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HMS Apollo (1799)
Encyclopedia
HMS Apollo, the fourth ship of the Royal Navy
to be named for the Greek god Apollo
, was a fifth-rate
frigate of a nominal 36 guns. She was the name ship of the s. Apollo was launched in 1799 and wrecked with heavy loss of life in 1804.
— who had commanded the previous Apollo when she was lost — and was posted to the West Indies, cruising there and escorting convoys to Britain.
While she was escorting a convoy on 11 January 1800 Apollo saw a suspicious vessel some distance away. After a four-hour chase she captured the Spanish warship Aquilla. Aquilla was pierced for 22 guns on the main deck but had only four mounted. She was under the command of Don Mariano Merino and was on a cargo voyage from Buenos Ayres to A Coruña
. At the time, the sloop was in company with Apollo.
At daybreak on the 15th, Apollo sighted a vessel that proceeded to attempt to evade closer scrutiny. After a short chase Apollo recaptured the Lady Harwood, which had been part of the convoy that Apollo was escorting, but which had gotten separated on 1 January at the onset of gale. On 13 January the French privateer ship Vautour, of 20 guns had captured her.
Apollo captured the Cantabria (or Cántabro), of 18 guns, off Havana on 27 January. In at least one account the vessel is described as the "Cantabrian Spanish ship of 18 guns".
Between 20 May and 19 September, Apollo captured two vessels:
On 10 November, Apollo chased a xebec
and then, coming up on a brig, chased and captured her. The brig was the Resolution, a sloop of war, of 18 guns and 149 men, under the command of Don Francisco Darrichena. She was the former British navy cutter Resolution and had sailed from Vera Cruz
three days earlier. After securing the prize, Apollo set out after the xebec, sighting her an hour after daybreak. Apollo finally captured the xebec Marte, of 75 tons, at three in the afternoon. She had been sailing from Vera Cruz for Havana. Apollo towed Resolution until 27 November, when she lost her mast. Resolution was in such an irreparable state Halkett destroyed her. Then on 7 December Apollo captured the schooner St Joseph, of 70 tons.
In addition to these three vessels, between 3 August 1800 and 3 January 1801, Apollo captured two other Spanish merchant vessels:
On 18 February 1801 Apollo captured the French 14-gun privateer Vigilante.
Head money for Aquilla, Cantabria and Vigilante was paid in August 1928. First-class shares were worth ₤77 18s 3d (Aquilla), ₤163 18s 5¾d (Cantabria), and ₤61 18s 6d (Vigilante); fifth-class shares, the shares of an able seaman, were worth 4s 8d, 9s 10½d and 4s 0½d.
In mid-July 1801 Apollo picked up the crew of from Veracruz, Veracruz
. Meleager had wrecked on the Triangles Shoals in the Bay of Campeche
on 9 June but the crew had been able to take to the boats in time and sail to Veracruz.
Apollo returned to Portsmouth in March 1802 to be paid off after the Peace of Amiens. However, she was rushed into commission again in October of that year, for service on the Irish station under Captain John William Taylor Dixon.
. She was armed with four guns and had a 45-man crew. She and several other vessels had been carrying cargo to Martinique.
with a convoy of sixty-seven merchantmen, accompanied by , immediately encountering a strong gale. At 3:30 in the morning of 2 April Apollo unexpectedly ran aground when their calculations showed them well offshore. In the morning Apollo discovered that she had run aground about nine miles south of Cape Mondego on the coast of Portugal. Twenty-five or six of the vessels in the convoy, traveling closely behind due to the low visibility and bad weather, were also wrecked. Next day some more vessels wrecked. In all, 29 vessels ran aground.
All the boats of the frigate were destroyed, and it took two days to transfer Apollos crew to land. Sixty-two officers and men died;A list of the drowned was published in The Times
of 2 May 1804. It included Captain Dixon and one of his lieutenants. around twenty of the crew died in the first few hours, but most perished of exposure waiting to be rescued. The number of dead in the merchant vessels is not known, but the Naval Chronicle reported that "dead bodies were every day floating ashore, and pieces of wreck covered the beach upwards of ten miles."
Carysfort had shifted course on the evening of 1 April and so escaped grounding. She gathered the 38 surviving vessels and proceeded with the convoy.
At the time, accounts blamed strong currents. Later it was discovered that Apollo had taken on board an iron tank, but that no one had adjusted her compass
for the influence of this large magnetic mass. Consequently, a small error in direction accumulated over the course of the five days; at the time Apollo struck Dixon thought she was forty or so miles out to sea. Because the convoy had endured bad weather since leaving Cork, no one had taken sightings that would have enabled them to correct their estimates of their position. Instead, they had relied on an approximately known speed and a biased heading for their estimate.
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...
to be named for the Greek god Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
, was a fifth-rate
Fifth-rate
In Britain's Royal Navy during the classic age of fighting sail, a fifth rate was the penultimate class of warships in a hierarchal system of six "ratings" based on size and firepower.-Rating:...
frigate of a nominal 36 guns. She was the name ship of the s. Apollo was launched in 1799 and wrecked with heavy loss of life in 1804.
French Revolutionary Wars
Apollo was built at Deptford Wharf in 1799, taking her name from the fifth-rate , which had been wrecked off Holland in January. She was commissioned in October under Captain Peter HalkettSir Peter Halkett, 6th Baronet
Admiral Sir Peter Halkett, 6th Baronet was a senior Royal Navy officer of the early nineteenth century who is best known for his service in the French Revolutionary Wars. The younger son a Scottish baronet, Halkett joined the Navy and by 1793 was a lieutenant, becoming a post captain after service...
— who had commanded the previous Apollo when she was lost — and was posted to the West Indies, cruising there and escorting convoys to Britain.
While she was escorting a convoy on 11 January 1800 Apollo saw a suspicious vessel some distance away. After a four-hour chase she captured the Spanish warship Aquilla. Aquilla was pierced for 22 guns on the main deck but had only four mounted. She was under the command of Don Mariano Merino and was on a cargo voyage from Buenos Ayres to A Coruña
A Coruña
A Coruña or La Coruña is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. It is the second-largest city in the autonomous community and seventeenth overall in the country...
. At the time, the sloop was in company with Apollo.
At daybreak on the 15th, Apollo sighted a vessel that proceeded to attempt to evade closer scrutiny. After a short chase Apollo recaptured the Lady Harwood, which had been part of the convoy that Apollo was escorting, but which had gotten separated on 1 January at the onset of gale. On 13 January the French privateer ship Vautour, of 20 guns had captured her.
Apollo captured the Cantabria (or Cántabro), of 18 guns, off Havana on 27 January. In at least one account the vessel is described as the "Cantabrian Spanish ship of 18 guns".
Between 20 May and 19 September, Apollo captured two vessels:
- Spanish warship of 18 guns and 110 men, with "a valuable cargo";This may well be the same vessel as the Cantabbria captured on 27 January, given the vagaries of record keeping at the time. and a
- Spanish xebec sailing from Malaga to Vera Cruz.
On 10 November, Apollo chased a xebec
Xebec
A xebec , also spelled zebec, was a Mediterranean sailing ship that was used mostly for trading. It would have a long overhanging bowsprit and protruding mizzen mast...
and then, coming up on a brig, chased and captured her. The brig was the Resolution, a sloop of war, of 18 guns and 149 men, under the command of Don Francisco Darrichena. She was the former British navy cutter Resolution and had sailed from Vera Cruz
Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...
three days earlier. After securing the prize, Apollo set out after the xebec, sighting her an hour after daybreak. Apollo finally captured the xebec Marte, of 75 tons, at three in the afternoon. She had been sailing from Vera Cruz for Havana. Apollo towed Resolution until 27 November, when she lost her mast. Resolution was in such an irreparable state Halkett destroyed her. Then on 7 December Apollo captured the schooner St Joseph, of 70 tons.
In addition to these three vessels, between 3 August 1800 and 3 January 1801, Apollo captured two other Spanish merchant vessels:
- brig Santa Trinidad, of 140 tons, carrying dry goods;
- polacre V. Del Carmen, of 100 tons, carrying dry goods.
On 18 February 1801 Apollo captured the French 14-gun privateer Vigilante.
Head money for Aquilla, Cantabria and Vigilante was paid in August 1928. First-class shares were worth ₤77 18s 3d (Aquilla), ₤163 18s 5¾d (Cantabria), and ₤61 18s 6d (Vigilante); fifth-class shares, the shares of an able seaman, were worth 4s 8d, 9s 10½d and 4s 0½d.
In mid-July 1801 Apollo picked up the crew of from Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, Veracruz
Veracruz, officially known as Heroica Veracruz, is a major port city and municipality on the Gulf of Mexico in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The city is located in the central part of the state. It is located along Federal Highway 140 from the state capital Xalapa, and is the state's most...
. Meleager had wrecked on the Triangles Shoals in the Bay of Campeche
Campeche, Campeche
San Francisco de Campeche is the capital city of the Mexican state of Campeche, located at,...
on 9 June but the crew had been able to take to the boats in time and sail to Veracruz.
Apollo returned to Portsmouth in March 1802 to be paid off after the Peace of Amiens. However, she was rushed into commission again in October of that year, for service on the Irish station under Captain John William Taylor Dixon.
Napoleonic Wars
On 21 June 1803 Apollo captured the French ship Bon Accord. Then on 29 June Apollo captured the French navy brig Dart, which sailing from Martinique to LorientLorient
Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...
. She was armed with four guns and had a 45-man crew. She and several other vessels had been carrying cargo to Martinique.
Fate
On 26 March 1804, she sailed from CorkCork Harbour
Cork Harbour is a natural harbour and river estuary at the mouth of the River Lee in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational area" . Other contenders include Halifax Harbour in Canada, and Poole Harbour...
with a convoy of sixty-seven merchantmen, accompanied by , immediately encountering a strong gale. At 3:30 in the morning of 2 April Apollo unexpectedly ran aground when their calculations showed them well offshore. In the morning Apollo discovered that she had run aground about nine miles south of Cape Mondego on the coast of Portugal. Twenty-five or six of the vessels in the convoy, traveling closely behind due to the low visibility and bad weather, were also wrecked. Next day some more vessels wrecked. In all, 29 vessels ran aground.
All the boats of the frigate were destroyed, and it took two days to transfer Apollos crew to land. Sixty-two officers and men died;A list of the drowned was published in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
of 2 May 1804. It included Captain Dixon and one of his lieutenants. around twenty of the crew died in the first few hours, but most perished of exposure waiting to be rescued. The number of dead in the merchant vessels is not known, but the Naval Chronicle reported that "dead bodies were every day floating ashore, and pieces of wreck covered the beach upwards of ten miles."
Carysfort had shifted course on the evening of 1 April and so escaped grounding. She gathered the 38 surviving vessels and proceeded with the convoy.
At the time, accounts blamed strong currents. Later it was discovered that Apollo had taken on board an iron tank, but that no one had adjusted her compass
Compass
A compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined...
for the influence of this large magnetic mass. Consequently, a small error in direction accumulated over the course of the five days; at the time Apollo struck Dixon thought she was forty or so miles out to sea. Because the convoy had endured bad weather since leaving Cork, no one had taken sightings that would have enabled them to correct their estimates of their position. Instead, they had relied on an approximately known speed and a biased heading for their estimate.