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HMS Actaeon (1831)
Encyclopedia
HMS Actaeon was a 26-gun sixth-rate
Sixth-rate
Sixth rate was the designation used by the Royal Navy for small warships mounting between 20 and 24 nine-pounder guns on a single deck, sometimes with guns on the upper works and sometimes without.-Rating:...
frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
.
Career
Actaeon was designed in 1827 by the School of Naval Architecture, and launched from Portsmouth Dockyard on 31 January 1831. She was first commissioned in November 1830 under Captain Frederick William GreyFrederick Grey
Admiral Sir Frederick William Grey GCB was a senior naval officer and First Naval Lord.-Naval career:Born the son of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, the former Prime Minister, Grey joined the Royal Navy in 1819. He was given command of HMS Actaeon in 1830, HMS Jupiter in 1835, HMS Endymion in 1840...
for service in the Mediterranean, followed by service off South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
from November 1834 under Captain Lord Edward Russell
Lord Edward Russell
Admiral Lord Edward Russell CB MP was a British naval officer and Whig politician.-Early life:He was the son of John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford and his second wife Lady Georgina Gordon-Career:...
. By 1838 she was back in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
under the command of Robert Russell, who sailed her back to South America in August that year. Actaeon was back in Britain, this time at Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
in 1844, before departing for the African coast in December 1844 under Captain George Mansel. Whilst serving on this post, she captured the slaver
Slaver
Slaver has several meanings:*One who deals in slaves - see slave trade*A slave ship*Saliva, i.e. either the result or act of drooling as opposed to normal salivation....
s Astrea and Theresa on 9 September 1847.
She was paid off at Portsmouth in 1848, but was recommissioned again in 1857 to serve as a survey vessel
Survey vessel
A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for mapping. It is a type of research vessel.-Role:The task of survey vessels is to map the bottom, benthic zone, full water column, and surface for the purpose of:* hydrography* general oceanography...
off "the coast of China and Tartary", under the command of Captain William Thornton Bate
William Thornton Bate
William Thornton Bate was a surveyor and officer in the Royal Navy.-Early life:Bate was born in 1820, the son of the Governor of Ascension Island. He entered the Royal Naval College, Portsmouth at the age of 13, spending two years studying there. He was then appointed as a midshipman aboard HMS...
. She was then present at the bombardment of Canton
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
in 1857, during the Second Opium War
Second Opium War
The Second Opium War, the Second Anglo-Chinese War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a war pitting the British Empire and the Second French Empire against the Qing Dynasty of China, lasting from 1856 to 1860...
, where Bate was shot and killed on 29 December. He was replaced by Robert Jenkins on 30 December, and then by John Ward on 1 March 1858. Ward carried out surveys for further military operations in August 1859, before returning to Britain. Actaeon was at Shanghai on the night of Sunday, April 7th, 1861 for the British census. Actaeon Sound
Actaeon Sound
Actaeon Sound is a sound in the Queen Charlotte Strait region of the Central Coast of British Columbia, on the north side of Drury Inlet, to the north of the town of Port McNeill.-Name origin:"Name adopted in 1865 by Captain Pender as suggested by W...
in the Queen Charlotte Strait
Queen Charlotte Strait
Queen Charlotte Strait is a strait between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It connects Queen Charlotte Sound with Johnstone Strait, Discovery Passage and then to the Strait of Georgia and Puget Sound...
region of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, was named for the Actaeon in 1865.
Actaeon was then out of commission at Portsmouth in 1866, becoming a hospital ship
Hospital ship
A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital; most are operated by the military forces of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones....
. She was hulked in 1870 and lent to the Cork Harbour Board, before being sold at Portsmouth in February 1889 for breaking up.