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Thread: Battle of Cape Santa Maria 1804.

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    Default Battle of Cape Santa Maria 1804.

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    The Battle of Cape Santa Maria (also known as the "Battle of Cape St Mary"; in Spanish Batalla del Cabo de Santa María) was a naval action of 5 October 1804 that took place off the southern Portuguese coast, in which a British squadron under the command of Commodore Graham Moore attacked a Spanish squadron commanded by Brigadier Don José de Bustamante y Guerra, in time of peace, without declaration of war between the UK and Spain.

    Background.

    Under the terms of a secret convention Spain had to pay 72 million francs annually to France until it declared war on Britain. The British had learned of the treaty, and knew it was likely that Spain would declare war soon after the arrival of the treasure ships. Since the British also knew that by law the fleet could only land at Cádiz, as well as its place and approximate time of departure from South America, it was not difficult to position a squadron to intercept it.

    Bustamante had set sail from Montevideo on 9 August 1804 with four frigates loaded with gold and silver, as well as much other valuable cargo. On 22 September Vice Admiral Lord Collingwood ordered Captain Graham Moore, commanding the 44-gun razee frigate HMS Indefatigable, to intercept and detain the Spanish ships, peacefully, if possible.

    Moore's ship arrived off Cadiz on 29 September and was joined on 2 October by HMS Lively, and by HMS Medusa and HMS Amphion the day after. In line abreast they patrolled the approaches to Cádiz.

    The battle.

    At dawn on 5 October, the Spanish frigates sighted the coast of Portugal. At 7 a.m. they sighted the four British frigates. Bustamante ordered his ships into line of battle, and within an hour the British came up in line, to windward of the Spaniards and "within pistol-shot".

    Moore, the British Commodore, sent Lieutenant Ascott to the Spanish flagship Medea, to explain his orders. Bustamante naturally refused to surrender and, impatient of delays, at 10 a.m. Moore ordered a shot be fired ahead over the bows of Medea. Almost immediately a general exchange of fire broke out. Within ten minutes the magazine of the Mercedes exploded destroying the ship, and killing all but 40 of her 240 crew. Within half an hour the Santa Clara and the Medea had surrendered. Fama broke away and tried to flee; Medusa quickly followed. Moore ordered the faster Lively to pursue, capturing Fama a few hours later.The three frigates were taken to Gibraltar, and then to Gosport, England.

    The results.

    Spain declared war on Great Britain on 14 December 1804, but suffered a catastrophic defeat less than a year later at the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805. Napoleon, having crowned himself Emperor on 2 December, gained Spain as an ally in his war against Britain.

    In practical terms, the British interception of the four Real Armada frigates represented the end of an era for Bourbon Spain and regular specie shipments from the Spanish Empire's New World mines and mints. The squadron to which Mercedes belonged was the last of its kind that the world would see: a Spanish treasure fleet moving bullion from the New World Viceroyalties to the Iberian kingdoms.

    Under the terms of the Cruizers and Convoys Act of 1708 ships captured at sea were "Droits of the Crown" and became the property of their captors, who received the full value of the ships and cargo in prize money. However, since technically Britain and Spain were not at war at the time of the action, the Admiralty Court ruled that the three ships were "Droits of the Admiralty", and all revenues would revert to them. The four Spanish ships carried a total of 4,286,508 Spanish dollars in silver and gold coin, as well as 150,000 gold ingots, 75 sacks of wool, 1,666 bars of tin, 571 pigs of copper, seal skins and oil, although 1.2 million in silver, half the copper and a quarter of the tin went down with the Mercedes. Still, the remaining ships and cargo were assessed at a value of £900,000 (equivalent to £69,103,000 in 2018). After much legal argument an ex gratia payment was made amounting to £160,000, of which the four Captains would have received £15,000 each (equivalent to £1,152,000 in 2018).
    Medea was taken into the Royal Navy as HMS Iphigenia (later renamed HMS Imperieuse), Santa Clara as HMS Leocadia and Fama as HMS Fama.
    Aftermath.

    In March 2007 the Florida-based company Odyssey Marine Exploration recovered 17 tons of gold and silver from the Mercedes, insisting that it had been found in international waters and therefore beyond the legal jurisdiction of any one country. The Spanish government branded the Odyssey team "21st century pirates" and in May 2007 launched legal proceedings arguing that the wreck was protected by "sovereign immunity" which prohibits the unauthorized disturbance or commercial exploitation of state-owned naval vessels. In June 2009 the Federal Court in Tampa found against Odyssey and ordered the treasure to be returned to Spain as has been done on 25 February 2012.

    Order of battle.

    Spain.
    Medea 40 gun frigate, Flagship carrying Admiral Bustamante, commanded by Capitán Francisco de Piedrola y Verdugo

    • Fama 34 gun frigate, Capitán Miguel Zapiain y Valladares
    • Mercedes 36 gun frigate, Capitán Jose Manuel De Goicoa y Labart
    • Santa Clara 34 gun frigate, Capitán Aleson y Bueno


    Britain.

    HMS Indefatigable 44 gun frigate, Flagship, Commodore Graham Moore

    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Admiral Sir Graham Moore.

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    Admiral Sir Graham Moore, GCB, GCMG (1764–1843) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he took part in the Great Siege of Gibraltar during the American Revolutionary War. As captain of the frigate Melampus, he took part in the Battle of Tory Island in October 1798, capturing the French frigate Résolue two days later, during the French Revolutionary Wars. He went on to be First Naval Lord, then Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet and, finally, Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth. He was the younger brother of General Sir John Moore.

    Naval career.

    Moore was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of Jean Simson and John Moore, doctor and author. He entered the Navy in 1777 at the age of 13. He was promoted to lieutenant on 8 March 1782 to serve aboard Crown, taking part in the relief of Gibraltar under Lord Howe, and the subsequent battle of Cape Spartel in October. During the peace he traveled through France, but was recalled to serve aboard Perseus, Dido, and then Adamant, the flagship of Sir Richard Hughes on the North American Station. On 22 November 1790 he was promoted to commander in the sloop Bonetta, before finally returning to England in 1793.


    Moore was promoted to post-captain on 2 April 1794, soon after the start of the Revolutionary War, with command of the 32-gun frigate Syren, in the North Sea and the coast of France. He then commanded the 36-gun frigate Melampus from September 1795. In her he took part in the Battle of Tory Island on 12 October 1798, capturing the French frigate Résolue two days later. In February 1800 he went out to the West Indies, but was invalided home after eighteen months.



    On the renewal of the war in 1803 he was appointed to Indefatigable (44),[1] and with three other frigates — Medusa (32), Lively (38) and Amphion (32) — under his command, captured a Spanish treasure fleet of four frigates — Medea (40), Clara (34), Fama (34) and Mercedes (36) — carrying bullion from the Caribbean back to Spain off Cadiz in the Action of 5 October 1804.

    Moore was then attached to Sir Robert Calder's squadron blockading Ferrol. In 1808, he served as commodore, flying his broad pennant in the new ship Marlborough assisting Admiral Sir Sidney Smith with the Portuguese royal family's escape to Brazil, and was subsequently made a Knight of the Order of the Tower and Sword.


    He later served as part of the North Sea fleet for several years. At the close of the Walcheren campaign in December 1809, he was entrusted with destroying the basin, arsenal, and sea defenses of Flushing (Vlissingen).


    Moore commanded Chatham from March 1812, until promoted to rear-admiral on 12 August 1812, and served as Commander-in-Chief in the Baltic for a short time, flying his flag in HMS Fame. In 1814 he served as captain of the fleet to Lord Keith in the Channel, and, having been appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 2 January 1815, he became second-in-command, Mediterranean Fleet in 1815. He joined the Board of Admiralty as First Naval Lord in the Liverpool ministry in May 1816.

    Promoted to vice-admiral on 12 August 1819, he left the Board of the Admiralty in March 1820. He was Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet between 1820 and 1823 and was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 11 March 1836. Promoted to full admiral on 10 January 1837, he served as Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth from 1839 to 1842 flying his flag in Impregnable.

    Moore died at his home, Brook Farm, Cobham, Surrey, on 25 November 1843, and was buried at St. Andrew's Church.

    Family.

    In 1812 he married Dora Eden, daughter of Thomas Eden, and niece of William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland; they had one son, Captain John Moore, RN (d 1866).
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Brigadier Don José de Bustamante y Guerra.

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    José de Bustamante y Guerra (1 April 1759 in Corvera de Toranzo, Cantabria´, Spain – 10 March 1825 in Madrid, Spain), sometimes referred to simply as Bustamante, was a Spanish naval officer, explorer, and politician.

    Early life.

    He descended from the Bustamante de Toranzo and the Guerra de Ibio; his father was Joaquín Antonio de Bustamante y Rueda, a native of Alceda, and his mother Clara Guerra de la Vega, a native of Santander. In 1770 Bustamante became a midshipman at the Academy of the Guardiamarinas in Cádiz, at the age of 11; He was already second lieutenant of frigate in June 1771. He served in several sea campaigns in the squadron under Pedro de Castejón. He fought in the Mediterranean Sea against Berber pirates, at the end of his studies there he embarked on the Santa Inés, bound for the Philippines. But the ship was attacked and captured by a British man-of-war. Bustamante was eventually released and returned to Spain. On October 20, 1782, he took part in the naval battle of Gibraltar, against the squadron of Lord Richard Howe, first Earl of Howe, although he was wounded. His ship was badly damaged in a battle fought near Cádiz. Bustamante then prepared a projected conquest of Jamaica, which was not carried out by the Peace of Paris in 1783. In 1784, with a brilliant service record, he became employed as a frigate captain. and he entered as a knight of the Order of Santiago on October 21, 1784. At that time he planned with his comrade Alessandro Malaspina, one of the singular characters of his time, a scientific journey through the colonial world of Hispanic influence.

    Malaspina-Bustamante expedition.

    Expeditions from July 30, 1789 to September 21, 1794.
    In 1788 Bustamante partnered with Alessandro Malaspina. Together they proposed to the Spanish government a grand scientific expedition modeled after the voyages of James Cook. The project was approved and two corvettes were built specifically for the expedition. Bustamante was in command of the Atrevida (meaning "daring" or "bold") while Malaspina commanded the Descubierta ("discovered"). The names were chosen by Malaspina to honor James Cook's Discovery and Resolution. The expedition was under the "dual command" of both Malaspina and Bustamante.

    Bustamante and Malaspina called it "Scientific and Political Travel around the World" although it was popularly known as "Expedition to the World", later it was officially renamed "Ultramarine Expedition started on July 30, 1789" because it could not be Complete the round the world by having to return to Spain at the beginning of the War of Roussillon against the First Republic of France. Today, however, it is known as Malaspina Expedition or also Malaspina-Bustamante Expedition. The Expedition had a select team composed of the best officers of the moment, who were joined by botanists, painters, doctors and other enlightened humanists.

    From 1789 to 1794 Bustamante and Malaspina sailed Atlantic Ocean and throughout the Pacific Ocean, stopping at nearly all the Spanish colonies and exploring little known areas such as the Spanish America (Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Patagonia, Islas Malvinas/Falkland Islands, Chiloé island, Talcahuano, Valparaiso, Santiago de Chile, El Callao, Guayaquil, Nueva Granada, Acapulco, California) to Pacific Northwest northwest step or connection between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans (Alaska), and Spanish Asia (Filipinas, Marsall and Marianas Islands), Macao on the coast of china, New Guinea, Celebes, Molucas and Tonga Islands, New Zealand, and Australia. The two ships sometimes separated to pursue different tasks. For example, when sailing from Talcahuano to Valparaíso (in present-day Chile), Bustamante kept to the coast, surveying and mapping, while Malaspina sailed to the Juan Fernández Islands. Between Valparaíso and Callao, Peru, Malaspina again investigated offshore islands while Bustamante continued charting the coast. The same happened in the Atlantic, when Bustamante reached 57º south latitude (near the South Pole), one of the reason why Uruguay, Argentina and Spain have rights over Antarctica.

    Bustamante was rewarded with the rank of captain (1791) and was promoted to navy brigadier shortly after his 1794 return to Spain.

    Bustamante kept a diary during the Malaspina expedition, which was published in 1868 in the official journal of the Directorate of Hydrography.

    Later life.

    After returning to Spain in 1794 Bustamante continued to work with Malaspina until the latter was imprisoned on charges of plotting against the state. Bustamante remained free of the political troubles of Malaspina.

    In 1796 he was appointed political and military governor of Paraguay and Commander-General of Río de la Plata (Governor of Montevideo).

    On October 5, 1804, in peace time, while sailing to Spain in command of four frigates Bustamante was attacked and captured by a British squadron without any declaration of war between U.K. and Spain. He was eventually released and faced a Spanish court-martial, but emerged untainted. That incident supposed that the 14 of December 1804 Spain formally declared the war to Great Britain and allied itself with France in its plan of invasion of Great Britain (Napoleonic Wars).

    In 1810 he was appointed Captain General of Guatemala. He remained at that post until 1817.

    At a time of great independence activity; he develops a reformist policy of enlightened style, but before the revolution of Hidalgo and Morelos in Mexico he prepared troops in Guatemala and created the "Fernando VII volunteer corps" and from his position he confronted the insurgents by repressing them.

    José de Bustamante y Guerra died in 1825 at the age of 66.

    In his will he donates a large amount of money to support the children's schools in Ontaneda, founded by Francisco, his brother.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood.


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    Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood (26 September 1748 – 7 March 1810) was an admiral of the Royal Navy, notable as a partner with Lord Nelson in several of the British victories of the Napoleonic Wars, and frequently as Nelson's successor in commands.

    Early years.

    Collingwood was born in Newcastle upon Tyne. His early education was at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle. At the age of twelve, he went to sea as a volunteer on board the frigate HMS Shannon under the command of his cousin Captain Richard Brathwaite (or Braithwaite), who took charge of his nautical education. He spent a total of only three years on dry land after joining the navy as a teenager. After several years of service under Captain Brathwaite and a short period attached to HMS Lenox, a guardship at Portsmouth commanded by Captain Robert Roddam, Collingwood sailed to Boston in 1774 with Admiral Samuel Graves on board HMS Preston, where he fought in the British naval brigade at the battle of Bunker Hill (June 1775), and was afterwards commissioned as a Lieutenant (17 June 1775)
    .
    In 1777, Collingwood first met Horatio Nelson when both served on the frigate HMS Lowestoffe. Two years later, Collingwood succeeded Nelson as Commander (20 June 1779) of the brig HMS Badger, and the next year he again succeeded Nelson as Post-Captain (22 March 1780) of HMS Hinchinbrook, a small frigate. Nelson had been the leader of a failed expedition to cross Central America from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean by navigating boats along the San Juan River, Lake Nicaragua and Lake Leon. Nelson was debilitated by disease and had to recover before being promoted to a larger vessel, and Collingwood succeeded him in command of the Hinchinbrook and brought the remainder of the expedition back to Jamaica.

    First major command.

    After commanding in another small frigate, HMS Pelican, in which he was shipwrecked by a hurricane in 1781, Collingwood was promoted to 64 gun ship of the line HMS Sampson, and in 1783 he was appointed to HMS Mediator and posted to the West Indies, where he remained until the end of 1786, again, together with Nelson and this time his brother, Captain Wilfred Collingwood, preventing American ships from trading with the West Indies.

    In 1786 Collingwood returned to England, where, with the exception of a voyage to the West Indies, he remained until 1793. In that year, he was appointed captain of HMS Prince, the flagship of Rear Admiral George Bowyer in the Channel Fleet. On 16 June 1791, Collingwood married Sarah Blackett, daughter of the Newcastle merchant and politician John Erasmus Blackett and granddaughter of Robert Roddam (1711–1744) of Hethpoole and Caldburne (not to be confused with his former commander, Robert Roddam).

    As captain of Barfleur, Collingwood was present at the Glorious First of June. On board the Excellent he participated in the victory of the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797, establishing a good reputation in the fleet for his conduct during the battle. After blockading Cadiz, he returned for a few weeks to Portsmouth to repair. At the beginning of 1799 Collingwood was raised to the rank of Rear-Admiral (of the White 14 February 1799; of the Red 1 January 1801) and, hoisting his flag in the Triumph, joined the Channel Fleet and sailed to the Mediterranean where the principal naval forces of France and Spain were assembled. Collingwood continued to be actively employed in blockading the enemy until the peace of Amiens allowed him to return to England.

    With the resumption of hostilities with France in the spring of 1803 he left home, never to return. First he blockaded the French fleet off Brest. In 1804 he was promoted to Vice-Admiral (of the Blue 23 April 1804; of the Red 9 November 1805). Nearly two years were spent here but with Napoleon planning and equipping his armed forces for an invasion of Britain, the campaign which was to decide the fate of Europe and the command of the sea was starting. The French fleet having sailed from Toulon, Admiral Collingwood was appointed to command a squadron, with orders to pursue them. The combined fleets of France and Spain, after sailing to the West Indies, returned to Cadiz. On their way they encountered Collingwood's small squadron off Cadiz. He only had three ships with him; but he succeeded in avoiding the pursuit, although chased by sixteen ships of the line. Before half of the enemy's force had entered the harbour he resumed the blockade, using false signals to disguise the small size of his squadron. He was shortly joined by Nelson who hoped to lure the combined fleet into a major engagement.

    Battle of Trafalgar.

    The combined fleet sailed from Cadiz in October 1805. The Battle of Trafalgar immediately followed. Villeneuve, the French admiral, drew up his fleet in the form of a crescent. The British fleet bore down in two separate lines, the one led by Nelson in the Victory, and the other by Collingwood in the Royal Sovereign. The Royal Sovereign was the swifter sailer, mainly because its hull had been given a new layer of copper which lacked the friction of old, well used copper and thus was much faster. Having drawn considerably ahead of the rest of the fleet, it was the first engaged. "See", said Nelson, pointing to the Royal Sovereign as she penetrated the centre of the enemy's line, "see how that noble fellow Collingwood carries his ship into action!" Probably it was at the same moment that Collingwood, as if in response to the observation of his great commander, remarked to his captain, "What would Nelson give to be here?"

    The Royal Sovereign closed with the Spanish admiral's ship and fired her broadsides with such rapidity and precision at the Santa Ana that the Spanish ship was on the verge of sinking almost before another British ship had fired a gun.[2] Several other vessels came to Santa Ana's assistance and hemmed in the Royal Sovereign on all sides; the latter, after being severely damaged, was relieved by the arrival of the rest of the British squadron, but was left unable to manoeuvre. Not long afterwards the Santa Ana struck her colours. On the death of Nelson, Collingwood assumed the command-in-chief, transferring his flag to the frigate Euryalus. Knowing that a severe storm was in the offing, Nelson had intended that the fleet should anchor after the battle, but Collingwood chose not to issue such an order: many of the British ships and prizes were so damaged that they were unable to anchor, and Collingwood concentrated efforts on taking damaged vessels in tow. In the ensuing gale, many of the prizes were wrecked on the rocky shore and others were destroyed to prevent their recapture, though no British ship was lost.

    On 9 November 1805 Collingwood was promoted Vice-Admiral of the Red and raised to the peerage as Baron Collingwood, of Caldburne and Hethpool in the County of Northumberland. He also received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament and was awarded a pension of £2000 per annum. Together with all the other captains and admirals, he also received a Naval Gold Medal, his third, after those for the Glorious First of June and the Cape St Vincent. Only Nelson and Sir Edward Berry share the distinction of three gold medals for service during the wars against France.

    When not at sea he resided at Collingwood House in the town of Morpeth which lies some 15 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne and Chirton Hall in Chirton, now a western suburb of North Shields. He is known to have remarked, "whenever I think how I am to be happy again, my thoughts carry me back to Morpeth."

    Later career.

    From Trafalgar until his death no great naval action was fought and, although several small French fleets would attempt to run the blockade, and one successfully landed troops in the Caribbean two months after Trafalgar, the majority were hunted down and overwhelmed in battle. Collingwood was occupied in important political and diplomatic transactions in the Mediterranean, in which he displayed tact and judgement. In 1805 he was appointed to the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet. He requested to be relieved of his command that he might return home, however the government urgently required an admiral with the experience and skill of Collingwood to remain, on the grounds that his country could not dispense with his services in the face on the still potent threat that the French and their allies could pose. His health began to decline alarmingly in 1809 and he was forced to again request the Admiralty to allow him to return home, which was finally granted.

    Collingwood died as a result of cancer on board the Ville de Paris, off Port Mahon as he sailed for England, on 7 March 1810. He was laid to rest beside Nelson in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Captain Graham Eden Hamond.

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    A very young Midshipman Graham Hamond, shown on the extreme right of this painting by Mather Brown holding a trumpet, during the action on the Glorious First of June


    Admiral of the Fleet Sir Graham Eden Hamond, 2nd Baronet, GCB, DL (30 December 1779 – 20 December 1862) was a Royal Navy officer. After seeing action as a junior officer at the Glorious First of June and then at the Battle of Toulon, he commanded the fifth-rate HMS Blanche at the Battle of Copenhagen during the French Revolutionary Wars.

    Hamond became commanding officer of the third-rate HMS Plantagenet and captured the French ships Le Courier de Terre Neuve and L'Atalante in an action during the Napoleonic Wars. He took command of the fifth-rate HMS Lively and took part in the action of 5 October 1804, when three Spanish frigates laden with treasure were captured, and was then given command of the third-rate HMS Victorious and took part in the attack on Flushing during the disastrous Walcheren Campaign.

    After a period of leave from the Navy, Hamond became commanding officer of the third-rate HMS Wellesley and conveyed the diplomat Lord Stuart de Rothesay to Brazil to negotiate a commercial treaty with the Emperor Pedro I. Hamond went on to be Commander-in-Chief, South American Station.

    Early career.

    Born the only son of Captain Sir Andrew Hamond and Anne Hamond (née Graeme), Hamond joined the Royal Navy in September 1785. He was recorded, as a captain's servant, on the books of the third-rate HMS Irresistible, his father's flagship in his role as Commander-in-Chief, The Nore and, having been promoted to midshipman in 1790, actually served in the third-rate HMS Vanguard, the third-rate HMS Bedford and then the second-rate HMS Duke. In January 1793 he transferred to the fifth-rate HMS Phaeton and assisted in the capture of Le Général Dumourier and her prize St. Iago in an action during the French Revolutionary Wars and received his portion of a large amount of prize money. He then joined the first-rate HMS Queen Charlotte, flagship of Earl Howe in his role as Commander-in-Chief, Channel Squadron, and saw action at the Glorious First of June in June 1794. He served in the fifth-rate HMS Aquilon and the third-rate HMS Zealous before transferring to the first-rate HMS Britannia, flagship of Sir William Hotham in his role as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, in June 1795 and seeing action at the Battle of Toulon in July 1795.

    Promoted to lieutenant on 19 October 1796, Hamond served in the fifth-rate HMS Aigle in the Mediterranean Squadron in Autumn 1796 and in the fifth-rate HMS Niger in Spring 1797. Promoted to commander on 20 October 1798, he became commanding officer of the sloop HMS Echo and was employed in the blockade of Le Havre and on different occasions took charge of convoys. Promoted to captain on 30 November 1798, he became commanding officer of the sixth-rate HMS Champion and captured the French privateer Anacreon in June 1799. Hamond described Anacreon as "almost a new vessel, sails remarkably fast, is copper-bottomed, and seems fit for His Majesty's Service." He then took part in the Siege of French-held Malta in Spring 1800 before becoming commanding officer of the third-rate HMS Lion later that year. He went on to be commanding officer of the fifth-rate HMS Blanche and took part in the Battle of Copenhagen in April 1801.

    Hamond became commanding officer of the third-rate HMS Plantagenet in February 1803 and captured the French ships Le Courier de Terre Neuve and L'Atalante in an action later that year during the Napoleonic Wars. He took command of the fifth-rate HMS Lively in July 1804 and took part in the action of 5 October 1804 when three Spanish frigates laden with treasure were captured. HMS Lively captured two other treasure ships, the San Miguel and the Santa Gertruyda off Cape St. Vincent and Cape St Maria respectively in December 1804. He went on to engage in a duel with the Spanish ship Glorioso in May 1805 and then to transport British troops to Naples in November 1805. He was then given command of the third-rate HMS Victorious on the Home Station in December 1808 and took part in the attack on Flushing during the disastrous Walcheren Campaign in Summer 1809. He went on to be commanding officer of the third-rate HMS Rivoli in the Mediterranean Squadron in May 1813. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 4 June 1815 and a Deputy Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight on 27 October 1821.
    After a period of leave from the Navy, Hamond became commanding officer of the third-rate HMS Wellesley in March 1824 and then conveyed the diplomat Lord Stuart de Rothesay to Brazil to negotiate a commercial treaty with the Emperor Pedro I.

    Senior command.

    Promoted to rear admiral on 27 May 1825, Hamond travelled in the third-rate HMS Spartiate on his new mission to deliver the treaty of separation between Brazil and Portugal to King John VI of Portugal. He inherited his father's baronetcy in September 1828. He was advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 13 September 1831 and became Commander-in-Chief, South American Station, with his flag in the third-rate HMS Spartiate, in September 1834. Promoted to vice admiral on 10 January 1837and to full admiral on 22 January 1847 he was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 5 July 1855. He was appointed Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom on 22 November 1860[ and Vice-Admiral of the United Kingdom on 5 June 1862] before being promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 10 November 1862.
    Hamond died at his home at Norton Lodge near Yarmouth, Isle of Wight on 20 December 1862.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Captain Samuel Sutton.



    Samuel Sutton (1760 – June 1832) was an officer in the Royal Navy. He entered the service shortly after the start of the American War of Independence, and spent most of his early career serving with Captain and later Admiral Joshua Rowley. He saw action at several engagements with the French fleets in the West Indies, and ended the war as a lieutenant.

    Left without active employment by the following years of peace, Sutton briefly returned to service during the Spanish Armament in 1790, but the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793 brought him steady work. After serving in a number of ships and being present at Cornwallis's Retreat in 1795, Sutton received command of a sloop, and with it the opportunity to render a service to a member of the French aristocracy, and the future Charles X of France. Promoted for his good service, Sutton served as a flag captain to several admirals, including Horatio Nelson. He briefly commanded HMS Victory, before surrendering her to Thomas Hardy, who would go on to command Victory at Trafalgar, and be present at Nelson's death.

    Sutton instead took command of a frigate, and in 1804 was involved in a controversial action that saw the capture of three Spanish frigates and the destruction of a fourth. Made wealthy from the spoils, Sutton nevertheless remained in the navy, taking part in the chase of the French fleet to the West Indies in 1805. His health declined during this period, and he went ashore in October that year. He retired from active service, and served as a magistrate and local official for his community, being promoted to rear-admiral in 1821 and dying in 1832.


    Early life.

    Sutton was born in 1760 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, and entered the navy on 9 April 1777 as an able seaman and later a midshipman aboard the 74-gun HMS Monarch, which was under the command of Captain Joshua Rowley. Sutton and Rowley served in the English Channel until Rowley's promotion to rear-admiral in December 1778 and his shifting his flag to the 74-gun HMS Suffolk, with Hugh Cloberry Christian as his flag captain. Sutton accompanied Rowley to the Suffolk, and moved with him again when Rowley raised his flag aboard Captain Thomas Watson's 74-gun HMS Conqueror in December 1779. During this time Sutton saw action at the Battle of Grenada on 6 July 1779, and the Battle of Martinique on 17 April 1780.


    Sutton was with Rowley on his next two flagships, the 74-gun HMS Terrible from June 1780 and the 98-gun HMS Princess Royal from July, both times serving under Captain John Thomas Duckworth. Sutton became an acting-lieutenant while on board Princess Royal, retaining the position after being transferred to the 16-gun sloop HMS Jamaica under Captain Manley Dixon.
    He was next aboard the 18-gun ex-French HMS Duguay Trouin under commander Benjamin Hulke from December, though in May 1782 he returned to Rowley when he joined him aboard his flagship, the 90-gun HMS London under Captain James Kempthorn. He stayed at Rowley's side when the admiral moved to the 74-gun HMS Ajax under Captain N. Chasington in December, and then the 50-gun HMS Preston under Captain George Martin in March 1783.

    He was confirmed as lieutenant on 21 April 1783, despite never having formally been examined, but was in poor health and had to return to Britain aboard the 14-gun brig-sloop HMS Childers. He recovered and received an appointment in March 1785 to the sloop HMS Merlin, under Commander Edward Pakenham, with whom he went out to Newfoundland for the rest of the year. The end of the war left Sutton without a ship, and he spent four and a half years ashore after leaving Merlin.

    Return to service.

    The Spanish Armament in 1790 led to the Admiralty ordering the manning and storing of a large number of ships in preparation for war. Sutton was posted to the 32-gun frigate HMS Iphigenia on 22 June 1790 as signal officer to Captain Patrick Sinclair, and served for a while with Lord Howe's fleet.
    The easing of tensions after the crisis passed led to a draw-down in the navy, and Sutton came ashore again on 7 February 1791. The tensions leading up to the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars provided another opportunity for employment, and Sutton joined the 74-gun HMS Culloden on 3 January, which was serving in the Channel as the flagship of Sir Thomas Rich.[4] Sutton transferred to the 74-gun HMS Mars under Captain Sir Charles Cotton in November 1794, and in June 1795 was involved in Admiral William Cornwallis's successful retreat from a superior French force led by Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse. The Mars as the rear-most ship bore the brunt of the French fire, but suffered only 12 wounded. Cornwallis brought his fleet about to rescue Cotton, causing Villaret de Joyeuse to believe that Cornwallis had reinforcements nearby, and so broke off the pursuit.

    Sutton was promoted to commander on 1 September 1795 and was given the 16-gun sloop HMS Martin for service off West Africa and in the North Sea. While in the North Sea in 1797 his duties included transporting the Duc d'Angoulême, the future Charles X of France from Leith to Cuxhaven. His good service brought him a quick promotion to post-captain, on 27 June 1797, but left him without a ship for over a year. He returned to sea on 3 September 1798 as flag captain to Sir Richard Onslow aboard the 74-gun HMS Monarch, the ship he had entered the service on twenty-one years earlier as an able seaman under Rowley. Sutton was transferred to the 90-gun HMS Prince on 13 March 1799, becoming flag captain to his old commander, now rear-admiral, Sir Charles Cotton. He remained with Prince until being transferred to the 32-gun HMS Alcmene on 23 February 1801.

    Copenhagen and Nelson.

    Alcmene was one of the ships assigned to Admiral Sir Hyde Parker's expeditionary force to the Baltic in 1801. Sutton commanded her as part of Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson's force at the Battle of Copenhagen. The frigates engaged the Trekroner fortress during the battle, before obeying Parker's signal to withdraw, an order Nelson ignored. After the battle Nelson appointed Sutton to command the 38-gun HMS Amazon, whose captain, Edward Riou, had been killed in the battle. Sutton remained serving in the Baltic as Nelson's flag captain, returning him to Britain and continuing to serve under him during Nelson's period in charge of the anti-invasion defences. Nelson went ashore in October 1802, after which Sutton took Rear-Admiral John Borlase Warren to St Petersburg.

    HMS Victory.

    Sutton stepped down from the command of Amazon in November 1802, and by early 1803 had been assigned to take over the command of the 100-gun first rate HMS Victory. Nelson arrived at Portsmouth on 18 May and hoisted his flag aboard her, but Victory had been assigned to Admiral William Cornwallis in the Channel, and was not ready for sea. Nelson struck his flag two days later, and immediately took passage for the Mediterranean aboard Thomas Hardy's HMS Amphion, leaving Sutton to finish preparing Victory and deliver her to Cornwallis. Nelson left orders that if Cornwallis did not want her for his flagship, Sutton was to proceed onwards to join him in the Mediterranean. Sutton joined Cornwallis off Ushant, whereupon Cornwallis ordered him on to Nelson. Sutton and the Victory sailed to rendezvous with Nelson off Cape Sicie, and while doing so, came across the French frigate Embuscade on 28 May as the latter was entering the Bay of Biscay after a journey from the West Indies. Embuscade, a former British ship, attempted to escape, but could not outrun the newly refitted Victory and was forced to surrender without a shot being fired. Sutton took possession of her, and then continued on his way, joining the Mediterranean Fleet in late July, whereupon Nelson hoisted his flag on her. He brought Hardy with him as his flag captain, while Sutton took command of Hardy's former ship, Amphion.

    Mediterranean.

    Sutton remained in the Mediterranean with Nelson's fleet, initially patrolling off Toulon, before transferring to Cadiz. On 3 October 1804 Amphion was one of four frigates sent to intercept four Spanish frigates approaching Cadiz with a large cargo of specie. The British ships, consisting of Amphion, HMS Indefatigable, HMS Lively and HMS Medusa, sighted the Spanish early on the morning of 5 October, and gave chase. The Spanish were hailed, but refused to surrender to the British, and fighting broke out. After a short but fierce action, one Spanish ship blew up and the other three struck their colours.The Amphion had three wounded in the action. The treasure recovered from the three surviving ships was valued at £1,000,000, but its seizure contributed to the Spanish decision to ally with France and declare war on Britain.

    West Indies, retirement, and later life.

    Sutton and the Amphion remained with Nelson's fleet into 1805, and took part in the Trafalgar Campaign, chasing Villeneuve's forces to the West Indies and back. Sutton was in poor health by the time the fleet returned to anchor off Lisbon in October, and Nelson sent Sutton ashore to recuperate, replacing him with William Hoste as commander of Amphion. Sutton was rich from the prize money of the captured Spanish ships, and appears to have retired ashore, never serving at sea again. He served as a magistrate and a deputy lieutenant for the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, and was promoted to rear-admiral on 19 July 1821. Samuel Sutton died at Ditchingham, Norfolk in June 1832 at the age of 72.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Captain John Gore.

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    Admiral Sir John Gore, KCB (9 February 1772, County Kilkenny, Ireland – 21 August 1836, Datchet, Buckinghamshire) was a British naval commander of the 18th and 19th centuries. His father was Colonel John Gore.

    Naval career.

    Gore joined the Royal Navy in August 1781, as a captain's servant, and would have served as a midshipman, before gaining promotion to lieutenant on 26 November 1789 and commander on 24 May 1794. The Royal Navy had just captured the French corvette Fleche at the capture of Bastia, in which Gore had played a significant role and had been injured. The Navy took the corvette into service as HMS Fleche and commissioned her under Gore. He fitted her out and sailed her to Malta where he negotiated with the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc for seamen, supplies, and the like.

    On 13 September Gore was a witness at the trial of Lieutenant William Walker, commander of the hired armed cutter Rose, on charges that Walker had accepted money from merchants at Bastia to convoy their vessels to Leghorn, where the court martial took place. Walker was acquitted.

    Gore received promotion to post captain on 14 November 1794. When in command of HMS Triton, he took part in the successful Action of 16 October 1799, in which two Spanish frigates were captured and more than 2 million silver dollars taken. While commanding the 32-gun frigate HMS Medusa, he took part in the Action of 5 October 1804.

    Promoted to rear-admiral on 4 December 1813, he became Commander-in-Chief, The Nore from 1818 to 1821. Promoted to vice-admiral on 27 May 1825, he served as Commander-in-Chief, East Indies and China Station from 1831 to 1834.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    The Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes.

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    The sinking of the Mercedes by Nicholas Pocock

    (Our Lady of Mercy in English, a title of the Virgin Mary) was a Spanish Navy frigate which was sunk by the British off the south coast of Portugal on 5 October 1804 during the Battle of Cape Santa Maria.

    Loss.

    At the time of the naval action Spain and England were at peace with each other. The Spanish frigate was part of a small flotilla sailing from Montevideo (Uruguay) to Cadiz (Andalusia, Spain), transporting silver, gold, vicuna, cinnamon and quinoa. The other ships in the flotilla were the Medea, Santa Clara and Fama.

    The flotilla was intercepted by a British Navy task force, commanded by Graham Moore aboard HMS Indefatigable, and ordered to change course and proceed to a British port for inspection. The Spanish commanding officer, brigadier José de Bustamante y Guerra (1759-1825) objected that the two nations were at peace, declared that they would not comply with the order, and ordered battle quarters, despite being outgunned and outnumbered. A single shot from the HMS Amphion, commanded by Samuel Sutton, hit the ship's magazine, causing an explosion that sank the ship.

    250 Spanish crewmen were lost, and 51 survivors were rescued from the sea and taken as prisoner. The other three vessels were interned in Britain.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    Fama.

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    She was laid down as a 34-gun fifth-rate frigate in Cartagena in 1795, and was launched later that year. In 1796 she was assigned to the Spanish Philippines, and so she departed Concepcion, Chile for Manila on 10 October 1796 in the company of the third-rates Europa, Montañes, San Pedro, and the frigate Pilar. In Manila a typhoon severely damaged the squadron, putting it out of action for nearly two years. At the same time, the Anglo-Spanish War broke out between Great Britain and Spain. After repairs were completed, Admiral Ignacio Maria de Álava y Sáenz de Navarrete attempted to use the fleet to disrupt the British trade with China by sailing the squadron into the South China Sea in search of a British convoy. After fighting an inconclusive battle with a British fleet in January 1797, de Navarrete ordered Fama and Europa to Macau in an attempt to intercept British merchantmen in the Pearl River estuary. This operation was likewise a failure, and both ships returned to Manila.



    In 1804 Fama and three other Spanish frigates departed Montevideo for Spain laden silver and gold destined for France. Though Britain and Spain were not at war, the Royal Navy intercepted the Spanish force with the intent to stop its valuable cargo from reaching France. In the ensuing Battle of Cape Santa Maria, a force of 4 British frigates attacked the Spanish frigates. Fama struck her colors in surrender soon after the battle started, but later attempted to flee. She was caught by the faster HMS Medusa and HMS Lively several hours later and forced to surrender a second time.



    Following her capture, Fama was inducted into the Royal Navy as HMS Fama. She was sold in 1812.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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    HMS Indefatigable.

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    She was one of the Ardent class 64-gun third-rate ships-of-the-line designed by Sir Thomas Slade in 1761 for the Royal Navy. She was built as a ship-of-the-line, but most of her active service took place after her conversion to a 44-gun razee frigate. She had a long career under several distinguished commanders, serving throughout the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. She took some 27 prizes, alone or in company, and the Admiralty authorised the issue of four clasps to the Naval General Service Medal in 1847 to any surviving members of her crews from the respective actions. She was broken up in 1816.


    Construction.



    Indefatigable was ordered on 3 August 1780 (long after Slade's death), and her keel was laid down in May 1781 at the Bucklers Hard shipyard in Hampshire owned by Henry Adams. She was launched in early July 1784 and completed from 11 July to 13 September of that year at Portsmouth Dockyard as a 64-gun two-decked third rate for the Royal Navy. She had cost £25,210 4s 5d to build; her total initial cost including fitting out and coppering was £36,154 18s 7d. By that time, she was already anachronistic for the role of a ship of the line as the French only built the more powerful 74-gun ships, and was never commissioned in that role.

    Design modification.

    In 1794, she was razéed; her upper gun deck was cut away to convert her into a large and heavily armed frigate. The original intention was to retain her twenty-six 24-pounder guns on her gundeck, and to mount eight 12-pounder guns on her quarterdeck and a further four on her forecastle, which would have rated her as a 38-gun vessel. However, it was at this time that the carronade was becoming more popular in the Navy, and her intended armament was altered on 5 December 1794 with the addition of four 42-pounder carronades to go on her quarterdeck and two on her forecastle. Indefatigable was thereafter rated as a 44-gun fifth-rate frigate, along with Magnanime and Anson, which were converted at about the same time. The work was carried out at Portsmouth from September 1794 to February 1795 at a cost of £8,764. On 17 February 1795, a further two 12-pounder guns were added to her quarterdeck, though her official rating remained unchanged.

    French Revolutionary Wars.

    Indefatigable was first commissioned in December 1794 under Captain Sir Edward Pellew. He commanded her until early 1799.
    On 9 March 1795, Indefatigable, Concorde, and Jason captured numerous French prizes: Temeraire, Minerve, Gentille, Regeneration, and a brig and sloop of unknown names. In October, the Dutch East Indiaman Zeelilee was wrecked in the Isles of Scilly with the loss of 25 of her 70 crew. Indefatigable rescued the survivors.
    On 20 March 1796, Indefatigable and her squadron chased three French corvettes, of which the Volage of 26 guns ran ashore under a battery at the mouth of the Loire. Volage lost her masts in running ashore, but the French were later able to refloat her. Her two consorts Sagesse and Eclatant escaped into the river. In this action, Amazon had four men wounded.
    The squadron also captured or sank a number of merchant vessels between 11 and 21 March.

    • Favorite Sultana, laden with salt—captured;
    • Friends, brig, laden with flour—captured;
    • Brig of unknown name, in ballast—sunk;
    • Chasse maree of unknown name, empty—sunk;
    • Providence, chasse maree, laden with wine and brandy—captured;
    • Brig of unknown name, laden with empty casks—sunk;
    • Four Marys, brig, in ballast—captured;
    • Aimable Justine, brig, in ballast—captured;
    • Nouvelle Union, brig, in ballast—captured.

    The vessels sharing in the prize money were: Indefatigable, Concorde, Révolutionnaire, Amazon, Argo, and the hired armed cutter Dolly and hired armed lugger Duke of York.
    On 13 April 1796, Indefatigable was in pursuit of a French frigate. Pellew signalled to Revolutionnaire to cut her off from the shore. Revolutionnaire then captured the French frigate Unite after having fired two broadsides into her. Unite had nine men killed and 11 wounded; Revolutionnaire had no casualties. The Royal Navy took the frigate into service as HMS Unite.


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    Virginie
    fighting HMS Indefatigable




    On the morning of 20 April 1796, Indefatigable sighted the French 44-gun frigate Virginie off the Lizard. Indefatigable, Amazon, and Concorde chased Virginie, with Indefatigable catching her just after midnight on 21 April after a chase of 15 hours and 168 miles. After an hour and three quarters of fighting, she still had not struck and had somewhat outmaneuvered Indefatigable when Concorde arrived. Seeing that she was outnumbered, Virginie struck.
    Virginie carried 44 guns, 18 and 9-pounders, and had a crew of 340 men under the command of Citizen Bergeret, Capitaine de Vaisseau. She had 14 or 15 men killed, 17 badly wounded, and 10 slightly. She also had four feet of water in her hold from shot holes. Indefatigable had no casualties. Pellew sent Virginie into Plymouth under the escort of Concorde, and followed the next day with Amazon, which had sustained some damage. The Royal Navy took Virginie into service as Virginie.



    In July 1796, there was an initial distribution of £20,000 of prize money for the capture of Unite and Virginie. Indefatigable shared this with Amazon, Revolutionnaire, Concorde, and Argo. Apparently, Duke of York also shared in some or all of the prize money. In 1847, the Admiralty authorised the issue of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Indefatigable 20 April. 1796".
    On 12 June, Indefatigable, Amazon, Concorde, Revolutionaire, and Phoebe took two French brigs off Ushant – the Trois Couleurs and the Blonde (alias Betsey) – after a chase of 24 hours. Trois Couleurs carried 10 guns and a crew of 70. Blonde had 16 guns and a crew of 95 men. Each was under the command of an ensign de vaisseau and both vessels had left Brest two days earlier for a six-week cruise, but had not yet taken any prizes.
    In September 1796, Indefatigable, Phoebe, Revolutionnaire, and Amazon captured five Spanish ships.



    On 1 October, Indefatigable, Amazon, Revolutionnaire, Phoebe, and Jason shared in the capture of the Vrow Delenea Maria. The next day, Pellew and Indefatigable captured the privateer schooner Ariel of Boston off Corunna. Earlier, Pellew had recaptured the brig Queen of Naples, which had been sailing from Lisbon to Cork. From her, he learned that there were two privateers around Corunna, one of which had captured a brig from Lisbon with a cargo of bale goods two days earlier. Pellew immediately set off towards Corunna and was able to intercept the Ariel. She had 12 guns and a crew of 75 men. She was 14 days out of Bordeaux. Her consort, the schooner Vengeur, was of the same strength, and Pellew yet hoped to catch her, too. The brig from Bristol, however, had made it into the port of Ferrol, where Pellew had earlier chased two French frigates.



    In January 1797, Indefatigable and Amazon captured the packet Sangossee. On 7 January, Indefatigable and Amazon captured the Emanuel. Later that month, Indefatigable fought her most famous battle.



    The Action of 13 January 1797 was an engagement off the Penmarks involving the two frigates Indefatigable and Amazon against the French Droits de l'Homme, a 74-gun ship of the line. The battle ended with Droits de l'Homme being driven onto shore in a gale. Amazon also ran onto the shore; still, almost her entire crew survived both the battle and the grounding and were captured. Despite being embayed and having damaged masts and rigging, Indefatigable was able to repair the damage and beat off the lee shore, showing excellent seamanship. She had only 19 officers and men wounded, with most of those not being serious. This action won the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Indefatigable 13 Jany. 1797" for any crew surviving in 1847.



    Subsequently, Indefatigable or Pellew's squadron took more vessels, including privateers, primarily in the Channel. Thus, Pellew reported that, on 30 April 1797, "we" captured the French brigantine privateer Basque. She was armed with eight guns and carried a crew of 50 men.



    On 11 May, Indefatigable in company with Phoebe, Cleopatra, Childers, and Duke of York captured Nouvelle Eugénie. She was a razee privateer of 16 guns and carried a crew of 120 men. She was four days out of Nantes on a 30-day cruise, but had taken no prizes. The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Eugenie.



    On 21 July, the Duke of York returned, having chased a French privateer lugger into the hands of Lieutenant Bray, who commanded the Revenue Cutter Hind. Hind also recaptured a sloop that the privateer had captured. The lugger was armed with two guns and carried a crew of 25 men.



    On 14 October, Indefatigable arrived at Teneriffe. There at midnight she captured the French brig corvette Ranger. Ranger was armed with 14 guns and carried a crew of 70 men. She had been carrying dispatches to the West Indies, which she was able to destroy before capture. The next day, Pellew captured a Spanish schooner carrying a cargo of fish. Indefatigable was short of water, so he put the crew of Ranger on board the schooner (though not Ranger's officers) and sent them ashore at Santa Cruz.



    Ten days after that, Indefatigable captured the privateer Hyène after a chase of eight hours. She was armed with twenty-four 9-pounder guns and had a crew of 230 men. She was two weeks out of Bayonne but had not captured anything. Hyène had apparently mistaken Indefatigable for a vessel from Portuguese India. Pellew estimated that, had she not lost her foretopmast in the chase, she might have escaped. She had been the post-ship Hyaena until her capture in 1793; the Royal Navy took her back into service under her original name.
    Indefatigable returned to the Channel. On 11 January 1798, she was in company with Cambrian and Childers when they captured the French privateer schooner Vengeur.] Vengeur was a new vessel of 12 guns and 72 men. She was eight days out of Ostend but had taken no prizes. Pellew sent her into Falmouth.



    Five days later, in the evening of the 16th, Pellew's squadron captured the French privateer Inconcevable. She was armed with eight guns and had a crew of 55 men. She was 10 days out of Dunkirk and had taken nothing. Prize money was paid to Indefatigable, Cambrian, and Success.



    On 28 January, Indefatigable and Cambrian captured the privateer Heureuse Nouvelle. She was armed with 22 guns and had a crew of 130 men. She was 36 days out of Brest and, during that time, had captured only one ship, a large American vessel named the Providence which had a cargo of cotton and sugar. Pellew sent Cambrian in pursuit. Duke of York also shared in the capture.
    On 30 April 1798, Indefatigable captured the brigantine privateer Basque. She was armed with eight guns and had a crew of 50 men. Indefatigable and Cleopatra captured the Hope on 11 July.



    At daylight on 4 August, Indefatigable sighted the privateer Heureux together with a prize and gave chase. The two separated, with the prize heading directly for Bayonne. After a chase of 32 hours on a great circular route, Indefatigable and her quarry found themselves off Bayonne where Indefatigable intercepted the prize and captured her. The privateer was the Heureux, of 16 guns and 112 men. Her prize was the Canada, John Sewell Master, which had been sailing from Jamaica to London, having stopped in Charlestown, with a cargo of sugar, rum, and coffee. Pellew exchanged prisoners, taking off the crew of the Canada and putting on her the crew of Heureux. He then drove Canada on shore where he hoped that her cargo at least would be destroyed.



    Indefatigable captured the French corvette Vaillante while cruising in the Bay of Biscay on 8 August, after a chase of 24 hours, which was under the command of Lieutenant de Vaisseau La Porte.The corvette fired a few shots before she struck. She was armed with twenty-two 9-pounder guns and had a crew of 175 men. She had left Rochefort on 1 August, and the Île de Ré on the 4th, where she had picked up 25 banished priests, 27 convicts, and a Madame Rovere and family, all of whom she was taking to Cayenne. She was only 18 months old, coppered, and a fast sailer. The British took her into service as Danae. On 15 November 1798, Indefatigable captured the Mercurius.



    At dawn on 31 December 1798, Indefatigable captured the Minerve, five leagues off Ushant. She was armed with 16 guns and carried a crew of 140 men. She was four weeks out of Saint-Malo and was waiting to enter Brest when captured. She had taken several prizes, one of which, the Asphalon, Indefatigable captured on 1 January 1799. Aspahalon, a Newcastle vessel, had been sailing from Halifax to London with a cargo of sugar, coffee, and tobacco. Other vessels which Minerve had captured included Martinus (Bremen brig), Tagus (Portuguese brig ), Minerva (English snow), and Ann and Dorothea (aka Beata Maria, Danish schooner).



    On 14 January 1799, Indefatigable captured the Argo. More captures or recaptures of merchantmen followed. Indefatigable, Melpomene, and Nymphe recaptured the Providence on 10 January 1799, the Pomona on 5 February, and the Wohlfarden on 9 February.



    Subsequent commanders.



    From March 1799 until the end of 1800 Indefatigable was under the command of Captain Henry Curzon. On 31 May she captured the brig Vénus. Venus was armed with twelve 4-pounder guns and two 9-pounders, and carried a crew of 101 men. She was nine weeks out of Rochefort and had captured two prizes, the schooner Clarence, sailing from Lisbon to London, and a ship from Lisbon sailing to Hamburg with a cargo of salt Indefatigable was apparently also in company with Fisgard and Diamond.



    On 9 October 1799 Indefatigable, Diamond, Cambrian, Stag, Nymphe and Cerberus shared in the capture of the Spanish brig Nostra Senora de la Solidad. Then on 7 November Nymphe, Indefatigable and Diamond shared in the recapture of the ship Brailsford.



    Then on 6 January 1800 Indefatigable shared with Defiance, Unicorn, Sirius and Stag in the capture of the French brig Ursule. On 11 February Indefatigable captured the Vidette.



    On 12 June 1800, Indefatigable captured the French privateer brig Vengeur. She was armed with six long 4-pounders and ten 18-pounder carronades, and carried a crew of 102 men. She was two days out of Bordeaux and sailing for the coast of Brazil. Vengeur was sailing in company with three letters of marque – a ship, a brig and a schooner – that were bound for Guadeloupe. On 11 June Vengeur had captured the Jersey-privateer lugger Snake. Indefatigable shared the prize money with Sirius (1797).



    On 3 July Indefatigable recaptured the brig Cultivator, from the French.] Eleven days later, Indefatigable and Sirius captured the French ship Favori. The next day Bordelais (or Bourdelois) captured the Phoenix. Indefatigable, Sirius and Boadicea shared with Bordelais by agreement, and Shannon further shared with Bordelais.


    Indefatigable then was with Sir John Borlase Warren's squadron at Ferrol. She apparently did not participate in the attack on a fort at the bay of Playa de Dominos (Doniños) on 25 August 1800.



    On 22 October Indefatigable, took the French 28-gun frigate Vénus off the Portuguese coast. Indefatigable had been chasing Venus from the morning when in the afternoon Fisgard came in sight and forced Venus to turn. Both British vessels arrived at Venus at almost the same time (7pm).] Venus was armed with 32-guns and had a crew of 200 men. She was sailing from Rochefort to Senegal.] Indefatigable and Fisgard shared the prize money with Boadicea, Diamond, Urania, and the hired armed schooner Earl St Vincent.
    In January 1801 Indefatigable was under Captain Matthew Scott. Indefatigable was part of the squadron that shared by agreement in the prize money from the Temeraire, which Dasher had captured on 30 May. Similarly, the same vessels shared by agreement in Dasher's capture of Bien Aimé on 23 July 1801. Indefatigable was then paid off later that year. Indefatigable was laid up in ordinary at Plymouth in March to April 1802, as a result of the peace of October 1801.



    Napoleonic Wars.

    Following the resumption of hostilities, the Indefatigable was fitted out for sea between July and September 1803. She was recommissioned under Captain Graham Moore, younger brother of Sir John Moore of Rifle Brigade and Corunna fame.

    Action of 5 October 1804.



    Indefatigable, with Moore as Commodore, and frigates Medusa, Lively, and Amphion intercepted four Spanish frigates off Cadiz under the command of Rear-Admiral Don Joseph Bustamente, Knight of the Order of St. James, on 5 October 1804. They were carrying bullion from Montevideo, South America to Spain. Spain was a neutral country at the time, but was showing strong signs of declaring war in alliance with Napoleonic France. Acting on Admiralty orders, Moore required the Spaniards to change their course and sail for England. Admiral Bustamente refused and a short engagement ensued.



    First Mercedes blew up. Then Indefatigable captured Medée, and Lively captured Clara. After a further chase, Lively and Medusa captured Fama.




    • Medée the flagship was armed with forty-two 18-pounder guns on her main deck and had a crew of 300 men. She lost two men killed and 10 wounded.
    • Fama, the Commodore's ship, was armed with thirty-six 12-pounder guns on her main deck and had a crew of 180 men. She lost 11 killed and 50 wounded.
    • Clara was armed with thirty-six 12-pounder guns on her main deck and had a crew of 300 men. She lost seven killed and 20 wounded.
    • Mercedes was armed with thirty-six 12-pounder guns on her main deck and had a crew of 280 men. After she exploded, the British were only able to rescue her second captain and 40 men.
    • Indefatigable had no casualties. Amphion had five men wounded, one badly. Lively had two killed and four wounded. Indefatigable and Amphion escorted Medée and Fama to Plymouth. Medusa and Lively brought in Clara. The Royal Navy took Medea into service as Iphigenia and Clara as Leocadia.

    The value of the treasure was very large and, if it had been treated as Prize of War, then Moore and his brother captains would have become extremely wealthy. As it was, the money and ships were declared to be "Droits of Admiralty" on the grounds that war had not been declared, and the captains and crew shared a relatively small ex gratia payment of £160,000 for the bullion, plus the proceeds of the sale of the hull and cargo.



    Normal operations.



    On 4 November 1804 Nautilus recaptured the ship William Heathcote from the French. Indefatigable shared by agreement.



    In October 1805 Indefatigable, now under Captain John Tremayne Rodd (−1809), was part of the blockade of Brest. One boat each from the ships of the line of the squadron, plus three boats each from Indefatigable and Iris entered the Gironde on 15 July 1806 to attack two French corvettes and a convoy. A change in the wind permitted all but one corvette to escape. The British captured the French corvette César (or Caesar), which the Royal Navy took into service as HMS Cesar. She was armed with 18 guns, had a crew of 86 men, and was under the command of Monsieur Louis Francois Hector Fourré, Lieutenant de Vaisseau. The French were expecting the attack and put up a strong resistance. The British lost six men killed, 36 wounded and 21 missing. Indefatigable alone lost two killed and 11 wounded. The 21 missing men were in a boat from Revenge; a later report suggested that most, if not all, had been taken prisoner. Most of the boats in the attack were so shot through that the British later abandoned them. The vessels claiming prize money included Pilchard and the hired armed lugger Nile, in addition to the various ships of the line and frigates. This cutting out expedition resulted in the participants qualifying for the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "16 July Boat Service 1806".



    About a year later, on 19 October 1806, Indefatigable, Hazard and Atalante captured the chasse marees Achille, Jenny and Marianne. On 5 December 1807 Indefatigable captured the Pamelia. Then on the day after Christmas, Indefatigable and Tribune captured the American ship Eliza.



    On 7 January 1808 Indefatigable and Tribune captured the French galiot Fanny and her cargo.



    Then on 31 July, Indefatigable, in company with the gun-brig Conflict, captured the letter of marque Diane, which was on her way to Île de France, carrying letters and dispatches that she threw overboard during the chase, as well as naval stores. She was six years old, had a burthen of 482 tons (bm), was armed with fourteen 9 and 6-pounder guns and had a crew of 68 men. She had left the Gironde the evening before on this, her second voyage, to India.
    On 19 August Indefatigable, still in company with Conflict, captured the Adele. In December a distribution of ₤10,000 was payable for the proceeds from the Diane and the Adele. On 1 and 9 September 1808 Indefatigable captured two American ships, the Sally and the Peggy. Theseus and Impeteuex were in company with Indefatigable at the time. On 1 November Indefatigable captured the Bonne Louise.



    On 14 January 1809 Indefatigable captured French privateer lugger Clarisse in the Channel. She was pierced for 14 guns but had only three mounted. She had left Saint-Malo the evening before and had not made any captures. At the time of the capture, Amazon, Iris, Raleigh, and Goldfinch were in sight. They shared with Indefatigable in the proceeds for the hull, but not the bounty money for the captured crew. On 20 February Statira captured the French schooner Matilda. Indefatigable was in company.



    Indefatigable arrived at the Basque Roads on 25 February. While there she captured two vessels, the Danish ship Neptunus on 24 March and the French ship Nymphe on 28 March. For the capture of Neptunus Indefatigable was in company with the sloops Foxhound and Goldfinch. Foxhound was also in company for the capture of Nymphe.



    In April 1809 Indefatigable participated in the battle of the Basque Roads. The action earned her crew another clasp to the Naval General Service Medal: "Basque Roads 1809".

    Battle of the Basque Roads.

    In October 1809 Indefatigable was under Captain Henry E. R. Baker. Captain John Broughton succeeded him in December 1809 and remained in command until 1812.



    On 11 January 1810, Indefatigable captured Mouche № 26 near Cap de Peñas. Under the command of Enseigne de vausseau provisorie Fleury She had sailed from Pasajes with despatches for Île de France. The next day Mouche № 26 foundered near the Penmarks. Fleury, presumably among others, was drowned.



    Four months later, on 6 May Indefatigable captured two French chasse marees, the Camilla and the Bonne Rencontre; Scipion and Piercer were in company. Next, Indefatigable captured the Flora on 13 June. On 20 October Indefatigable re-captured the Portuguese brig Intrigua.



    On 15 January 1811, Dryad captured the Matilda and her cargo. Indefatigable and Lyra were in sight.



    Then in June 1812, under Captain John Fyffe on the South American station, Indefatigable visited the Galápagos Islands. During this cruise she gave the second largest island, now known as Santa Cruz island, its English name – Indefatigable.



    By July Indefatigable was back in Portsmouth. When news of the outbreak of the War of 1812 reached Britain, the Royal Navy seized all American vessels then in British ports. Indefatigable was among the Royal Navy vessels then lying at Spithead or Portsmouth and so entitled to share in the grant for the American ships Belleville, Janus, Aeos, Ganges and Leonidas seized there on 31 July 1812.



    On 17 September Indefatigable, Hearty, Desiree, Drake, Primrose, and Cretan shared in the capture of the Dankbarheide. When the gun-brig Hearty detained the Prussian vessel Friede on 29 September, Indefatigable, Desiree, Primrose, Cretan, Drake, were either in company or sharing by agreement.



    Fate.



    Indefatigable was finally paid off in 1815. She was broken up at Sheerness in August 1816.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

  11. #11
    Admiral of the Fleet.
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    HMS Lively.

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    HMS Lively in foreground.

    She was a 38-gun fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy, launched on 23 July 1804 at Woolwich Dockyard, and commissioned later that month. She was the prototype of the Lively class of 18-pounder frigates, designed by the Surveyor of the Navy, Sir William Rule. It was probably the most successful British frigate design of the Napoleonic Wars, to which fifteen more sister ships would be ordered between 1803 and 1812.

    Action of 5 October 1804.

    In October 1804, Lively was under the command of Captain (later Vice-Admiral Sir) Graham Eden Hammond.
    On 5 October, a British squadron of four frigates, Lively, Medusa, Indefatigable and Amphion and, with Graham Moore as Commodore, Indefatigable, intercepted four Spanish frigates under the command of Rear-Admiral Don Joseph Bustamente, Knight of the Order of St. James, off Cadiz. As it transpired later, they were carrying bullion from Montevideo, South America to Spain. Spain was at the time a neutral country, but was showing strong signs of declaring war in alliance with Napoleonic France. Acting on Admiralty orders Moore required the Spaniards to change their course and sail for England. Admiral Bustamente refused and a short engagement ensued.
    First, Mercedes blew up. Then Indefatigable captured Medée and Lively captured Clara. After a further chase, Lively and Medusa captured Fama.


    • Medée, the flagship, was armed with forty-two 18-pounder guns, on the main deck, and had a crew of 300 men. She lost two men killed and 10 wounded.
    • Fama, the Commodore's ship, was armed with thirty-six 12-pounder guns on the main deck, and had a crew of 180 men. She lost 11 killed and 50 wounded.
    • Clara was armed with thirty-six 12-pounder guns on the main deck, and had a crew of 300 men. She lost seven killed and 20 wounded.
    • Mercedes was armed with thirty-six 12-pounder guns, on the main deck, and had a crew of 280 men. After she exploded the British were only able to rescue her second captain and 40 men.

    Indefatigable had no casualties. Amphion had five men wounded, one badly. Lively had two killed and four wounded. Indefatigable and Amphion escorted Medée and Fama to Plymouth. Medusa and Lively brought in Clara. The Royal Navy took Medea into service as Iphigenia and Clara as Leocadia.

    The value of the treasure was very large, and if it had been treated as Prize of War then Moore and his brother captains would have become extremely wealthy. As it was the money (and ships) were declared to be "Droits of Admiralty" on the grounds that war had not been declared, and the captains and crew shared a relatively small ex gratia payment of £160,000 for the bullion, plus the proceeds of the sale of the hull and cargo.
    On 7 December Lively and Polyphemus captured the Spanish frigate Santa Gertruyda off Cape St Mary. The Royal Navy took her into service as Santa Gertruda, but did not commission the 40-year-old ship. Instead it used her as a receiving ship at Plymouth.

    In March 1805, Lively was attached to Sir James Craig's military expedition to Italy. Along with HMS Dragon, Craig's flagship, and HMS Ambuscade, Lively escorted the fleet of transports to Malta.

    Fate.

    On 20 August 1810, while escorting another convoy to Malta, HMS Lively ran aground on rocks near Point Coura, Malta, and was wrecked; no lives were lost. Workmen from the dockyard at Valletta attempted unsuccessfully to get her off. Work continued until late September when she was abandoned as a wreck after having been stripped of anything of use or value. The court martial dis-rated the master for having sailed too close to shore, and reprimanded the officer of the watch.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

  12. #12
    Admiral of the Fleet.
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    HMS Amphion.

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    She was a 32-gun fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She served during the Napoleonic Wars.
    Amphion was built by Betts, of Mistleythorn, and was launched on 19 March 1798.

    Career.

    Amphion's first mission was to Jamaica in 1798, but by 1799 she was off Southern Spain under Captain Bennett. That year she captured a Spanish letter of marque, Nuestra Senora del Corvodorvya (alias Asturiana), on 25 November 1799. Asturiana was armed with eighteen 8-pounder and two 12-pounder guns, and four 36-pounder howitzers. She and her crew of 180 men were sailing from Cadiz to La Vera Cruz with a valuable cargo. She had been part of a convoy of five vessels. Amphion shared with Alarm in the head-money that was finally paid in March 1829.

    Amphion remained in the Mediterranean until the Peace of Amiens. In 1802 Amphion was employed in attacking British smugglers in the English Channel and later conveyed the ambassador to Portugal to Lisbon.
    In 1803 Amphion was paid off but later recommissioned and transported Horatio Nelson to the Mediterranean to take command. She remained in the Mediterranean under Captain Samuel Sutton, and was part of the fleet blockading Toulon. Amphion was one of the ships selected to hunt and capture the Spanish treasure fleet destroyed at the Action of 5 October 1804. In October 1805 the captaincy was given to William Hoste at Lisbon, and he sailed to Gibraltar and subsequently Algiers before operating off Cadiz and Sicily.

    After the battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, Amphion was at the blockade of Cadiz. On 25 November, Thunderer detained the Ragusan ship Nemesis, which was sailing from Isle de France to Leghorn, Italy, with a cargo of spice, indigo dye, and other goods. Amphion shared the prize money with ten other British warships.

    In May 1808, Hoste was ordered to attack the French frigate Baleine off Rosas. Amphion succeeded in destroying the vessel without severe loss and in November joined HMS Unite off Trieste in the Adriatic. There Hoste operated against French and Italian shipping for the next three years, sailing from Lissa and periodically refitting at Malta. In this time, Hoste managed to capture or destroy huge quantities of French supplies and provoked the attention of a French squadron under Bernard Dubourdieu. In March 1811, Dubourdieu attacked at the Battle of Lissa and was heavily defeated, Amphion's fire killing Dubourdieu and wrecking his flagship. Two other ships were captured, but Hoste was wounded and the ship returned to Britain.

    In 1813 Amphion was attached to the North Sea fleet and late in the year her crew landed on Schouwen-Duiveland in the Netherlands and captured the island. In early 1814 Amphion continued to attack French shore positions along the North Sea coast but with the end of the war returned to Britain. In 1818 Amphion sailed to Brazil and in 1820 she was decommissioned.

    Fate.

    In November 1820 year she was sunk as a breakwater at Woolwich. The wreck was subsequently sold in September 1823 to Joiliffe and Banks for breaking up.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

  13. #13
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    HMS Medusa.

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    She was a 32-gun 5th rate frigate of the Royal Navy that served in the Napoleonic Wars. Launched on 14 April 1801, she took part in the Action of 5 October 1804 against a Spanish squadron, in the River Plate Expedition in 1807, and made several captures of enemy ships, before being converted to a hospital ship in 1813. She was broken up in 1816.

    Construction.

    Medusa was ordered on 28 January 1800 from the Pitcher yard at Northfleet, and was designed by Sir William Rule. Her keel was laid down in April 1800, and she was launched a year later on 14 April 1801. Medusa was commissioned on 25 April 1801 under the command of John Gore.

    Service history.

    On 2 August 1801 Lord Nelson hoisted his flag aboard the Medusa at Deal and crossed the channel in order to observe the French invasion fleet at Boulogne. He ordered an attack by bomb vessels on the 4th, followed by an attempt to board and cut out the enemy flotilla on the night of the 15th.

    The British were organised into four boat divisions under the command of Captains Philip Somerville, Isaac Cotgrave, Robert Jones and Nelson's aide-de-camp Edward T. Parker, supported by howitzer boats commanded by Captain John Conn. The darkness of the night and a powerful tide meant that the boats arrived separately rather than together, and Jones' division missed the action completely. The French were well-prepared, and the attackers were met by heavy fire from the ships and from shore. Medusa's boats attempted to board a large brig, but they were frustrated by nets stretched around the bulwarks. Medusa suffered 55 casualties, the most of any ship. Midshipmen William Gore and William Bristow, 14 seamen and 4 marines were killed, and Captain Parker, Lieutenants Charles Pelley and Frederick Langford, the Master William Kirby, Midshipman the Hon. Anthony Maitland, 24 seamen and 6 marines were wounded.

    During the Peace of Amiens, between October 1801 and February 1802, Medusa was employed in suppressing smuggling in the English Channel, patrolling the south coast between Start Point and the Isle of Wight. She was then ordered to the Mediterranean Sea, where she visited Spanish and French ports and escorted King Ferdinand IV from Palermo to Naples. Early in 1803 Medusa was at Constantinople, having carried the British ambassador, William Drummond, from Naples. There Gore learned of the imminent renewal of hostilities, so hurried to join the squadron of Sir Richard Bickerton in blockading the French naval base at Toulon. When Nelson arrived to take command in July, four sloops and four frigates, including Medusa, were sent to patrol off Gibraltar.

    On 8 December 1803 Medusa attacked two French felucca-rigged privateers in the Strait. The first, Esperance, armed with two 12 and two 6-pounder guns, was captured, while the other, Sorcier, was pursued until she ran aground and was wrecked near Cabrita Point, 9 miles south-west of Marbella. Soon afterwards Medusa chased another French privateer schooner so close to Cadiz, that her shot went into the town.

    On 9 January 1804 she captured the Spanish ship Nostra Senora del Rosario.

    In the action of 5 October 1804 Medusa, along with the frigates Indefatigable, Amphion and Lively engaged four Spanish frigates en route to Cadiz with silver and gold from South America. Captain Graham Moore of Indefatigable made a perfunctory attempt to persuade the Spanish ships to allow themselves to be detained, which they naturally declined. In the short battle that followed the Spanish frigate Mercedes blew up, and the remaining three; Fama, Medea and Clara, were captured.

    Medusa returned to Portsmouth on 8 November with the Spanish frigate Matilda, which she and the Donegal under Captain Sir Richard Strachan had intercepted on 23 October, while sailing from Cadiz to Veracruz with £200,000 worth of mercury aboard. Medusa went into dock for extensive repairs. Gore was knighted in February 1805.

    On 15 April 1805 Medusa sailed for Bengal with Lord Cornwallis, the new Governor-General of India, aboard as passenger. Unfortunately Cornwallis died soon after his arrival, so in November Medusa headed back to England, arriving on 26 January 1806, taking only 84 days to sail 13,800 miles. Gore was then given command of the 74-gun ship Revenge, and command of Medusa passed to Captain the Hon. Duncombe Pleydell-Bouverie.

    During 1807 Medusa formed part of the expedition in the River Plate. In January she landed seamen and marines to support the army during the capture of Montevideo. In June an attempt to capture Buenos Aires failed, and Medusa helped to evacuate the troops.

    In 1808 Medusa was attached to the Channel Fleet. On 4 April she captured the privateer lugger Actif of Dieppe, and relieved her of her prize, a coasting sloop. On 6 December 1808 Captain William Bowles was appointed acting-captain of Medusa, remaining in command until 23 April 1809 and Captain Bouverie's return.

    In January 1810 Medusa captured two more prizes; the 14-gun French privateers Aventure and Hirondelle. Captain Bowles returned to acting command of Medusa in May 1810 while she served on the north coast of Spain, landing seamen and marines at Santoña in July to assist in the destruction of various French batteries.

    From May 1812 Medusa was part of a squadron under the command of Captain George Collier in Surveillante, employed off the coast of northern Spain assisting the operations of Spanish partisans. On 17 June Medusa joined the Hotspur, Rover, Venerable, Rhin and Lyra off Santoña, and made contact with the guerilla chief Don Gaspar, who arranged an attack on the town and the fort of Lequietio, 12 miles to the east. Marines were landed to reinforce the guerillas, and Captain Bouverie supervised the landing of a gun, which made a breach in the fort's wall allowing it to be captured.

    On 9 November 1812 Medusa captured the American schooner Independence, of 213 tons, 4 guns, and 23 men. She had been sailing from Bayonne, bound to New York, with a cargo of brandy, silks, etc. The Royal Navy took her into service as HMS Racer.

    On 10 March 1813 Medusa captured the American vessel Messenger, and on 22 March the American vessel Tiger.

    On 13 April Medusa captured the American letter of marque schooner Caroline, armed with 4 guns and with a crew of 28, en route to Bordeaux from New Orleans. On 10 June Bouverie left Medusa, and command was given to Captain George Bell, who remained until 17 November 1813 when she was decommissioned at Plymouth.

    Fate.

    Medusa was converted into a hospital ship, and was eventually broken up in 1816.
    The Business of the commander-in-chief is first to bring an enemy fleet to battle on the most advantageous terms to himself, (I mean that of laying his ships close on board the enemy, as expeditiously as possible); and secondly to continue them there until the business is decided.

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