 1712 - Danes under Sehested fight and then defeat Swedes under Henck near Rugen

This battle took place on 17 August 1712 south of Rügen, in the Baltic Sea, during the Great Northern War. It was the second time that the two fleets met, first action was at 31 July the same year. The site is known as Neues Tief in German, Nydyp in Danish, and Nya Djupet in Swedish, all meaning "New Deep." The action was a victory for Denmark, commanded by Hannibal Sehested, over Sweden, commanded by Henck.


places of the two battles on 31 July and 17 August

Ships involved
The name of the ship is followed by the number of guns carried.

Denmark
Kongens Jagt Krone 24
Ark Noa 16
Ebenetzer 15
Helleflynder 14
Christianso 26
Svenske Sophia 20
Gravenstein 14
Phoenix 12
Hecla 10 (bomb)
1 crayer (kreiert, krejert)
5 barges
3 fireships

Sweden
Stralsund 30
Anklam 30
St Thomas 30
St Johannes 30
Witduve 22
Jomfru 14
Sjökane I 8
Sjökane II 8
? 6 (pram)
? 6 (galley)
? (bomb)
11 transports


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_17_August_1712
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seegefechte_im_Greifswalder_Bodden_(1712)
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Thomesen_Sehested

 

[Uwek]

17 August 1757 – Launch of HMS Shannon, a 28-gun Coventry-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy.




Construction
Shannon was one of five frigates of the class built of fir rather than oak. Fir was cheaper and more abundant than oak and permitted noticeably faster construction, but at a cost of a reduced lifespan; the four fir-built Coventry-class vessels that did not get captured lasted an average of only nine years before being struck off.

The vessel was named after the River Shannon in Ireland. In selecting her name the Board of Admiralty continued a tradition dating to 1644, of using geographic features for ship names; overall, ten of the nineteen Coventry-class vessels were named after well-known regions, rivers or towns. With few exceptions the remainder of the class were named after figures from classical antiquity, following a more modern trend initiated in 1748 by John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich in his capacity as First Lord of the Admiralty.


Scale 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with inboard detail, longitudinal half breadth for Coventry (1757), Lizard (1757),Liverpool (1757), Maidstone (1758), Acteon (1757), Shannon (1757), Levant (1757), Coberus (1757), Griffin (1757), Hussar (1757), all 28-gun, Sixth Rate Frigates, based on the plan for Lowestoft (1756) and Tartar (1756, which were the same as Unicorn (1748) and Lyme (1748). Maidstone (1758), Cerberus (1757), Griffin (1757), Acteon (1757), Shannon (1757),Bureas (1757) and Trent (1757) had the House holes moved to the upper deck. There are construction amendments for the first built Frigates. Annoted in the top right: " Body, same as the Lestaff and Tartar, except one havng a Beakhead and the other a round bow, withou the least alteration below the surface of the water - and the Tartar and Leostaff are exactly the same Body as the Unicorn and Lime. "

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

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


Scale: 1:48. A contemporary full hull model of the sixth-rate sloop 'Guadeloupe' (1763), 28 guns, built in the Georgian style. The model is decked and equipped. The unfinished appearance of the head and stern suggests that the model was built for design purposes but the measurements are correct for the frigate ‘Guadeloupe’ of 1763. The deck layout is typical of the early frigates. The raised forecastle shows the position of the foremast with bitts either side and the galley funnel and belfry at the break of the forecastle. Below, in the waist, are the riding bitts, the hatchways and by the mainmast position, the gallows bitts, freshwater and bilge pumps. The quarterdeck carries the main capstan and steering wheel. The mizzenmast was situated just abaft the wheel. Built at Plymouth Royal Dockyard, the ‘Guadeloupe’ measured 118 feet along the lower deck by 34 feet in the beam, displacing 586 tons burden. It was armed with twenty-four 9-pounders on the upper deck and four 3-pounders on the quarterdeck. The ‘Guadeloupe’ was one of the smallest class of 18th-century frigates. The first of the ‘true’ frigates of this class were actually the ‘Tartar’ and ‘Lowestoft’, built in 1756, but the ‘Unicorn’ and ‘Lyme’ of 1748 had been almost similar in design. The ‘Guadeloupe’ was sunk by American batteries near Yorktown in 1781. Frigates were fifth or sixth rate ships and thus not expected to lie in the line of battle. With the advantage of superior sailing qualities over the larger ships of the line, they were used with the fleet for such tasks as lookout or, in battle, as repeating ships to fly the admiral’s signals. They also cruised independently in search of privateers.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/66470.html#0XomsEfugejqPhwA.99



The Coventry-class frigates were 28-gun sixth rate frigates of the Royal Navy, principally in service during the Seven Years' War and the American Revolutionary War. They were designed in 1756 by Britain's Surveyor of the Navy, Sir Thomas Slade, and were largely modeled on HMS Tartar, which was regarded as an exemplar among small frigates due to its speed and maneuverability. The 1750s were a period of considerable experimentation in ship design, and Slade authorized individual builders to make "such alterations withinboard as may be judged necessary" in final construction.



A total of twelve Coventry-class frigates were built in oak during the Seven Years' War. Eleven of these were ordered from private shipyards and built over the relatively short period of three years; the twelfth was completed following the close of the War in a royal dockyard after its original contractor became bankrupt.

A variant was designed for building with fir hulls rather than oak; five vessels were built to this design, all in Royal Dockyards. these five vessels differed in external appearance to the oak-built frigates, as they had a square tuck stern. The use of fir instead of oak increased the speed of construction but reduced the frigate's durability over time.

More than a quarter-century after the design was produced, two further oak-built ships to this design were ordered to be built by contract in October 1782. One of these was cancelled a year later, when the builder became bankrupt.



First batch
HMS Coventry 1757
HMS Lizard 1757
HMS Liverpool 1758
HMS Maidstone 1758

Second batch 5 fir-built ships
HMS Boreas 1757
HMS Hussar 1757
HMS Shannon 1757
HMS Trent 1757
HMS Actaeon 1757

Third batch 9 oak-built ships
HMS Active 1758
HMS Aquilon 1758
HMS Cerberus 1758
HMS Griffin 1758
HMS Levant 1758
HMS Argo 1758
HMS Milford 1759
HMS Guadeloupe 1763
HMS Carysfort 1766

Final batch 2 oak-built ships, only 1 completed
HMS Hind 1785
HMS Laurel - cancelled



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Shannon_(1757)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry-class_frigate
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-305058;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=C

 

[Uwek]

17 August 1796 - Dutch fleet under Ad. Engelburtus Lucas surrendered to British squadron under Ad. Sir George Keith Elphinstone at Saldanha Bay, South Africa.


The Capitulation of Saldanha Bay was the surrender in 1796 to the British Royal Navy of a Dutch expeditionary force sent to recapture the Dutch Cape Colony. In 1794, early in the French Revolutionary Wars, the army of the French Republic overran the Dutch Republic which then became a French client state, the Batavian Republic. Great Britain was concerned by the threat the Dutch Cape Colony in Southern Africa posed to its trade routes to British India. It therefore sent an expeditionary force that landed at Simon's Town in June 1795 and forced the surrender of the colony in a short campaign. The British commander, Vice-Admiral Sir George Elphinstone, then reinforced the garrison and stationed a naval squadron at the Cape to protect the British conquest.


George Elphinstone

The Batavian government, not yet aware of the capture of the Cape Colony, but worried by rumors of the loss of this and other colonies of the Dutch East India Company (which was about to be nationalized by the Batavian Republic, because it was virtually bankrupt), in November 1795 decided to send an expeditionary force to the Dutch East Indies by way of the Cape, and if necessary recapture the colony. This force comprised three ships of the line and six smaller vessels, all under the command of Rear-Admiral Engelbertus Lucas. Security regarding the plans was weak and the British knew of the operation before Lucas had sailed.

The British warned Elphinstone, who further reinforced the Cape. Lucas's journey took nearly six months, with his squadron suffering shortages of drinking water leading to a near-mutinous state among his crews. On its arrival at the Cape, the Batavian squadron anchored in Saldanha Bay to take on fresh water before deciding to abandon the operation and sail to the French base at Île de France in the Western Indian Ocean.


Saldanha Bay

On 15 August 1796 Elphinstone's larger fleet discovered Lucas's force and trapped it in the bay. Aware that resistance would be futile and with his crews in open revolt, Lucas surrendered unconditionally. The ships of the captured Batavian force were taken into the Royal Navy, joining the squadron at the Cape; Elphinstone was later made Baron Keith in recognition of his achievements. The Batavian operation did however force the cancellation of a planned British invasion of Île de France. Lucas faced a court martial on his return to the Netherlands, but died before it began. The main responsibility for the debacle was laid at his feet but his death forestalled a conviction for dereliction of duty. All other officers were acquitted. The Cape Colony was not attacked again before the end of the war in 1802, when the Treaty of Amiens returned it to the Batavian Republic.

Saldanha Bay
Elphinstone was concerned that the Batavian force might not be sailing for the Cape at all. In May a powerful French frigate squadron under Contre-amiral Pierre César Charles de Sercey had sailed past the Cape without stopping, observed by HMS Sphynx, which it chased back to Simon's Town. If the Batavian force was sailing for the East Indies, it might bypass the Cape altogether. Elphinstone therefore decided to take his fleet out to sea to search for the Batavians. On 6 August Elphinstone sailed southwest from False Bay in search of Lucas, but a fierce storm caught the British, inflicting damage on the ships, including the loss of the mainmast on Monarch and flooding on HMS Ruby. The fleet returned to Simon's Bay in a battered state on 12 August, to learn on arrival that Lucas's force lay at anchor to the north. The following day a storm swept the bay. Most of Elphinstone's ships were damaged: both HMS Crescent and HMS Trident grounded, and HMS Tremendous dragged anchors and was almost wrecked.


HMS Monarch in the lead, forcing the Passage of the Sound, 30 March 1801, prior to the Battle of Copenhagen

Lucas had arrived off the Cape on 26 July with no knowledge of Elphinstone's dispositions. He had more pressing concerns: it had been several months since his ships had sighted land and his supplies of drinking water were running dangerously low. A significant proportion of his crews were suffering from scurvy and he had decided to send these men to an encampment ashore to facilitate their recovery. Lucas even ordered that the sails on his ships be removed for repairs, rendering his ships temporarily immobile. On 9 August, Lucas was warned by a servant of a Dutch inhabitant of the Cape that a superior English force was present and that the Dutch population would not assist an attack on the British; he was strongly advised to sail away. Lucas, on hearing this, instead sailed deeper into the bay. Sir James Craig sent cavalry to Saldanha Bay to harry Batavian shore parties and organised the withdrawal of the local population and livestock to prevent their capture. He followed with a larger force under his own command.


Fight of the British Third Rate 74-gun ship-of-the-line HMS Tremendous (in a foreground) and HMS Hindostan against the French frigate Cannonière, 21 April 1806.

Lucas held a council of war with his senior officers, debating whether an attack on Cape Town was practical or whether they should abandon the operation. By 16 August the decision had been made to sail for Île de France, but Lucas delayed, unwilling to leave his sick men ashore.

As the Batavian force prepared to sail, on 16 August Elphinstone's fleet appeared off the bay, led by the scouting frigate Crescent. He sent a letter to Lucas demanding that Lucas surrender, which demand Lucas refused. Ascertaining the strength of the Batavian force, in the evening of 16 August Elphinstone led his fleet into the bay in line of battle and brought the line to anchor at close gunshot range to Lucas's ships. Trapped between the coast and the British, Lucas immediately raised a flag of truce. He then sent an officer to negotiate terms with Elphinstone. Elphinstone granted a delay to enable Lucas to consult his captains, but demanded assurances that the Batavian ships would not be damaged. Lucas gave his word of honor that this would not be done. The council of war then decided that a capitulation on terms should be sought. One of the terms proposed was that the Batavian officers would be allowed to go home on two of the Batavian frigates, designated as cartel ships. Elphinstone rejected these proposals, but offered to release the officers eventually, if they gave their parole. By 23:00, hopelessly outnumbered and with his crews in open rebellion, Lucas agreed to terms that dictated an almost unconditional surrender of the Batavian force. This was the next morning (17 August) agreed between Elphinstone and the Dutch parlimentaire captain Claris; Lucas signed the capitulation that afternoon.


A painting of the capture of the French frigate Reunion by the British frigate HMS Crescent on 20 October 1793. Painted by Charles Dixon (1872-1934) and published in 1901.

Orders of battle
Lucas's order of battle
Lucas's squadron Ship Rate Guns Navy Commander Notes
Dordrecht - 66 - Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Dortrecht
Revolutie - 66 - Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Prince
Frederick Admiraal Tromp - 54 - Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Tromp
Castor - 44 - Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Saldanha
Braave - 40 - Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Braave
Sirène - 28 - Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Laurel
Bellona -26 - Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Vindictive
Havik - 18 - Commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Havick
Vrouw Maria - East Indiaman VOC

Elphinstone's order of battle
HMS Monarch - 74 - Admiral Sir George Keith Elphinstone, Captain John Elphinstone - Lost mainmast in storm before 12 August.
HMS Tremendous - 74 - Admiral Thomas Pringle - Damaged in storm on 13 August
HMS America - 64
HMS Ruby - 64 - Damaged in storm before 12 August.
HMS Stately - 64
HMS Sceptre - 64
HMS Trident - 64 - Damaged in storm on 13 August.
HMS Jupiter - 50
HMS Crescent - 28 - Damaged in storm on 13 August.
HMS Sphynx - 20
HMS Mozelle - 20
HMS Echo - 16
HMS Rattlesnake - 16
HMS Hope


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitulation_of_Saldanha_Bay
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapitulation_in_der_Saldanhabucht

 

[Uwek]

17 August 1803 - HMS Racoon (1795 - 16) destroyed Mutine (1799 – 18) off St.Jago.


In August, Having received information that French privateers were operating out of Cuban ports, Bissell sailed along the east end of the Jamaican coast and then crossed to Santiago de Cuba. There he saw four schooners, which appeared to be armed. Within a few days Racoon was able to encounter three of them early in the morning. Racoon captured two after tedious chases, as they separated. They were the Deux Amis and the Trois Freres, both of three guns. Racoon was also able to drive the third, of two guns, on shore, where she was wrecked.


HMS Racoon capturing French navy corvette Mutine, circle of William John Huggins

The second notable action occurred on 17 August off the coast of Cuba. At 1 p.m. Racoon sighted a brig coming along shore and that met up with a schooner that had been avoiding the British all day. At 3 p.m. the two came up together, but Racoon held back. Then at 4:15 the brig hoisted French colours and opened fire on Racoon. Racoon and the brig exchanged broadsides, with Racoon's fire bringing down most of the brig's rigging. The brig ran on shore on the rocks in a small bay, where she struck her colours. After some maneuvering, Racoon fired a broadside from her other side to try to destroy the brig. After about half an hour, the brig raised her colours again. Racoon made several passes, firing on the brig, which lost her mainmast near sunset, and fell on her side. The brig sent her crew ashore in boats while Racoon watched all night. In the morning it was clear that the brig was a complete wreck, having lost her masts and being full of water. Bissell decided not to permit Racoon's master to take a boat and some men to the brig to burn her because there were too many armed men on shore who would fire on any boarding party. Also, Racoon had her two lieutenants and 42 men away in the prizes she had taken the previous month.

The brig turned out to be the French navy's corvette Mutine, of eighteen 18-pounder guns. She had been full of men and had been sailing from Port-de-Paix to Santiago de Cuba. During the engagement, the schooner made her escape despite the efforts of Lieutenant Wright, in one of the prizes, to capture her. Mutine, under the command of lieutenant de vaisseau Reybaud, had sailed from Gibraltar and Malaga.


The Ships involved

Mutine was the name-vessel of her two-vessel class of corvettes designed by Charles-Henri Tellier. She was ordered as Nouvelle in 1797, but received the name Mutine at her launching in May 1799. She was wrecked near Santiago de Cuba on 17 August 1803 as a consequence of a single-ship action with HMS Racoon.

Career
Her commander in 1799 was Captain Lambert.
On 28 January 1801 HMS Bordelais was west of Barbados when she encountered two French brigs and a schooner. They gave chase but then Bordelais turned. In the short engagement that followed she captured the larger of the brigs, Curieuse, which sank within an hour or so of her capture. The two other French vessels escaped early in the engagement. Reportedly, the French brig that escaped was Mutine, of sixteen 6-pounder guns and 156 men under the command of J. Reybaud, and the schooner Espérance, of six 4-pounder guns and 52 men under the command of Captain Haywood


HMS Racoon (or Raccoon) was a brig-sloop built and launched in 1795. She served during the French Revolutionary Wars and in the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars. She had an active career under several captains, working essentially independently while capturing or destroying some 20 enemy privateers and naval vessels. Several of the captures involved engagements that resulted in casualties on Racoon as well as on her opponents. She was broken up early in 1806

Design
The Diligence-class were built to a design by John Henslow. They were quickly ordered and built, with the last three, including Racoon, being built of fir (pine), which made for quicker construction, but at the price of durability.



Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan with stern board outline, sheer lines with scroll figurehead, and longitudinal half-breadth for Diligence (1795), Harpy (1795), Hound (1795), Seagull (1795), and later for Racoon (1795), Kangaroo (1795), Camelion/Cameleon (1795) and Curlew (1795), all 16-gun, later 18-gun brig sloops. Signed by John Henslow [Surveyor of the Navy, 1784-1806] and William Rule [Surveyor of the Navy, 1793-1813]. Note that Seagull, Racoon, Kangaroo, Cameleon and Curlew were built of fir.



The Diligence class were built as a class of eight 18-gun brig-sloops for the Royal Navy. They were originally to have carried sixteen 6-pounder carriage guns, but on 22 April 1795 it was instructed that they should be armed with sixteen 32-pounder carronades, although two of the 6-pounders were retained as chase guns in the bows. Consequently they were classed as 18-gun sloops. However, in service it was found that this armament proved too heavy for these vessels, and so in most vessels the 32-pounder carronades were replaced by 24-pounder ones.

Of the eight vessels in the class, three foundered at sea with the loss of their crews, and one was wrecked. The others continued in service until withdrawn.

One of the Surveyors of the Navy - John Henslow - designed the class. The Admiralty approved the design on 22 April 1795, and ordered five vessels on 4 March 1795; their names were assigned and registered on 20 June. The Admiralty ordered three more in July 1795; these were named and registered on 28 August.

Ships of the Diligence class - Date of Launch
HMS Curlew 16 July 1795
HMS Diligence 24 November 1795
HMS Seagull July 1795
HMS Harpy February 1796
HMS Hound 24 March 1796
HMS Kangaroo 30 September 1795
HMS Cameleon 14 October 1795
HMS Racoon 14 October 1795





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Racoon_(1795)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_corvette_Mutine_(1799)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-341689;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=R

 

[Uwek]

17 August 1803 – Launch of french 74 gunner Magnanime (1803 - 74)


Magnanime was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.


Magnanime towing Commerce de Paris, by Ange-Joseph Antoine Roux, 1809.

Her keel was laid in June 1802, and she was launched in Rochefort on 18 August 1803.

She took part in Allemand's expedition of 1805 under Captain Pierre-Francois Violette.

On 26 September 1805, flanked by Armide, she attacked and captured HMS Calcutta.
At 17:00, the leading French ship of the line, Magnanime, came within range with her bow chasers. Calcutta continued sailing southwards, remaining ahead of the squadron but not at a sufficient distance to avoid Magnanime's fire. Realising that unless he took drastic measures his ship would be caught, Woodriff turned Calcutta back towards Magnanime, hoping to disable her before the next ship in line, the frigate Thétis, could join the battle. Captain Pierre-François Violette on Magnanime prepared to meet Calcutta and the engagement rapidly became furious, Calcutta and Magnanime exchanging full broadsides at close range. Within 45 minutes, it was clear that Woodriff's gamble had failed. The larger and more powerful Magnanime inflicted severe damage to the British ship's rigging, rendering her unable to manoeuvre or escape, with the remainder of the French squadron bearing down. With defeat inevitable, Woodriff spared the lives of his men by striking his colours and surrendering to Violette. Although Calcutta was badly damaged among her rigging and sails, her hull had suffered little from the engagement and she had only lost six killed and six wounded. French casualties were negligible, although Armide was forced to undergo extensive temporary repairs on her own sails and rigging before she was able to operate as a scout once more. Brothers had also been captured: the corvette Sylphe had separated during the chase and rapidly overhauled the lumbering merchant ship, which had surrendered without a fight


Magnanime engaging HMS Calcutta, Thomas Whitcombe, National Library of Australia


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Magnanime_(1803)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allemand's_expedition_of_1805

 

[Uwek]

17 August 1804 - HMS Loire (1796 - 40) captured privateer frigate Blonde (30) off Bordeaux after a chase of 36 hours.

On 16 August 1804 Loire gave chase to a suspicious-looking sail. After a chase of 20 hours, including a running fight of a quarter of an hour, during which the British had one midshipman and five men wounded, and the French lost two men killed and five wounded, the latter hauled down her colours. She proved to be French privateer Blonde, of Bordeaux, mounting 30 guns, eight-pounders on the main deck, with a crew of 240 men under François Aregnaudeau; the same ship that, about five months earlier, had captured the Wolverine. Loire took the prize in tow to Plymouth where the prisoners were disembarked on 31 August. Blonde was not commissioned in the Royal Navy.



The Ship

Loire was a 44-gun frigate of the French Navy. She was captured following the Battle of Tory Island by a Royal Navy frigate squadron and subsequently taken into British service as HMS Loire.

French service and capture
She took part in the Expédition d'Irlande, and in the Battle of Tory Island, where she battled Kangaroo, Robust, and Anson. After the battle, Loire and Sémillante escaped into Black Cod Bay, where they hoped to hide until they had a clear passage back to France. However, late on 15 October, a British frigate squadron under James Newman Newman rounded the southern headland of the bay, forcing the French ships to flee to the north. Pressing on sail in pursuit, Newman ordered Révolutionaire to focus on Sémillante whilst he pursued Loire in Mermaid, accompanied by the brig Kangaroo under Commander Edward Brace. Loire and Sémillante separated to divide their pursuers; Mermaid and Kangaroo lost track of Loire in the early evening, and Sémillante evaded Révolutionaire after dark. Mermaid and Kangaroo eventually found Loire on 17 October, but after an inconclusive fight that left the British unable to pursue, Loire broke off the engagement and escaped. The next day Loire again engaged Kangaroo and Anson, and was forced to strike after she ran out of ammunition. Out of the 664 men, including three artillery regiments and their Etat-Major, carried on board Loire, 48 were killed and 75 wounded. She was also found to be carrying a large store of clothing, weapons, ammunition and tools for her troops' intended operations. Anson had two men killed and 13 wounded, while the Kangaroo appears to have suffered no casualties


Capture of Loire


Blonde was a French 32-gun privateer corvette, built in Bordeaux around 1801 and commissioned in 1803 under François Aregnaudeau. She preyed on British and American commerce, notably destroying the Royal Navy corvette HMS Wolverine, before the frigate HMS Loire captured her on 17 August 1804.

Blonde started her career in June 1803 under François Aregnaudeau, a promising privateer captain noted for capturing several valuable ships off Dartmouth on Heureux Spéculateur. Blonde had a successful cruise, notably capturing the former Royal Navy brig Flirt, by then commissioned as a whaling ship and returning to London from the South Seas Fisheries.

On 7 July Blonde encountered the British privateer Young Nicholas, of 18 carriage guns and 50 men. The ensuing engagement lasted an hour and a half before Young Nicholas struck after she had suffered four men killed. Aregnaudeau gave her up to her captain and crew in recognition of their "courageous Conduct", and she arrived at Penzance on the 29th.
On 22 July, at Blonde encountered the under-manned East Indiaman Culland's Grove, which struck. Culland's Grove was on her return leg from India and carried a valuable cargo amounting to 2.5 million francs in insurance money.
On 24 February 1804, Blonde departed from Santander, Spain, and in the following days captured the ships Diana, Eclipse, Sally and Rebecca, Rollindson, and Zephir. On 24 March she encountered an eight-ship convoy escorted by the corvette HMS Wolverine a Royal Navy 14-gun brig-sloop launched in 1798, . Aregnaudeau attacked Wolverine and forced her to surrender. Wolverine sank almost immediately after striking. While Blonde's crew was busy rescuing the survivors, the convoy attempted to escape. Still, Blonde managed to capture two ships, Nelson and Union. Blonde then returned to Pasaia, having captured a total of eight ships and 228 prisoners.

Denis Decrès ordered that the most deserving crew members of Blonde be honoured; Aregnaudeau received a sword of honour from the merchants of Bordeaux, and on 18 July 1804 he was made a Knight in the Legion of Honour


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Loire_(1796)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blonde_(1803_ship)

 

[Uwek]

17 August 1807 – Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat leaves New York City for Albany, New York, on the Hudson River, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world.

The North River Steamboat or North River, colloquially known as the Clermont, is widely regarded as the world's first vessel to demonstrate the viability of using steam propulsion for commercial water transportation.[1] Built in 1807, the North River Steamboat operated on the Hudson River – at that time often known as the North River – between New York City and Albany, New York. She was built by the wealthy investor and politician Robert Livingston and inventor and entrepreneur Robert Fulton (1765–1815).


The 1909 replica of the North River Steamboat at anchor

Fulton's descriptions of his steamboat
"My first steamboat on the Hudson's River was 150 feet long, 13 feet wide, drawing 2 ft. of water, bow and stern 60 degrees: she displaced 36.40 cubic feet, equal 100 tons of water; her bow presented 26 ft. to the water, plus and minus the resistance of 1 ft. running 4 miles an hour."

Fulton's published specifications after Steamboat's rebuild:

• Length: 142 feet (43 m)
• Maximum width: 18 feet (4.3 m)
• Maximum height: 62 feet (19 m)
• Depth: 7 feet (2.1 m)
• Displacement: 121 tons
• Average speed: 4.7 miles per hour
• Time saved: 150 miles in 32 hours

The paddle wheels were 4 feet (1.2 m) wide and 15 feet (4.6 m) in diameter.

In the Nautical Gazette the editor, Mr. Samuel Ward Stanton, gives the following additional details:

The bottom of the boat was formed of yellow pine plank 1.5 in. thick, tongued and grooved, and set together with white lead. This bottom or platform was laid in a transverse platform and molded out with batten and nails. The shape of the bottom being thus formed, the floors of oak and spruce were placed across the bottom; the spruce floors being 4×8 inches and 2 feet apart. The oak floors were reserved for the ends, and were both sided and molded 8 inches. Her top timbers (which were of spruce and extended from a log that formed the bridge to the deck) were sided 6 inches and molded at heel, and both sided and molded 4 inches at the head. She had no guards when first built and was steered by a tiller. Her draft of water was 28 inches.

The boat had three cabins with 54 berths, kitchen, larder, pantry, bar, and steward's room.


Model of the North River Steamboat at the Hudson River Maritime Museum

First voyage
The steamer's inaugural run was helmed by Captain Andrew Brink,[2] and left New York on August 17, 1807, with a complement of invited guests aboard. They arrived in Albany two days later, after 32 hours of travel time and a 20-hour stop at Livingston's estate, Clermont Manor. The return trip was completed in 30 hours with only a one-hour stop at Clermont; the average speed of the steamer was 5 mph (8 km/h).

Fulton wrote to a friend, Joel Barlow:

I had a light breeze against me the whole way, both going and coming, and the voyage has been performed wholly by the power of the steam engine. I overtook many sloops and schooners, beating to the windward, and parted with them as if they had been at anchor. The power of propelling boats by steam is now fully proved. The morning I left New York, there were not perhaps thirty persons in the city who believed that the boat would ever move one mile an hour, or be of the least utility, and while we were putting off from the wharf, which was crowded with spectators, I heard a number of sarcastic remarks. This is the way in which ignorant men compliment what they call philosophers and projectors. Having employed much time, money and zeal in accomplishing this work, it gives me, as it will you, great pleasure to see it fully answer my expectations.​

The 1870 book Great Fortunes quotes a former resident of Poughkeepsie who described the scene:

It was in the early autumn of the year 1807 that a knot of villagers was gathered on a high bluff just opposite Poughkeepsie, on the west bank of the Hudson, attracted by the appearance of a strange, dark-looking craft, which was slowly making its way up the river. Some imagined it to be a sea-monster, while others did not hesitate to express their belief that it was a sign of the approaching judgment. What seemed strange in the vessel was the substitution of lofty and straight black smoke-pipes, rising from the deck, instead of the gracefully tapered masts that commonly stood on the vessels navigating the stream, and, in place of the spars and rigging, the curious play of the working-beam and pistons, and the slow turning and splashing of the huge and naked paddle-wheels, met the astonished gaze. The dense clouds of smoke, as they rose wave upon wave, added still more to the wonderment of the rustics.​

Advertisement for the North River Steamboat in 1808

Scheduled passenger service began on September 4, 1807. Steamboat left New York on Saturdays at 6:00 pm, and returned from Albany on Wednesdays at 8:00 am, taking about 36 hours for each journey. Stops were made at West Point, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Esopus, and Hudson; other stops were sometimes made, such as Red Hook and Catskill. In the company's publicity the ship was called North River Steamboat or just Steamboat (there being no other in operation at the time).

1909 Clermont replica


Clermont replica in New York harbor, 1910

A full-sized, 150 foot long by 16 foot wide steam-powered replica, named Clermont, was built by the Staten Island Shipbuilding Company, at Richmond. The replica's design and final appearance was decided by an appointed commission who carefully researched Fulton's steamer from what evidence and word-of-mouth had survived to the early 20th century. Their replica was launched with great fanfare on 10 July 1909 at Staten Island, New York, for the Hudson-Fulton Celebration. The water used to christen her came from the same well Fulton drank from, at Livingston Place, Clermont, New York, and her bell, the original from the old Clermont, was borrowed from the the Hudson River Day Line's riverboat the Robert Fulton (1909).

In 1910, following the large celebration, Clermont was sold by her owners, the Hudson-Fulton Celebration Commission, to defray their losses; she was purchased by the Hudson River Day Line and served the company as a moored river transportation museum at their two locations in New York harbor. In 1911 Clermont was moved to Poughkeepsie, New York and served Day Line as a New York state historic ship attraction. The company eventually lost interest in the steamboat as a money-making attraction and placed her in a tidal lagoon on the inner side of their landing at Kingston Point, New York. For many years Day Line kept Clermont in presentable condition, but as their business and profits slowed during the Great Depression, they voted to stop maintaining her; Clermont was eventually broken up for scrap in 1936, 27 years after her launching




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

 

[Uwek]

17 August 1841 – Launch of HMS Collingwood, Vanguard class (1841-80)


HMS Collingwood was an 80-gun two-deck second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 17 August 1841 at Pembroke Dockyard.


Royal Navy battleship HMS Collingwood (1841)

She was fitted with screw propulsion in 1861, and sold out of the navy in 1867.

One of its first crew was Midshipman (later Commodore) James Graham Goodenough, whilst the ship was in the Pacific fleet of Admiral Sir George Francis Seymour.




The Vanguard-class ships of the line were a class of two-deck 80-gun second rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir William Symonds, of which nine were completed as sailing ships of the line, although another two of these were completed as (and others converted into) steam warships.


Scale: 1:24. Plan showing the midship section with gun elevations and details of construction, and the midship framing elevation illustrating the position of the iron knees and riders for Vanguard (1835), an 80-gun Second Rate, two-decker. The plan was later altered and used for Collingwood (1841), an 80-gun Second Rate, two-decker.


They were originally planned as 78-gun third rates. Two ships were ordered in 1832 and another two in 1833, although one of the latter was intended to be a rebuilding of the second rate Union, and this was subsequently cancelled. At this point the design was modified and they were re-designated as 80-gun second rates. Another ship was ordered to this design in 1838, another seven in 1839 (of which two were subsequently re-ordered three months later as 90-gun ships to a new design - the Albion and Aboukir) and another two in 1840. Two of the above ships were re-ordered and completed as steam battleships - Majesticand Irresistible. A final ship to this design, the Brunswick, was ordered in 1844 but in 1847 she was re-ordered to a modified design.


H.M.S. Vanguard in Malta Harbour 1837. (Shows Medea and Barham) Hand-coloured. William Calmady Nowell, RN was lieutenant on HMS Vanguard in the Mediterranean. H.M.S. Vanguard in Malta Harbour 1837. (Shows Medea and Barham)

Ships

• HMS Vanguard

Builder: Pembroke Dockyard
Launched: 25 August 1835
Fate: Broken up, 1875

• HMS Collingwood

Builder: Pembroke Dockyard
Launched: 17 August 1841
Fate: Sold, 1867

• HMS Goliath

Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Launched: 25 July 1842
Fate: Burnt, 1875

• HMS Superb

Builder: Pembroke Dockyard
Launched: 6 September 1842
Fate: Broken up, 1869


Officer on board the HMS Superb 1845

• HMS Meeanee

Builder: Bombay Dockyard
Launched: 11 November 1848
Fate: Broken up, 1906

• HMS Centurion

Builder: Pembroke Dockyard
Launched: 2 May 1844
Fate: Sold, 1870

• HMS Lion

Builder: Pembroke Dockyard
Launched: 29 July 1847
Fate: Sold, 1905

• HMS Colossus

Builder: Pembroke Dockyard
Launched: 1 June 1848
Fate: Sold, 1867

• HMS Mars

Builder: Chatham Dockyard
Launched: 1 July 1848
Fate: Sold, 1929



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Collingwood_(1841)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanguard-class_ship_of_the_line
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!csearch;searchTerm=Collingwood_1841

 

[Uwek]

Other Events on 17 August


1386 – Karl Topia, the ruler of Princedom of Albania forges an alliance with the Republic of Venice, committing to participate in all wars of the Republic and receiving coastal protection against the Ottomans in return.


Detail of icon of Karl Topia, made by Kostandin Shpataraku in the Ardenica Monastery in the 18th century.

In the last decade of his rule, Karl closely followed the Republic of Venice, particularly with regard to foreign policy. On August 17, 1386, Karl Topia allied himself with Venice and committed himself to participate in all wars of the Republic or pay auxiliary funds and supply grain. In addition, he promised the Venetian buyers protection in his lands. In return, Venice supplied a galley, permitted recruitment of Topia's mercenaries in Venetian areas and instructed the captain of their Adriatic fleet to protect Karl's coasts from the Ottomans. The Ottomans undertook several heavy attacks on Durrës, which also still persisted as Karl died in January 1388. His son, Gjergj, became Karl's successor.

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

1585 – Eighty Years' War: Siege of Antwerp: Antwerp is captured by Spanish forces under Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, who orders Protestants to leave the city and as a result over half of the 100,000 inhabitants flee to the northern provinces.

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

1585 – A first group of colonists sent by Sir Walter Raleigh under the charge of Ralph Lane lands in the New World to create Roanoke Colony on Roanoke Island, off the coast of present-day North Carolina.


Virginea Pars map, drawn by John White during his initial visit in 1585. Roanoke is the small pink island in the middle right of the map.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roanoke_Colony
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Lane

1597 – Islands Voyage: Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and Sir Walter Raleigh set sail on an expedition to the Azores

The Islands Voyage, also known as the Essex-Raleigh Expedition, was an ambitious, but unsuccessful naval campaign sent by Queen Elizabeth I of England, and supported by the United Provinces, against Spain during the Anglo–Spanish War (1585–1604) and the Eighty Years' War.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islands_Voyage
http://www.britannia.com/bios/raleigh/essex.html

1695 - Bombardment of Calais by British.

1701 - Maltese raid on La Goulette

1769 - Launch of French East India Company ship Mars 64 at Lorient for the Compagnie des Indes, purchased in April 1770 by the Navy) - burnt by accident in 1773.

1803 - HMS Porpoise (1799-12) was a 12-gun sloop, wrecked

HMS Porpoise was a 12-gun sloop originally built in Bilbao, Spain, as the packet ship Infanta Amelia. On 6 August 1799 HMS Argo captured her off the coast of Portugal. Porpoise wrecked in 1803 on the North coast of what was then part of the Colony of New South Wales, now called Wreck Reefs, off the coast of Queensland, Australia.


Wreck of the Porpoise, William Westall, 1803, National Library of Australia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Porpoise_(1799)

1810 - Porte du Diable stormed and carried by British.

1812 - USS President (44), Commodore John Rodgers, captures British schooner L'Adeline in North Atlantic

1942 - The submarines USS Nautilus (SS 168) and USS Argonaut (SM 1) land more than 200 Marines on Makin Island, Gilbert Islands, in the first amphibious attack made from submarines.

1943 - Battle off Horaniu

The Battle off Horaniu (Japanese: 第一次ベララベラ海戦) was a minor naval battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II fought on the night of 17 August 1943 near the island of Vella Lavella in the Solomon Islands


U.S. destroyers (from right to left): O'Bannon, Chevalier, and Taylor head towards Tulagi harbor in the Solomon Islands on 15 August 1943, two days before engaging in the Battle off Horaniu.

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

1943 - Army troops enter Messina terminating the campaign in Sicily. Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 15 conducts unopposed landings from motor torpedo boats (PT 215), (PT 216) and (PT 217) on islands of Lipari and Stromboli. Commander Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 15, Lt. E.A. Dubose, accepts the unconditional surrender of the Lipari Islands (Alicudi, Filicudi, Vulcano, Stromboli, Salina and Lipari). Destroyer Trippe (DD 403) covers the operation.

1962 - The Navy's first hydrofoil patrol craft, USS High Point (PCH 1) is launched at Seattle, Wash.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_High_Point_(PCH-1)

1977 – The Soviet icebreaker Arktika becomes the first surface ship to reach the North Pole.


1977 Soviet miniature sheetdedicated to the expedition

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arktika_(1972_icebreaker)

2017 - Expeditionary sea base USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB 3) is commissioned in a ceremony at Khalifa bin Salman Port in Al Hidd, Bahrain.

USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB-3), (formerly USNS Lewis B. Puller (T-ESB-3)), (formerly T-MLP-3/T-AFSB-1)is the first purpose-built Expeditionary Mobile Base (previously Mobile Landing Platform, then Afloat Forward Staging Base) vessel for the United States Navy. She's one of two Expeditionary Mobile Base (ESB) variants of the U.S. Navy's planned fleet of Expeditionary Transfer Dock vessels. Lewis B. Puller replaced USS Ponce (AFSB-(I)-15) with the U.S. Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf in Fall 2017.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Lewis_B._Puller_(ESB-3)

 

[Uwek]

18 August 1759 - The naval Battle of Lagos between Britain and France

took place over two days, on 18 and 19 August 1759, during the Seven Years' War off the coasts of Spain and Portugal, and is named after Lagos, Portugal. For the British, it was part of the Annus Mirabilis of 1759.


Battle of Lagos in 1759 off Portugal - painting by Thomas Luny

Background
The ministers of King Louis XV of France drew up plans to invade Britain in 1759, during the Seven Years' War. An army had been collected at Vannes, in the south-east of Brittany, and transports had been brought together in the landlocked waters of the Morbihan which are connected with Quiberon Bay. The scheme of the French ministers was to combine twenty-one ships of the line lying at Brest under the command of de Conflans, with twelve which were to be brought round from Toulon by Comte de La Clue. The army was then to be carried to some point on the coast of England or Scotland by the united squadrons.


Admiral Edward Boscawen (1711-1761) A full length slightly to right of Boscawen, wearing flag officer’s undress uniform and grey tie wig. His clothes are carefully shown, including the embroidered detailing on his white silk stockings He stands on the rocky shore littered with sea creatures, and with his back to a stormy sea. A ship is visible in the distance on the left, flying a blue flag at the fore on the left. The sitter distinguished himself when commanding the ‘Namur’ at the battle of Finisterre in 1747. In the same year he commenced the abortive expedition against Mauritius, having been made a rear-admiral. At the beginning of the Seven Years War he commanded a squadron in North America but was forced to return home when there was disease in the fleet which killed some 2,000 men. As the admiral at Portsmouth in 1757 he signed the order to shoot Admiral Byng. In the following year he commanded the fleet at the taking of Louisbourg and in 1759 he fought an action off Lagos with the French Toulon squadron which was trying to join the Brest Fleet. In this action three of the enemy were captured and two destroyed, including the flagship. Boscawen ranks among the most important of the navy's officers in the mid-18th century. He was nicknamed Old Dreadnought by sailors and certainly his interest did much to improve their health and living conditions. This is a copy by Reynolds of the painting owned by Lord Falmouth painted in 1755-56. Admiral Edward Boscawen (1711-1761)

The task of blockading de la Clue at Toulon was given to Admiral Edward Boscawen, who had with him fourteen sail of the line. Boscawen reached his station on 16 May 1759. At the beginning of July want of stores and water, together with the injury inflicted on some of his vessels by a French battery, compelled him to go to Gibraltar to provision and refit. He reached the port on 4 August. On 5 August de la Clue left Toulon, his squadron including three frigates as well as twelve ships of the line, and on 17 August passed the straits of Gibraltar, where he was sighted by the look-out ships of Boscawen.


The British Royal Navy defeat the French Mediterranean Fleet at the Battle of Lagos - by Richard Perret

The Battle
The British fleet hurried out to sea, and pursued in two divisions, separated by a distance of some miles owing to the haste with which they left port. Knowing the British had spotted his fleet, during the night of 17/18 August de la Clue decided not to sail to the original rendezvous point, the nearby Spanish port of Cadiz where he feared his fleet would be blockaded, but instead to head for the open ocean. His flagship changed course, hoping the rest of the fleet would follow, but in fact only seven ships of the line did so. The remaining eight ships continued to steer for Cadiz, either because they did not see the leader's course change in the dark, or because their captains wanted to find safety in the nearest friendly port.

In the morning de la Clue found he had only seven ships of the line with him, but was confident the rest would soon rejoin him and so stopped to wait for them. Soon after his lookouts saw eight ships on the horizon, which matched the numbers of the missing portion of his fleet. Only when the ships approached closer and the rest of the British fleet appeared on the horizon, did the French realize they were being pursued by a superior British force, and turned to flee.

To maintain cohesion, the seven French ships had to sail at the speed of the slowest ship in their grouping, the Souverein, and they were gradually overhauled by the faster British ships in the afternoon of 18 August. One, the 74-gun Centaure, was captured after a very gallant resistance, in which the British flagship Namur was severely damaged. Boscawen transferred to Newark.


HMS Namur at the Battle of Lagos / HMS Namur figurehead, Naval Museum of Halifax, CFB Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

During the night of 18/19 August, two of the French ships (Souverain and Guerrier) altered course to the west, and escaped. The remaining four fled to the north, and into Portuguese waters near Lagos, where Océan, de la Clue's flagship, and Redoutable were driven ashore and destroyed, while Téméraire and Modeste were captured.

Aftermath
De la Clue was seriously wounded, and carried ashore in Portugal. The five ships in Cadiz were blockaded by Boscawen's second-in-command, Admiral Broderick.

Although the defeat of the French squadron ruined an integral part of their scheme to invade Britain, the French decided to persevere with their attack. The scheme was finally put to rest in November after the French naval defeat at the Battle of Quiberon Bay.

After refitting, several of Boscawen's victorious Mediterranean ships were sent to join Admiral Hawke's fleet off Ushant, and five were with Hawke when he destroyed the Brest fleet at Quiberon Bay.

A young slave named Olaudah Equiano, who would eventually become a prominent abolitionist in England, participated in the engagement on the English side. He included an account of the battle in his autobiography, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano.

Order of battle
Ships involved with number of guns:

Britain
HMS Namur 90 , launched 1756 (flag)
HMS Prince 90, 1698
HMS Newark 80, 1695
HMS Warspite 74, 1758
HMS Culloden 74, 1747
HMS Conqueror 70, 1758
HMS Swiftsure 70, 1750
HMS Edgar 64, 1758
HMS St Albans 64, 1747
HMS Intrepid 60
HMS America 60, 1757
HMS Princess Louisa 60, 1744
HMS Jersey 60, 1736
HMS Guernsey 50, 1696
HMS Portland 50, 1744
There were also 14 other smaller British ships present - the 40-gun Ambuscade (1746) and Rainbow, the 36-gun Shannon (1757) and Active (1758), the 32-gun Thetis, five 24-gun Sixth Rates Lyme (1748), Gibraltar, Glasgow (1757), Sheerness (1743) and Tartar's Prize, two 16-gun sloops Favourite and Gramont and two 8-gun fireships Aetna and Salamander.


Shannon was built to the same design as HMS Carysfort, (pictured)

France
Océan 80, 1756 (flag) - Aground and burnt August 19
Téméraire 74, 1749 - Captured August 19, She was taken into the Royal Navy as the Third Rate HMS Temeraire
Modeste 64, 1759 - Captured August 19, She was named HMS Modeste, retaining her French name, on 11 January and was added to the navy lists
Redoutable 74 - Aground and burnt August 19
Souverain 74, 1757 - escaped
Guerrier 74 , 1753 - escaped
Centaure 74, 1759 - Captured August 18, commissioned as the third-rate HMS Centaur


The view from Lady Juliana on the morning after the hurricane, featuring Centaur along with HMS Glorieuxand HMS Ville de Paris

Ships which did not take part in the battle, having separated at night and subsequently sailed to Cadiz:
Triton 64
Lion 64
Fantasque 64, 1758
Fier 50
Oriflamme 50, 1744
Frigates :
Minerve 26
Chimère 26
Gracieuse 26


Model of Protée, sister-ship of Fantasque


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lagos
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Boscawen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-François_de_La_Clue-Sabran
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Namur_(1756)

 

[Uwek]

18 August 1798 - HMS Leander (1780 - 50), Cptn. Thomas Boulden Thompson, captured by Genereaux (1785 - 74) Cptn. Lejoille.


HMS Leander was a Portland-class 50-gun fourth rate of the Royal Navy, launched at Chatham on 1 July 1780. She served on the West Coast of Africa, West Indies, and the Halifax station. During the French Revolutionary Wars she participated in the Battle of the Nile before a French ship captured her. The Russians and Turks recaptured her and returned her to the Royal Navy in 1799. On 23 February 1805, while on the Halifax station, Leander captured the French frigate Ville de Milan and recaptured her prize, HMS Cleopatra. On 25 April 1805 cannon fire from Leander killed an American seaman while Leander was trying to search an American vessel off the US coast for contraband. The resulting "Leander Affair" contributed to the worsening of relations between the United States and Great Britain. In 1813 the Admiralty converted Leander to a hospital ship under the name Hygeia. Hygeia was sold in 1817.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines with some inboard detail, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed for a 50-gun Ship. The dimensions match those of the Portland class (approved 1766), which was based on the plan for Romney (1762). The Portland class was ordered in two batches: Portland (1770), Bristol (1775), Renown (1774), and Isis (1774); then Leopard (1790), Hannibal (1779), Jupiter (1778), Leander (1780), Adamant (1780), Europa (1783), and Assistance (1781). All were 50-gun Fourth Rate, two-deckers. The ticked lines represent Romney.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/81508.html#ytgwYmGe1MuL13t7.99


Action between H.M.S. Leander and the French National Ship Le Genereux, August 18th 1798

Nile
Under Captain Thomas Thompson Leander took part in the Battle of the Nile on 1 August 1798. She was able to exploit a gap in the French line and anchor between Peuple Souverain and Franklin, from which position she raked both enemy ships while protected from their broadsides. In the battle she suffered only 14 men wounded.

Capture
Carrying Nelson's dispatches from the Nile and accompanied by Sir Edward Berry, Leander encountered the 74-gun French third rate Généreux off Crete on 18 August 1798. In the subsequent action, Leander lost 35 men killed and 57 wounded, including Thompson. The French suffered 100 killed and 180 wounded, but captured Leander. The French took her into service under her existing name.

The French treated the prisoners badly and plundered almost everything but the clothes the British had on their backs. When Thompson remonstrated with Captain Lejoille of Généreux, Lejoille answered nonchalantly, "J'en suis fâché, mais le fait est, que les Français sont bons au pillage." ("It makes me angry, but the fact is, the French are good at pillaging.") They refused treatment for Thompson, who had been badly wounded. Leander's surgeon, Mr. Mulberry, was able to remove a musket ball from Thompson's arm only after the vessels reached Corfu on 1 September and he was smuggled aboard the vessel where the French were holding Thompson. Most of the officers returned to Britain on parole but the French detained a number of seamen, and in particular Thomas Jarrat, the carpenter, after he refused to reveal to them the dimensions of Leander's masts and spars. Captain Lejoille tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to get some of the British crew that he had detained to assist him when a Turko-Russian fleet appeared off Corfu. The British refused.

The subsequent court-martial aboard HMS America at Sheerness most honourably acquitted Thompson, his officers, and his crew. The court also thanked Berry for the assistance he gave during the battle. As Thompson was rowed back to shore, the crews of all the ships at Sheerness saluted him with three cheers. He was subsequently knighted and awarded a pension of £200 per annum.

Leander was at Corfu when a joint Russian and Ottoman force besieged the island. On 28 February 1799, the Russians and Ottomans attacked Vido, a small island (less than a kilometer across) at the mouth of the port of Corfu. A four-hour bombardment by several ships suppressed all five shore batteries on the island. Leander and the corvette Brune tried to intervene but were damaged and forced to retreat to the protection of the batteries of Corfu.

The Russians and Turks recaptured Leander and Brune when Corfu capitulated to them on 3 March 1799. The Russians restored Leander to the Royal Navy. They also gave Brune to the Ottomans.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Leander_(1780)
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collec...el-325536;browseBy=vessel;vesselFacetLetter=L
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Généreux_(1785)

 

[Uwek]

18 August 1803 – Launch of HMS Hero 74guns Fame class Ship of the Line


HMS Hero was a 74-gun third rate of the Royal Navy, launched on 18 August 1803 at Blackwall Yard.


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the body plan, sheer lines, and longitudinal half-breadth proposed (and approved) for 'Illustrious' (1803), 'Albion' (1802), 'Hero' (1803), 'Marlborough' (1807), 'York' (1807), 'Hannibal' (1810), 'Sultan' (1807), and 'Royal Oak' (1809), all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers. The alterations relating to the catheads and forecastle beams refer to 'Hannibal' (1810), and to 'Victorious' (1808) of the 'Swiftsure' class (1800). Signed by John Henslow [Surveyor of the Navy 1784-1806] and William Rule [Surveyor of the Navy, 1793-1813].
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/80824.html#d8we3788GUig1AXg.99


Scale: 1:48. Plan showing the inboard profile for 'Illustrious' (1803), 'Albion' (1802), 'Hero' (1803), and 'Fame' (1805), all 74-gun Third Rate, two-deckers. Note: that in April 1801 alterations were made to 'Illustrious', 'Albion', and 'Hero' for forming a platform below the orlop deck for additional store rooms, and a Shot Locker underneath.
Read more at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/80826.html#zqqB70V1lFGTjP6o.99

She took part in Admiral Robert Calder's action at the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805.

On 25 December 1811 Hero, under captain James Newman-Newman, was wrecked on the Haak Sands at the mouth of the Texel during a gale, with the loss of all but 12 of her crew.


The wreck of HMS Hero in the Texel, 25 December 1811

The Fame-class ships of the line were a class of four 74-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir John Henslow. After the name-ship of the class was ordered in October 1799, the design was slightly altered before the next three ships were ordered in February 1800. A second batch of five ships was ordered in 1805 to a slightly further modified version of the original draught.

First batch

• HMS Fame 1805
• HMS Albion 1802
• HMS Hero 1803
• HMS Illustrious 1803

Second batch

• HMS Marlborough 1807
• HMS York 1807
• HMS Sultan 1807
• HMS Hannibal 1810
• HMS Royal Oak 1809

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Hero_(1803)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fame-class_ship_of_the_line

 

[Uwek]

18 August 1838 - The United States Exploring Expedition led by Lt. Charles Wilkes weighs anchor at Hampton Roads on a world cruise


The United States Exploring Expedition was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States from 1838 to 1842. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby Jones. Funding for the original expedition was requested by President John Quincy Adams in 1828, however, Congress would not implement funding until eight years later. In May 1836, the oceanic exploration voyage was finally authorized by Congress and created by President Andrew Jackson. The expedition is sometimes called the "U.S. Ex. Ex." for short, or the "Wilkes Expedition" in honor of its next appointed commanding officer, United States Navy Lieutenant Charles Wilkes. The expedition was of major importance to the growth of science in the United States, in particular the then-young field of oceanography. During the event, armed conflict between Pacific islanders and the expedition was common and dozens of natives were killed in action, as well as a few Americans.


Route of the voyage :
1. Hampton Roads; 2. Madeira; 3. Rio de Janeiro;
4. Tierra del Fuego; 5. Valparaíso; 6. Callao; 7. Samoa;
8. Fiji; 9. Sydney; 10. Antarctica; 11. Hawaii


Return route :
1. Puget Sound; 2. Columbia; 3. San Francisco;
4. Polynesia; 5. Philippines; 6. Borneo; 7. Singapore;
8. Cape of Good Hope; 9. New York

Ships

• USS Vincennes, 780 tons, 18 guns, sloop-of-war, flagship
• USS Peacock, 650 tons, 22 guns, sloop-of-war
• USS Relief, 468 tons, 7 guns, full-rigged ship
• USS Porpoise, 230 tons, 10 guns, brig
• USS Sea Gull, 110 tons, 2 guns, schooner
• USS Flying Fish, 96 tons, 2 guns, schooner
• USS Oregon, formerly the Baltimore brig Thomas W. Perkins, purchased as a replacement for the Peacock[

USS Vincennes at Disappointment Bay, Antarctica in early 1840

American Artifacts Preview: U.S. Exploring Expedition of 1838-1842


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

 

[Uwek]

18 August 1887 – Launch of SS Britannia, british passenger steamer

SS Britannia was a British Passenger Liner that was scrapped after 22 years of duty (1887–1909) at Genoa, Italy.



Construction
Britannia was constructed in 1887 at the Caird & Co. shipyard in Greenock, United Kingdom and she was named Britannia and served from 1887 to 1909. She was launched on 18 August 1887 and was completed on 11 October 1887. The sea trials began on 15 October 1887 and after completing them the ship departed on her maiden voyage on 16 October 1887. She had one sister ship SS Victoria. She was also fitted with unsubsidised gun platforms in case of auxiliary cruiser duties.

The ship was 141.9 metres (465 ft 7 in) long, with a beam of 15.8 metres (51 ft 10 in) and a depth of 7.9 metres (25 ft 11 in). The ship was assessed at 6,525 GRT. She had a Three cylinder triple expansion steam engine driving a single screw propeller. The engine was rated at 7000 i.h.p.

Career
Britannia had a successful career. On 5 November 1887 she established a new British/Indian mail record of 23 days 10 hours, at an average speed of 16 knots. She was also used as a experimental charter for six months in 1894-1895 in which she could cary 1,200 Indian troops (or 2,700 in emergency). She continued to serve as a troop ship from 1895 to 1897.



In 1904 the ship was refitted and modernised for revised mail contracts and was returned to service in 1905. In 1907 she carried Prince Fushimi Hiroyasuof Japan on a state visit to London, United Kingdom.

The Final Days
In August 1909 the ship was sold for £11,520 to Fratelli Cerruti fu Allesandra, Italy to be broken up and arrived in Genoa, Italy on 22 August 1909 together with her sistership Victoria where they were scrapped alongside each other.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Britannia_(1887)
http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?ref=3919

 

[Uwek]

18 August 1920 – Launch of Oceanliner RMS Empress of Canada


RMS Empress of Canada was an ocean liner built in 1920 for the Canadian Pacific Steamships (CP) by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland. This ship—the first of two CP vessels to be named Empress of Canada—regularly traversed the trans-Pacific route between the west coast of Canada and the Far East until 1939.


Starboard side view of the British transport SS "Empress of Canada" which carried New Zealand troops to the Middle East as part of Convoy US-1 in 1940-1941; and this ship carried Australian troops to the United Kingdom as part of Convoy US-3 in 1940-1945. NOTE the defensive arrmament consisting of a 6-inch gun right aft with a 3-inch AA gun sited above it. (Naval Historical Collection)

History
In 1920, Canadian Pacific Steamships ordered a new ship to be built by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan near Glasgow in Scotland. This Empress was a 21,517 ton, 653-foot ocean liner. The ship was launched 18 August 1920 with a notable speech by the general manager of the Canadian Pacific Ocean Services, Ltd., Sir Thomas Fisher, noted the approximately $6,800,000 price compared to a pre-war cost of about $2,200,000 and cost of operation that had risen at least 350 per cent had forced first class fares from $76 to $202 (based on a $4 to the pound sterling) and predicted dire consequences for shipping and the British Empire. A world tour, planned for the spring of 1921, was cancelled due to labor disturbances making on-schedule completion doubtful.

She undertook her maiden voyage on 5 May 1922. Based at the port of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the first Empress of Canada was intended to provide service to Japan, Hong Kong, and China. She was at the time the largest vessel ever engaged in transpacific service. Her sister ships included Empress of France and Empress of Britain.

Great Kantō earthquake
On 24 September 1923, Empress of Canada arrived at Tokyo harbor—just three days after the devastating Great Kantō earthquake struck the city. She found that the Canadian ocean liner RMS Empress of Australia had been converted to a command post from which the British consul was directing relief work, and the Empress of Canada transported refugees – 587 Europeans, 31 Japanese, and 362 Chinese – to Kobe, Japan.

On 13 October 1929, Empress of Canada ran aground off Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Ninety-six passengers were taken off by tenderand landed at Victoria, British Columbia. She was refloated on 15 October and towed to Esquimalt, British Columbia, for drydocking.

World War II
Following the outbreak of World War II in 1939, she was converted for use as a troopship. She was one of the ships in the first Australian/New Zealand convoy, designated US.1 for secrecy, destined for North Africa and at that time not yet fully converted for full troop capacity with few ships of the convoy carrying more than 25% more than their normal passenger load.[9] Empress of Canada departed Wellington 6 January 1940 with the New Zealand elements, joined the Australian ships and arrived Aden on 8 February from where the convoy split with all ships heading for Suez.


SS Empress of Canada's ballroom was cleared for sleeping as ANZAC troops are transported from the Antipodes to the war zones in the Northern Hemisphere. This specific image was captured at sea in January 1940 near Fremantle, Western Australia.

She continued to transport ANZAC troops from New Zealand and from Australia to the war zones in Europe until sunk. The return voyage from Europe was not less dangerous than the trip north had been. On 13 March 1943, while en route from Durban, South Africa to Takoradi carrying Italian prisoners of war along with Polish and Greek refugees, the SS Empress of Canada was torpedoed and sunk by the Italian submarine Leonardo da Vinci approximately 400 miles (640 km) south of Cape Palmas off the coast of Africa. Of the approximate 1800 people on board, 392 died. Nearly half of the fatalities reported were Italian prisoners


RM Da Vinci, the top scoring Italian submarine in WWII


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Empress_of_Canada_(1920)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_submarine_Leonardo_da_Vinci_(1939)

 

[Uwek]

Other Events on 18 August


1342 - battle of Brest, sometimes called the battle of the River Penfeld

The battle of Brest, sometimes called the battle of the River Penfeld, was an action in 1342 between an English squadron of converted merchant ships and that of a mercenary galley force from Genoa fighting for the Franco-Breton faction of Charles of Blois during the Breton War of Succession, a side conflict of the Hundred Years War.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Brest_(1342)

1590 – John White, the governor of the Roanoke Colony, returns from a supply trip to England and finds his settlement deserted.

Governor White finally reached Roanoke Island on 18 August 1590, his granddaughter's third birthday, but he found his colony had been long deserted. The buildings had collapsed and "the houses [were] taken downe." The few clues about the colonists' whereabouts included the letters "CRO" carved into a tree, and the word "CROATOAN" carved on a post of the fort. Croatoan was the name of a nearby island (likely modern-day Hatteras Island) and of a local tribe of Native Americans. Roanoke Island was not the original planned location for the colony and the idea of moving elsewhere had been discussed. Before the Governor's departure, he and the colonists had agreed that a message would be carved into a tree if they had moved and would include an image of a Maltese Cross if the decision was made by force. White found no such cross and was hopeful that his family were still alive.

True to their word, the colonists had looked after White's belongings, which had been carefully buried and hidden. However, local Indians had evidently looted the hiding place, and White found "about the place many of my things spoyled and broken, and my books torne from the covers, the frames of some of my pictures and mappes rotten and spoyled with rayne, and my armour almost eaten through with rust."

Due to weather which "grew to be fouler and fouler," White had to abandon the search of adjacent islands for the colonists. The ship's captain had already lost three anchors and could not afford the loss of another. White returned to Plymouth, England, on 24 October 1590.

The loss of the colony was a personal tragedy for White, from which he never fully recovered. He would never return to the New World, and in a letter to Richard Hakluyt he wrote that he must hand over the fate of the colonists and his family "to the merciful help of the Almighty, whom I most humbly beseech to helpe and comfort them."


John White discovers the word "CROATOAN" carved at Roanoke's fort palisade.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_White_(colonist_and_artist)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roanoke_Colony

1762 - HMS Rainbow (44), Cptn. Mark Robinson, took Hancock.

1777 - Launch of Nymphe class 32 gun frigate Nymphe

HMS Nymphe was a fifth-rate frigate of the British Royal Navy, formerly the French La Nymphe. HMS Flora, under the command of Captain William Peere Williams, captured Nymphe off Ushant on 10 August 1780. Indiscriminately referred to as Nymph, Nymphe, La Nymph or La Nymphe in contemporary sources, she served during the American, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. On 19 May 1793, while under the command of Captain Edward Pellew, she captured the frigate Cléopâtre, the first French warship captured in a single-ship action of the war. After a long period of service in which she took part in several notable actions and made many captures, Nymphe was wrecked off the coast of Scotland on 18 December 1810.


A sketch of the engagement between Nymphe and Cleopatre by Nicholas Pocock, 1793

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Nymphe_(1780)

1789 - Royal Visit to Plymouth Sound.

1806 - Boats of HMS Galatea (32), Cptn. Murray Maxwell, pursued a Spanish privateer schooner for some miles up a river on the Spanish Main near Porto Cavallo. They took the vessel and blew her up.

1806 – Launch of French Adonis, Abeille-class brig (see also 1808!!!)

The Abeille class was a type of 16-gun brig-corvette of the French Navy, designed by François Pestel with some units refined by Pierre-Jacques-Nicolas Rolland. They were armed with either 24-pounder carronades, or a mixture of light 6-pounder long guns and lighter carronades. 21 ships of this type were built between 1801 and 1812, and served in the Napoleonic Wars.


1/36th scale model of Cygne, on display at the Musée national de la Marine in Paris.

The four first ships were ordered in bulk on 24 December 1800, but two (Mouche, Serin) could not be completed due to shortags of timbers. As the forerunner of the series, Abeille, is not always identified as such in British sources, the type is sometimes referred to as the Sylphe class, after Sylphe, which served as model for subsequent constructions.

Another ship of the class was the Cygne (see model), from which is a beautifull monographie in scale 1:48 available by ancre,
draughts by Jean Boudriot - see pdf in attachments

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abeille-class_brig
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_brig_Cygne_(1806)
https://ancre.fr/en/monograph/35-monographie-du-cygne-brick-1806.html

1807 - First day of Admiral Gambier's light squadron engagement in Copenhagen Roads.

1807 - Boats of HMS Confiance (18), Cptn. James Lucas Yeo, cut out privateer Reitrada from the port of Guardia, Portugal

1807 – Launch of Danaé at Genoa. Consolante class, (40-gun design by François Pestel, with 28 x 18-pounder and 12 x 8-pounder guns).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Danaé_(1807)

1808 - HMS Rook captured by two French privateers.

1808 - french Abeille class brig Sylphe was captured by HMS Comet


Abeille class

1811 - HMS Hawke (16), Cptn. Henry Bourchior, engaged a French convoy and escorts. They took four vessels laden with stores, brig Heron and three transports, No 710, Concord and L'Amiable Amie, in the Channel off St. Marcou.

1811 – Launch of French frigate Danae, Consolante class

The Danaé was a 44-gun Consolante-class frigate of the French Navy.
On 12 March 1811, she was part of Bernard Dubourdieu's squadron sailing to raid the British commerce raider base of the island of Lissa. The squadron encountered William Hoste's frigate squadron, leading to the Battle of Lissa. Danaé was damaged by HMS Volage and had to retreat to Lesina for repairs.
In the night of 4 September 1812, she exploded in the harbour of Trieste.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Danaé_(1807)

1812 - HMS Attack (14), Lt. Richard Simmonds, sunk by 14 Danish gun-boats , under Lieutenant Jørgen C. de Falsen, off Foreness

1813 - Capture of Cassis by HMS Undaunted (38), Cptn. Thomas Ussher, squadron, and boats.

1813 – Launch of schooner USS Sylph

USS Sylph was a schooner in the United States Navy during the War of 1812.
Built to strengthen Commodore Isaac Chauncey's squadron on Lake Ontario, Sylph was laid down on 26 July 1813 at Sackett's Harbor, New York, by Henry Eckford; and launched on 18 August 1813.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Sylph_(1813)

1842 – Death of Louis de Freycinet, French explorer and navigator (b. 1779)

Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet (7 August 1779 – 18 August 1841) was a French navigator. He circumnavigated the earth, and in 1811 published the first map to show a full outline of the coastline of Australia.



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

 

[Uwek]

19 August 1702 - The Action of August 1702

was a naval battle that took place from 19–25 August 1702 O.S. between an English squadron under Vice-Admiral John Benbow and a French under Admiral Jean du Casse, off Cape Santa Marta on the coast of present-day Colombia, South America, during the War of the Spanish Succession. Benbow vigorously attacked the French squadron, but the refusal of most of his captains to support the action allowed du Casse to escape. Benbow lost a leg during the engagement and died of illness about two months later. Two of the captains were convicted of cowardice and shot.

Benbow's resolution to pursue the French, in what proved to be his last fight, proved irresistible to the public imagination. The events of the fight inspired a number of ballads, usually entitled Admiral Benbow or Brave Benbow, which were still favourites among British sailors more than a century later.

Prelude
Upon the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession, Benbow was sent to the West Indies with a small squadron, with the intention of keeping the Spanish possessions there out of the hands of the French. Du Casse was dispatched to Cartagena with a squadron to compel its allegiance to Philip V. Benbow set out to intercept them.


Portrait of Admiral John Benbow

Course of battle
On 19 August 1702, Benbow's squadron encountered the French along the coast of Colombia, off Santa Marta, a little to the east of the mouth of the Rio Magdalena. He ordered his squadron to engage, but Defiance and Windsor being astern and showing no great haste, they had to be ordered to make more sail. Benbow intended to wait for Defiance to come up; but Falmouth opened the engagement by attacking the frigate, and Windsor a ship abreast of her, at four o'clock. Breda joined in, but Defiance and Windsor broke off after a few broadsides and left the Breda under fire from the French, the battle continuing until nightfall. Breda and Ruby pursued the French all night, while the rest of the squadron straggled.

Pursuit continued through the 20th, with the Breda and Ruby firing chase-guns as they could. Engaging again on the morning of the 21st, Ruby was badly damaged; Defiance and Windsor refused action, though abreast of the last French ship. The Greenwich had now fallen five leagues astern. On the 22nd, Breda captured the galley Anne, originally an English ship captured by the French, and the damaged Ruby was ordered to return to Port Royal.


Adml John Benbow courageously commanding his Men to fight after his Leg was shattered to Pieces, St Martha (West Indies) 19-24 July 1702

During the night of the 24th, Benbow engaged one of the enemy ships alone and had his right leg wrecked by a chain shot, returning to the quarter-deck as soon as it could be dressed. Flag-Captain Fogg ordered the other captains of the squadron to keep the line of battle; in response, Captain Kirkby of Defiance came aboard and told Benbow, "You had better desist, the French are very strong." Finding the other captains largely of the same opinion, Benbow broke off and returned to Jamaica.

Aftermath
Benbow received a letter from Jean du Casse after the engagement:

Sir, I had little hopes on Monday last but to have supped in your cabin: but it pleased God to order it otherwise. I am thankful for it. As for those cowardly captains who deserted you, hang them up, for by God they deserve it.
Yours,
Du Casse

Such was indeed his course: Benbow held courts-martial upon his captains upon their return. Captains Kirkby and Wade were found guilty of cowardice and sentenced to be shot; Wade was said to have been drunk throughout the engagement. Captain Constable was cleared of the charge of cowardice, but was convicted on other charges and cashiered. Captain Hudson died before he could be tried. Captains Fogg and Vincent were charged with having signed a paper with the other captains of the squadron, stating they would not fight, but they represented this as a device to keep Captain Kirkby from deserting; Benbow testifying in their favour, they were merely suspended.

Benbow's leg was amputated; but a fever developed, doubtless abetted by the low conduct of his captains, and he died on 4 November 1702. Kirkby, Wade, and Constable were sent to Plymouth aboard HMS Bristol, where their sentences were confirmed by the Lord High Admiral. Kirkby and Wade were shot aboard Bristol on 16 April 1703. Fogg and Vincent were permitted to return to the service.


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

Order of battle
Benbow's squadron
Benbow's squadron consisted of seven ships:

• Breda, 70, 1692 Captain Christopher Fogg (flagship)
• Defiance, 64, 1675 Captain Richard Kirkby
• Greenwich, 54, 1666 Captain Cooper Wade
• Ruby, 48, 1652 Captain George Walton
• Pendennis, 48, 1695 Captain Thomas Hudson
• Windsor, 48, 1695 Captain John Constable
• Falmouth, 48, 1693 Captain Samuel Vincent

The French ship Protée capturing the English ship HMS Pendennis , supported by the French Triton and Salisbury. In the background, the battle between six other French warships, French privateers, and the English ships Blackwall and HMS Sorlings. The battle actually took place on 20 October 1705.

Du Casse's squadron

• Heureux, 70, flag of du Casse, with Captain Bennet
• Agréable, 56, 1671 Captain de Roussy
• Phénix, 50, Captain de Poudens
• Apollon, 50, Captain de Demuin
• Prince de Frise, 56 Lieut. de St André
• One transport
• Four sloops

Scale model of Agreable on display at the Musée de la Marine in Paris


"Brave Benbow"

An engraving produced in 1804 that helped to promote the legend of the event, entitled The gallant Benbow defeating the French Squadron. It shows Benbow's leg as completely shot away. Underneath another hand has written Benbow gives chase to de Grasse.
Benbow's fame led to his name entering popular culture. A monument by sculptor John Evan Thomas was erected in 1843 by public subscription in St Mary's Church, Shrewsbury commemorating Benbow as "a skillful and daring seaman whose heroic exploits long rendered him the boast of the British Navy and still point him out as the Nelson of his times." A 74-gun ship of the line and two battleships were named HMS Benbow.


Figurehead from HMS Benbow, 72 guns, launched at Rotherhithe in 1813.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The surgeon dress'd his wounds,
Cries Benbow, cries Benbow
The surgeon dress'd his wounds, cries Benbow.
Let a cradle now in haste,
on the quarterdeck be placed
That the enemy I may face
'Til I die, 'Til I die.​

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_August_1702
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Benbow
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_du_Casse
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Benbow_(1813)

 

[Uwek]

19 August 1711 - Birth of Edward Boscawen, PC (19 August 1711 – 10 January 1761)


who was an Admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament for the borough of Truro, Cornwall. He is known principally for his various naval commands during the 18th century and the engagements that he won, including the Siege of Louisburg in 1758 and Battle of Lagos in 1759.[2] He is also remembered as the officer who signed the warrant authorising the execution of Admiral John Byng in 1757, for failing to engage the enemy at the Battle of Minorca (1756). In his political role, he served as a Member of Parliament for Truro from 1742 until his death although due to almost constant naval employment he seems not to have been particularly active. He also served as one of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty on the Board of Admiralty from 1751 and as a member of the Privy Council from 1758 until his death in 1761.


Admiral Edward Boscawen (1711-1761) A full length slightly to right of Boscawen, wearing flag officer’s undress uniform and grey tie wig. His clothes are carefully shown, including the embroidered detailing on his white silk stockings He stands on the rocky shore littered with sea creatures, and with his back to a stormy sea. A ship is visible in the distance on the left, flying a blue flag at the fore on the left. The sitter distinguished himself when commanding the ‘Namur’ at the battle of Finisterre in 1747. In the same year he commenced the abortive expedition against Mauritius, having been made a rear-admiral. At the beginning of the Seven Years War he commanded a squadron in North America but was forced to return home when there was disease in the fleet which killed some 2,000 men. As the admiral at Portsmouth in 1757 he signed the order to shoot Admiral Byng. In the following year he commanded the fleet at the taking of Louisbourg and in 1759 he fought an action off Lagos with the French Toulon squadron which was trying to join the Brest Fleet. In this action three of the enemy were captured and two destroyed, including the flagship. Boscawen ranks among the most important of the navy's officers in the mid-18th century. He was nicknamed Old Dreadnought by sailors and certainly his interest did much to improve their health and living conditions. This is a copy by Reynolds of the painting owned by Lord Falmouth painted in 1755-56. Admiral Edward Boscawen (1711-1761)

Commands held

• HMS Leopard
• HMS Shoreham
• HMS Prince Frederick
• HMS Dreadnought
• Commander-in-chief, India
• Lord of the Admiralty Board
• Commander-in-chief, Mediterranean

Battles/wars
Anglo-Spanish War (1727–1729)
War of Jenkins' Ear

• Battle of Porto Bello
• Battle of Cartagena de Indias

War of the Austrian Succession

• Planned French invasion of Britain (1744)
• First Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747)
• Siege of Pondicherry (1748)

Seven Years' War

• Action of 8 June 1755
• Siege of Louisbourg (1758)
• Battle of Lagos

Legacy
The town of Boscawen, New Hampshire is named after him.[30] Two ships and a stone frigate of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Boscawen, after Admiral Boscawen, whilst another ship was planned but the plans were shelved before she was commissioned. The stone frigate was a training base for naval cadets and in consequence three ships were renamed HMS Boscawen whilst being used as the home base for the training establishment.

Quotes
Boscawen was quoted as saying "To be sure I lose the fruits of the earth, but then, I am gathering the flowers of the Sea" (1756) and "Never fire, my lads, till you see the whites of the Frenchmen's eyes.


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

 

[Uwek]

19 August 1801 - HMS Sybille (1791 - 44), Cptn. Chas. Adam, captured French national frigate Chiffone, in Mahe Road - also known as the Battle of Mahe


The Battle of Mahé was a minor naval engagement of the last year of the French Revolutionary Wars, fought on 19 August 1801 in the harbour of Mahéin the Seychelles, a French colony in the Indian Ocean. Since the demise of the French Indian Ocean squadron in 1799, the Royal Navy had maintained dominance in the East Indies, controlling the shipping routes along which trade flowed and allowing the rapid movement of military forces around the theatre. French First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte had long-harboured ambitions of threatening British India, and in 1798 had launched an invasion of Egypt as an initial step to achieving this goal. The campaign had failed, and the French army in Egypt was under severe pressure by early 1801, partly due to the presence of a British squadron acting with impunity in the Red Sea.



To disrupt British ships supplying the Red Sea squadron the French Navy sent the newly built 36-gun frigate Chiffonne to the Western Indian Ocean under the command of Pierre Guiyesse. This ship, also carrying 32 exiled political prisoners, was instructed to operate from Mahé. After an eventual journey, Chiffone arrived in the Seychelles in August and Guiyesse ordered his crew to effect repairs before the mission could begin. ed in a bay sheltered by coral reefs and protected by a hastily erected gun battery, he believed his ship would be safe from attack.

The British commander in the region, Rear-Admiral Peter Rainier, had assumed the French would send a force against the Red Sea squadron and ordered the 38-gun frigate HMS Sibylle under Captain Charles Adam to investigate. Adam sailed to Mahé and discovered the French ship undergoing repairs. Carefully manoeuvring through the coral reefs, Adam brought Sybille alongside Chiffone and fought a brief but fiercely contested battle before Guiyesse was forced to surrender. A month later, the French brig Flèche, operating from the same harbour on the same mission, was intercepted and sunk by the brig HMS Victor. These operations were the last significant actions of the war in the Indian Ocean, the Peace of Amiens coming into effect in October.


Sibylle was a 38-gun Hébé-class frigate of the French Navy. She was launched in 1791 at the dockyards in Toulon and placed in service in 1792. After the 50-gun fourth rate HMS Romney captured her in 1794, the British took her into service as HMS Sybille. She served in the Royal Navy until disposed of in 1833. While in British service Sybille participated in three notable single ship actions, in each case capturing a French vessel. On anti-slavery duties off West Africa from July 1827 to June 1830, Sybille captured numerous slavers and freed some 3,500 slaves. She was finally sold in 1833 in Portsmouth.

Chiffonne was a 38-gun Heureuse-class frigate of the French Navy. She was built at Nantes and launched in 1799. The British Royal Navy captured her in 1801. In 1809 she participated in a campaign against pirates in the Persian Gulf. She was sold for breaking up in 1814.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mahé
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Sibylle_(1792)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_frigate_Chiffone_(1799)