HMS Alligator (1787)
Encyclopedia
HMS Alligator was a 28-gun Enterprise-class
sixth rate frigate
of the Royal Navy
. She was originally ordered during the American War of Independence but was completed too late to see service during the conflict. Instead she had an active career during the French Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars
.
Commissioned during the last few years of peace prior to the outbreak of war with France, Alligator served in British waters, making trips as far afield as the Mediterranean and the North American coast. During the period of conflict that began in 1793, Alligator spent a considerable amount of time in the West Indies under a number of commanders, and was effective in anti-privateer
operations. Despite this she was laid up for a period starting in 1795, and was reduced to a 16-gun troopship
in 1800. Further service followed in the West Indies, supporting the fleet and army movements around the islands, and taking part in the capture of several French frigates. She was again laid up, and as the end of hostilities approached, was deemed surplus and was sold in 1814.
, with the contract to build her being awarded to Philemon Jacobs, of Sandgate
on 7 May 1782. She was laid down there in December 1782 and launched on 18 April 1787. With there being no immediate need for a large number of ships in the navy after the end of the war with America, Alligator was gradually completed between 20 April 1787 and 18 July 1790, at first at Deptford Dockyard and then at the civilian yards of Randall & Co, at Rotherhithe
. She cost a total of £2,771 with £4,330 spent on fitting costs and expenses incurred at Deptford. She commissioned under her first commander, Captain Isaac Coffin
in June 1790.
, and then to Ceuta
, where Alligator briefly carried the flag of Admiral Philip Cosby. Superseded by the arrival of , Alligator was sent to cruise off Western Ireland. In 1792 Coffin sailed to Canada and returned carrying Lord Dorchester
. Alligator then underwent a refit at Deptford for £2,895 and recommissioned in December 1792.
, achieving success against French privateer
s in the region. On 12 February 1793 he captured the Sans Peur, followed by the Prend Tout on 21 February. Afleck left Britain bound for the Leeward Islands
on 18 March 1793, and arrived in time to be present at the capture of St Pierre and Miquelon on 14 May that year.
Afleck and Alligator captured the French 14-gun Liberté near Jamaica
on 28 March 1794. In October that year command passed to Captain Thomas Surridge. Surridge was succeeded in January 1795 by Captain Thomas Afleck, who paid Alligator off the following month. She was laid up at Portsmouth for five years, until being refitted there as a 16-gun troopship
between February and March 1800. She was recommissioned in February under Captain George Bowen, under whom she took part in operations off Egypt during the French campaign there. Captain Philip Beaver
took over command in May 1802, with Beaver remaining Alligators captain until she was recommissioned in May the following year under Commander Richardson. Alligator went out to the Leeward Islands and on 27 September 1803 was one of a number of ships that captured the 18-gun Dutch ship Hippomenes
at Demerara
.
in April 1807. She was sold there as the Napoleonic Wars drew to a close, on 21 July 1814 for the sum of £1,760.
Enterprise class frigate
The Enterprise-class frigates were the final class of 28-gun sailing frigates of the sixth-rate to be produced for the Royal Navy. These twenty-seven vessels were designed in 1770 by John Williams. A first batch of five ships were ordered as part of the programme sparked by the Falklands Islands...
sixth rate 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...
. She was originally ordered during the American War of Independence but was completed too late to see service during the conflict. Instead she had an active career during the French Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
.
Commissioned during the last few years of peace prior to the outbreak of war with France, Alligator served in British waters, making trips as far afield as the Mediterranean and the North American coast. During the period of conflict that began in 1793, Alligator spent a considerable amount of time in the West Indies under a number of commanders, and was effective in anti-privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
operations. Despite this she was laid up for a period starting in 1795, and was reduced to a 16-gun troopship
Troopship
A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
in 1800. Further service followed in the West Indies, supporting the fleet and army movements around the islands, and taking part in the capture of several French frigates. She was again laid up, and as the end of hostilities approached, was deemed surplus and was sold in 1814.
Construction and commissioning
Alligator was one of the third batch of Enterprise-class ships to be ordered by the AdmiraltyAdmiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
, with the contract to build her being awarded to Philemon Jacobs, of Sandgate
Sandgate, Kent
Sandgate is a village in the Folkestone and Hythe Urban Area in the Shepway district of Kent, England. In 2004, the village re-acquired civil parish status....
on 7 May 1782. She was laid down there in December 1782 and launched on 18 April 1787. With there being no immediate need for a large number of ships in the navy after the end of the war with America, Alligator was gradually completed between 20 April 1787 and 18 July 1790, at first at Deptford Dockyard and then at the civilian yards of Randall & Co, at Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
. She cost a total of £2,771 with £4,330 spent on fitting costs and expenses incurred at Deptford. She commissioned under her first commander, Captain Isaac Coffin
Sir Isaac Coffin, 1st Baronet
Admiral Sir Isaac Coffin, 1st Baronet GCH was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
in June 1790.
Interwar years
Coffin commissioned Alligator during the period of tensions known as the Spanish Armament and commanded her over the three years leading up to the outbreak of war with Revolutionary France. At one point, while Alligator was anchored at the Nore, one of her crew fell overboard. Coffin jumped into the water to rescue him, and succeeded in recovering the man before he drowned, but in doing so experienced a serious rupture while carrying out the rescue, that would dog him in later life. From the Nore Coffin moved to SpitheadSpithead
Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...
, and then to Ceuta
Ceuta
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
, where Alligator briefly carried the flag of Admiral Philip Cosby. Superseded by the arrival of , Alligator was sent to cruise off Western Ireland. In 1792 Coffin sailed to Canada and returned carrying Lord Dorchester
Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester
Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, KB , known between 1776 and 1786 as Sir Guy Carleton, was an Irish-British soldier and administrator...
. Alligator then underwent a refit at Deptford for £2,895 and recommissioned in December 1792.
French Revolutionary Wars
From February 1793 her commander was Captain William Afleck, who served briefly in the North SeaNorth Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
, achieving success against French privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s in the region. On 12 February 1793 he captured the Sans Peur, followed by the Prend Tout on 21 February. Afleck left Britain bound for the Leeward Islands
Leeward Islands
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
on 18 March 1793, and arrived in time to be present at the capture of St Pierre and Miquelon on 14 May that year.
Afleck and Alligator captured the French 14-gun Liberté near Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
on 28 March 1794. In October that year command passed to Captain Thomas Surridge. Surridge was succeeded in January 1795 by Captain Thomas Afleck, who paid Alligator off the following month. She was laid up at Portsmouth for five years, until being refitted there as a 16-gun troopship
Troopship
A troopship is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime...
between February and March 1800. She was recommissioned in February under Captain George Bowen, under whom she took part in operations off Egypt during the French campaign there. Captain Philip Beaver
Philip Beaver
Philip Beaver was an officer of the Royal Navy, serving during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries...
took over command in May 1802, with Beaver remaining Alligators captain until she was recommissioned in May the following year under Commander Richardson. Alligator went out to the Leeward Islands and on 27 September 1803 was one of a number of ships that captured the 18-gun Dutch ship Hippomenes
HMS Hippomenes (1803)
HMS Hippomenes was a former Dutch corvette built in Vlissingen in 1797 for the Batavian Republic. The British took her in 1803 and she served with the Royal Navy until sold in 1813. With the Royal Navy she participated in two notable single-ship actions in the West Indies.-Dutch service:Hippomenes...
at Demerara
Demerara
Demerara was a region in South America in what is now Guyana that was colonised by the Dutch in 1611. The British invaded and captured the area in 1796...
.
Napoleonic Wars
Commander Robert Henderson was in command between 1804 and 1805, during which time Alligator was one of several ships to chase down and capture the 32-gun Proserpine at Surinam on 6 May 1804. Henderson was succeeded by Commander Augustus Collier in 1806, who returned her to the Leeward Islands, where in March 1806 she came under the command of Captain Hugh Pigot, and then Captain Robert Bell Campbell from 1807. Campbell returned Alligator to Britain, where she was laid up at PlymouthPlymouth
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 April 1807. She was sold there as the Napoleonic Wars drew to a close, on 21 July 1814 for the sum of £1,760.