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HMS Cerberus (1794)
Encyclopedia
HMS Cerberus was a 32-gun fifth-rate
frigate of the Royal Navy
. She served in the French Revolutionary
and the Napoleonic Wars
in the Channel, the Mediterranean, the Adriatic, and even briefly in the Baltic against the Russians. She participated in one boat action that won for her crew a clasp to the Naval General Service Medal (NGSM). She also captured many privateers and merchant vessels. Her biggest battle was the Battle of Lissa
, which won for her crew another clasp to the NGSM. She was sold in 1814.
. Her first commander was Captain J. Drew, who took command of her in January 1795 for the Irish station.
On 29 March 1795 she was sailing with Santa Margarita
when the two engaged and captured the 18-gun Jean Bart in the English Channel. The Royal Navy
subsequently took the Jean Bart into service as .
Among the ships that shared in the prize money for the recapture of the ship Caldicot Castle and Jean Bart on 28 and 30 March were , , , , , Valiant, , Cerberus and Santa Margarita.
In July 1796, Cerberus and Seahorse took the privateer cutter Calvados (or Salvados). Calvados carried six guns and ten swivels
, and had a crew of 38 men. She was ten days out of Brest, France
, but had not made any captures.
Joined by Diana, Cerberus and Seahorse captured the 14-gun privateer Indemnité on 28 August. Indemnité, of Boulogne, was pierced for 14 guns but carried ten. She had a crew of 68 men.
On 14 September 1796, Cerberus, and captured the Brazilian ship Santa Cruz.
Also in September, Cerberus captured the French privateer cutter Didon. Didon was armed with four brass 4-pounder guns, swivels
and small arms. She had a crew of 30 men and was nine days out of Greville, having taken nothing.
Cerberus, in company with and Diana, chased the privateer brig Franklin into the hands of Sir John Borlase Warren
's squadron on 1 November. Franklin carried twelve 9-pounder guns and a crew of 80 men. On 4 November Cerberus recaptured the ship Friendship, from Cape of Good Hope.
On 5 November, Cerberus took the privateer cutter Hirondelle (ex-Sans Culotte). Hirondelle was armed with ten 6-pounder guns of which she had thrown six overboard during the chase, and had a crew of 63 men. The next day Cerberus recaptured the Jackson Junior, from Jamaica. Hirondelle, Franklin (or Franklyn) and three privateers that Santa Margarita and had captured had formed a small squadron that had left Brest
to scour the English Channel.
On 11 May 1797, Cerberus was on her way back to Cork from convoying vessels towards Newfoundland and the West Indies when she captured the French privateer Dungerquoise. Dunkerquoise had been armed with eighteen 9-pounder guns but had thrown most overboard while Cerberus chased her. Dunquerquoise also had a crew of 100 men.
Cerberus was in company with Diana, when Diana took the cutter Neptune on 12 September and after a nine-hour chase. Neptune was armed with 12 guns and had a crew of 55 men. She was three days out of Lorient and had taken no prizes.
Five days later, Cerberus and Diana recaptured the Albion.
Then on 27 September, Cerberus brought into Cork the Spanish privateer schooner San Noberta. San Norberta was armed with four carriage guns plus some swivels
, and had a crew of 42 men. Cerberus also recaptured the Danish ship Graff Bernstorff, which was carrying a cargo of iron and grain from St. Michael's to Lisbon. Cerberus shared in the prize money with Diana and .
On 11 November Cerberus took the French privateer Epervier. Epervier was armed with sixteen 4-pounder guns and had a crew of 145 men. The next day, Cerberus recaptured the Adelphi, prize to Epervier.
Two days later, Cerberus captured the French privateer Renard. Renard carried eighteen 6-pounder guns and had a crew of 189 men.
Cerberus also chased the privateer Buonaparte but failed to capture the French ship after Cerberuss studding sails and top gallant mast been carried away. Buonaparte was armed with 32 guns and had a crew of 250 men. Apparently, in order to escape Cerberus, Buonaparte threw many of her guns and stores overboard, necessitating her return to Bordeaux.
On 11 January 1798 Captain Drew, his nephew Lieutenant James Drew, Captain John Pulling and some ten men in Cerberuss pinnace
drowned in a boat accident in Plymouth
. Captain James Macnamara
(or M'Namara) replaced Drew.
On 24 October, Cerberus and Diana captured the Duntzfelt. About seven weeks later, on 10 December Cerberus recaptured the General Woolf (or General Wolff).
In July 1799 Cerberus recaptured the Philanthropist. On 28 September, Cerberus captured the French letter of marque
Echange. The Echange was pierced for 14 guns but carried only 10. She and her crew of 40 men were six days out of Bordeaux
and she was sailing to San Domingo with a cargo of bale goods and wine.
On 8 October Cerberus captured the French schooner Esperance. Next day, Cerberus was among the many British ships that shared in the proceeds of the capture of the Nostra Senora de la Solidad. Seven days later, and Cerberus captured the Purissima Conceptione.
On 20 October, Cerberus encountered a Spanish convoy some eight or nine leagues
off Cape Ortegal. The convoy comprised some 80 vessels escorted by four frigates and two brig-corvettes. At one time or another Cerberus engaged all the frigates, including firing from both broadsides at the same time. Outnumbered, Cerberus eventually withdrew, but not before she had captured and set fire to a brig from the convoy. Despite the often close action, Cerberus suffered only four men wounded.
In July 1800, Cerberus recaptured the Active. On 13 September 1801, Cerberus sailed for Cowes to take troop from there to Jersey. She then was to proceed to Ireland.
On 13 September Cerberus served as flagship to Admiral Sir James Saumarez
. Saumarez commanded a small squadron comprising the sloops of war and , the schooner , the cutter , and the bomb vessel
s and . The squadron massed for a bombardment of the port of Granville
where there were some gunboats moored. The squadron bombarded the port several times over the next two days. On 15 September, as Cerberus was withdrawing, she grounded. For the three hours it took to refloat her nine gunboats harried her, but without effect. When the rest of the squadron came up they drove the gunboats away. The British retired with no information on what, if anything, the bombardment had achieved.
Cerberus was assigned to operate of the English and French coasts by 1804 and sailed from the Guernsey Roads on the afternoon of 25 January 1804. She passed through the Little Russel and headed towards Cape la Hogue to reach and reconnoiter Cherbourg before nightfall.
As she neared the Cape, lookouts sighted a convoy of four armed vessels sailing eastwards. The vessels then anchored, while the strong tides prevented Cerberus from closing them. Captain Selby sailed slightly to the south until darkness fell. The enemy force was then sighted sailing around the cape, close in shore. Cerberus shadowed them until a squall drove them off the land and allowed Cerberus to engage them.
The British captured the French gun-vessel Chameau, and drove another vessel onto the rocks. The other two French vessels escaped. The Chameau was a new 300-ton ship. She was armed with four long 6-pounders and two swivels. She was under the command of Ensign Francis Gabiare, and carried a crew of 37 plus 21 armed soldiers. Head money for the unknown vessel was paid in May 1824.
brig
Bonheur, of 114 tons. She was armed with 14 guns and had a crew of 46 men under the command of Francis Folliott. She had sailed 13 days earlier from Cherbourg but during her cruise she had only managed to make a single capture.
At some point Cerberus was under the temporary command of Lieutenant Baker while Selby was absent. Baker felt indisposed and went ashore at Guernsey where he died a few hours later.
Cerberus continued to serve in the Atlantic, escorting convoys to the West Indies. On 15 May 1806, while she was escorting one such convoy, dawn revealed a suspicious vessel hovering near the fleet. Selby gave chase and after a six-hour pursuit captured the Aimable Theresa. She was armed with two brass howitzers and had a crew of 18 men. She was carrying a cargo of wine and merchandise, and had left Santiago de Cuba
three days previously.
and Îles des Saintes
. They found little of interest, except a 16-gun brig at Îles des Saintes. Selby left Circe, under Captain Pigot to watch her, whilst he took Cerberus on a cruise.
On 2 January, as the Cerberus was sailing between Martinique
and Dominique
lookouts sighted a privateer schooner, with a schooner and a sloop standing nearby. The three ships were heading for St. Pierre
. Cerberus gave chase, cutting them off from the port and forcing them to anchor close to shore, under cover of a battery near the Pearl Rock.
A cutting out party, under Lieutenants Coote and Bligh was formed, including Mr Hall, master's mate
, Mr Sayer, Mr Carlwis and Mr Selby, midshipmen, Mr Collins, boatswain and Messers Horopka and Ratcove, two Russian gentlemen acting as midshipmen. They took the Cerberuss boats in under heavy cannon and small arms fire; they boarded the schooner and sloop and brought them out. The privateer schooner escaped in the darkness by using her sweeps. Though the attack was successful, Lieutenant Coote was blinded and a musket ball hit George Sayer in the leg. Two men were killed, and eight more were wounded, one of whom died later. The vessels captured or recaptured may have been a schooner of unknown name and the cutter Sally for which prize money was paid in September 1809.
Cerberus remained in the West Indies through 1807 and into 1808. On April 1807 she was part of a squadron under the command of Admiral, the Honourable Sir Alexander Cochrane, that captured the Telemaco.
In September and October Cerberus captured several Danish vessels. On 30 September she captured the schooner Sylenus. On 6 October Cerberus captured the Danish ship Resolution. assisted at the capture. That same day, Cerberus and Cygnet also captured the Fanny.
Next day, Cerberus captured the sloop (or galliot) Mary. On 23 October she captured the schooner Johanna Frederica. The brig assisted at the capture of the Mary. On 20 October, , Circe, , Cerberus, Cygnet, and Hart shared in the capture of the Danish schooner Danske Patriot. Then on 31 October Cerberus captured the schooner Nancy. The Nancy was carrying a cargo of enslaved Senegalese Africans in the waters of the British Virgin Islands.See: Slavery in the British Virgin Islands.
In early 1808 Captain Selby was the commander of the blockading squadron covering Pointe-à-Pitre
, Guadeloupe. He realized that the French privateers were using the batteries on Marie-Galante
to shelter themselves and their prizes and decided to remedy the situation. He sent Pigot with 200 seamen and marines from Cerberus, Circe and to capture the island. Pigot landed his force early on 2 March some two miles from Grand Bourg and the garrison duly capitulated. The British also captured a number of cannons and some small arms. In 1825 shared in the prize money with the other three vessels.
Cerberus remained in the area, and on 29 March and in company with , Pelican
, Express, Swinger and Mosambique
, sailed from Marie-Galante to attack the island of La Désirade
. They arrived on 30 March and sent in a landing party of seamen and marines from the vessels of the squadron, all under the overall command of Captain Sherriff of Lily. As the boats approached they exchanged fire with a battery of 9-pounder guns covering the entrance to the harbour. The ships' guns silenced the battery and the French surrendered.
later in 1808.Captain Selby took command of Owen Glendower
in February 1809 and died aboard her whilst at the Cape of Good Hope
on 28 March 1811. Between August and 1808 and March 1809, Cerberus underwent a substantial repair and fitting at Deptford.
Cerberus was recommissioned in March 1809 under the command of Captain Henry Whitby. She then sailed to the Baltic, where she participated in the Anglo-Russian War
.
Thus on 25 July, 17 boats from a British squadron, consisting of Cerberus, , and attacked a flotilla of four enemy gunboats and a brig off Aspö
Head near Fredrickshamn (present–day Hamina
, Finland
), in the Grand Duchy of Finland
, Russia
. Captain Forrest of Prometheus commanded the boats and succeeded in capturing gunboats Nos. 62, 65, and 66, and the transport brig No. 11. The action was sanguinary in that the British lost 19 men killed and 51 wounded, and the Russians lost 28 men killed and 59 wounded. Lieutenant Simpson commanded the Cerberuss boats, which had five seamen and two marines wounded in the operation. In 1847 the Admiralty issued the NGSM with clasp "25 July Boat Service 1809" to surviving claimants from the action. Cerberus then moved to the Mediterranean in 1810.
The day before the boats of the squadron also captured Ruffian schooner Waffer. The Russian transport brig the boats captured on 25 July appears to have been the Nicholas Murioff.
Then on 28 June 1810 intercepted a convoy from Trieste
and chased it into Grao
. Amphion and Cerberus sent a number of boats into the harbour and after a brief struggle, captured the town, taking a number of French soldiers prisoner and discovering 25 vessels in the harbour. Boats from Active reinforced the shore parties, enabling them repel, at bayonet point, a counter attack by more French troops. On the evening of 29 June, the British sailed five prizes and a number of prisoners out of the harbour and on to Lissa
. The British burnt 11 vessels in the river, and 14 or 15 boats after removing their cargoes. The British had four men killed and eight wounded, with five of the wounded being from Cerberus; the French lost 10 men killed and eight men wounded.
Prize taking continued the following year when Captain Whitby discovered four vessels anchored at Pestichi on 4 February 1811. He dispatched a number of barges from Cerberus and Active to capture them. The British took three trabaccolo
s, one the Carlo Grimaldi, and sent them off to Lissa
, whilst burning a fourth after removing its cargo to Active. In the action Active had one seaman badly wounded.
On 12 February boats from Cerberus and Active set out to secure a number of vessels spotted moored at Ortano. As the boats attempted this, they came under heavy fire from shore positions but cleared all opposition. A party of marines and small arms men under the command of Actives lieutenant of marines landed to secure the shore to protect the cutting out operation. The carronades on Actives launches also provided cover. British casualties amounted to four men wounded. The British captured 11 Venetian vessels in all, most of which were from Ancona, bound for Corfu. The ones the British didn't burn they sent to Lissa.
clothing, ammunition and naval stores, including cables, blocks, hawsers, hemp, etc.
On 11 March, Cerberus, along with Active, and Amphion engaged an enemy force consisting of five frigates, a corvette, a brig, two schooners and a xebec
in what became known as the Battle of Lissa
. The result was a British victory with the capture of two French ships and the burning of another. However, the British lost 50 men killed and 150 men wounded. Cerberus alone lost 13 killed and 44 wounded. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the NGSM with clasp "Lissa" to all surviving claimants form the action.
Cerberus came under the command of Captain Robert Clephane in June 1811. Command then passed to Captain Thomas Garth
in December.
On 16 June 1812 boats from , and Cerberus captured three vessels of from eighty to one hundred tons in the small port of Badisea, near Otranto. A little over a month later, on 17 July, boats from and Cerberus captured or destroyed, off Venice, 12 enemy trabaccolos.
On 29 January 1813, boats from Cerberus captured a trabaccolo
of two guns, sailing to Corfu
, heavily laden with a cargo of corn and flour. This was probably the Madonna della Grazzia, captured on that day and for which Cerberus received prize money a little over 25 years later.
Then on 13 March, she took the French gunboat Veloce, which was armed with one 18-pounder and which had a crew of 22 men. She was sailing with money for the troops at Corfu. Lastly, the boats brought out a large trabaccolo from under a battery near Brindisi
.
On 27 February, Cerberus and Achille were in company when they captured the brig Centauro.
On 19 March, boats from Cerberus and destroyed several vessels, a battery and a tower three miles northwest of the port of Monopoli
near Bari
. Then on 11 April, Apollo and Cerberus took Devil's Island, near the north entrance to Corfu, and thereby captured a brig and a trabaccolo bringing in grain. On 14 April the boats chased a vessel into Merlera. They then suffered three men wounded before Apollo arrived and helped them capture the island. There they found eight vessels with cargoes of flour and grain, but scuttled.
On 17 May boats from Apollo and Cerberus took a vessel that ran aground near Brindisi. She was armed with a 9-pounder gun in the bow and a swivel gun. She was sailing from Otranto to Ancona. The next day the boats also brought off a gun from a Martello tower
a little further to the south. Then ten days later the boats captured three gunboats at Fano
that were protecting a convoy. The gun-boats each had a 9-pounder in their bows and two 4-pounder guns abaft. They were under the command of an Ufficiale di Vascello, carrying troops for Corfu. The British also captured four vessels from the convoy. British losses amounted to two men killed and one wounded.
Cerberus spent much of the first half of 1814 in the Gulf of Venice
. However, on 16 January the French frigate Uranie escaped from Ancona. Cerberus chased her into Brindisi. He did not pursue her further as Brindisi owed allegiance to the Kingdom of Naples, an English ally. When Apollo arrived, the Frenchman unloaded the power from Uranie and set her on fire.
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 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 served in 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 the 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...
in the Channel, the Mediterranean, the Adriatic, and even briefly in the Baltic against the Russians. She participated in one boat action that won for her crew a clasp to the Naval General Service Medal (NGSM). She also captured many privateers and merchant vessels. Her biggest battle was the Battle of Lissa
Battle of Lissa (1811)
The Battle of Lissa was a naval action fought between a British frigate squadron and a substantially larger squadron of French and Venetian frigates and smaller ships on 13 March 1811 during the Adriatic campaign of the Napoleonic Wars...
, which won for her crew another clasp to the NGSM. She was sold in 1814.
French Revolutionary Wars
Cerberus was launched in September 1794 by Henry Adams, of Bucklers HardBucklers Hard
Bucklers Hard is a hamlet situated on the banks of the Beaulieu River in the English county of Hampshire.- Overview :With its Georgian cottages running down to the river, Bucklers Hard is part of the 9,000 acre Beaulieu Estate...
. Her first commander was Captain J. Drew, who took command of her in January 1795 for the Irish station.
On 29 March 1795 she was sailing with Santa Margarita
HMS Santa Margarita (1779)
HMS Santa Margarita was a 36-gun fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She had been built for service with the Spanish Navy, but was captured after five years in service, eventually spending nearly 60 years with the British.-Spanish career:...
when the two engaged and captured the 18-gun Jean Bart in the English Channel. 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...
subsequently took the Jean Bart into service as .
Among the ships that shared in the prize money for the recapture of the ship Caldicot Castle and Jean Bart on 28 and 30 March were , , , , , Valiant, , Cerberus and Santa Margarita.
In July 1796, Cerberus and Seahorse took the privateer cutter Calvados (or Salvados). Calvados carried six guns and ten swivels
Swivel gun
The term swivel gun usually refers to a small cannon, mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun with two barrels that rotated along their axes to allow the shooter to...
, and had a crew of 38 men. She was ten days out of Brest, France
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
, but had not made any captures.
Joined by Diana, Cerberus and Seahorse captured the 14-gun privateer Indemnité on 28 August. Indemnité, of Boulogne, was pierced for 14 guns but carried ten. She had a crew of 68 men.
On 14 September 1796, Cerberus, and captured the Brazilian ship Santa Cruz.
Also in September, Cerberus captured the French privateer cutter Didon. Didon was armed with four brass 4-pounder guns, swivels
Swivel gun
The term swivel gun usually refers to a small cannon, mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun with two barrels that rotated along their axes to allow the shooter to...
and small arms. She had a crew of 30 men and was nine days out of Greville, having taken nothing.
Cerberus, in company with and Diana, chased the privateer brig Franklin into the hands of Sir John Borlase Warren
John Borlase Warren
Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet , was an English admiral, politician and diplomat. Born in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, he was the son and heir of John Borlase Warren of Stapleford and Little Marlow...
's squadron on 1 November. Franklin carried twelve 9-pounder guns and a crew of 80 men. On 4 November Cerberus recaptured the ship Friendship, from Cape of Good Hope.
On 5 November, Cerberus took the privateer cutter Hirondelle (ex-Sans Culotte). Hirondelle was armed with ten 6-pounder guns of which she had thrown six overboard during the chase, and had a crew of 63 men. The next day Cerberus recaptured the Jackson Junior, from Jamaica. Hirondelle, Franklin (or Franklyn) and three privateers that Santa Margarita and had captured had formed a small squadron that had left Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
to scour the English Channel.
On 11 May 1797, Cerberus was on her way back to Cork from convoying vessels towards Newfoundland and the West Indies when she captured the French privateer Dungerquoise. Dunkerquoise had been armed with eighteen 9-pounder guns but had thrown most overboard while Cerberus chased her. Dunquerquoise also had a crew of 100 men.
Cerberus was in company with Diana, when Diana took the cutter Neptune on 12 September and after a nine-hour chase. Neptune was armed with 12 guns and had a crew of 55 men. She was three days out of Lorient and had taken no prizes.
Five days later, Cerberus and Diana recaptured the Albion.
Then on 27 September, Cerberus brought into Cork the Spanish privateer schooner San Noberta. San Norberta was armed with four carriage guns plus some swivels
Swivel gun
The term swivel gun usually refers to a small cannon, mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun with two barrels that rotated along their axes to allow the shooter to...
, and had a crew of 42 men. Cerberus also recaptured the Danish ship Graff Bernstorff, which was carrying a cargo of iron and grain from St. Michael's to Lisbon. Cerberus shared in the prize money with Diana and .
On 11 November Cerberus took the French privateer Epervier. Epervier was armed with sixteen 4-pounder guns and had a crew of 145 men. The next day, Cerberus recaptured the Adelphi, prize to Epervier.
Two days later, Cerberus captured the French privateer Renard. Renard carried eighteen 6-pounder guns and had a crew of 189 men.
Cerberus also chased the privateer Buonaparte but failed to capture the French ship after Cerberuss studding sails and top gallant mast been carried away. Buonaparte was armed with 32 guns and had a crew of 250 men. Apparently, in order to escape Cerberus, Buonaparte threw many of her guns and stores overboard, necessitating her return to Bordeaux.
On 11 January 1798 Captain Drew, his nephew Lieutenant James Drew, Captain John Pulling and some ten men in Cerberuss pinnace
Pinnace (ship's boat)
As a ship's boat the pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a "tender" for guiding merchant and war vessels. In modern parlance, pinnace has come to mean a boat associated with some kind of larger vessel, that doesn't fit under the launch or lifeboat definitions...
drowned in a boat accident in 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...
. Captain James Macnamara
James Macnamara
James Macnamara was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
(or M'Namara) replaced Drew.
On 24 October, Cerberus and Diana captured the Duntzfelt. About seven weeks later, on 10 December Cerberus recaptured the General Woolf (or General Wolff).
In July 1799 Cerberus recaptured the Philanthropist. On 28 September, Cerberus captured the French letter of marque
Letter of marque
In the days of fighting sail, a Letter of Marque and Reprisal was a government licence authorizing a person to attack and capture enemy vessels, and bring them before admiralty courts for condemnation and sale...
Echange. The Echange was pierced for 14 guns but carried only 10. She and her crew of 40 men were six days out of Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
and she was sailing to San Domingo with a cargo of bale goods and wine.
On 8 October Cerberus captured the French schooner Esperance. Next day, Cerberus was among the many British ships that shared in the proceeds of the capture of the Nostra Senora de la Solidad. Seven days later, and Cerberus captured the Purissima Conceptione.
On 20 October, Cerberus encountered a Spanish convoy some eight or nine leagues
League (unit)
A league is a unit of length . It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The league originally referred to the distance a person or a horse could walk in an hour...
off Cape Ortegal. The convoy comprised some 80 vessels escorted by four frigates and two brig-corvettes. At one time or another Cerberus engaged all the frigates, including firing from both broadsides at the same time. Outnumbered, Cerberus eventually withdrew, but not before she had captured and set fire to a brig from the convoy. Despite the often close action, Cerberus suffered only four men wounded.
In July 1800, Cerberus recaptured the Active. On 13 September 1801, Cerberus sailed for Cowes to take troop from there to Jersey. She then was to proceed to Ireland.
Napoleonic Wars
Captain William Selby took command of Cerberus in April 1803. On 13 August Cerberuss boats made an attack on Concalle Bay. There they captured a large fishing boat but had to abandon a sloop they had captured after she grounded. At Cas Bay another cutting out party captured seven fishing boats of 16-18 tons burthen each. As the prize crews brought the boats to Guernsey one was upset, drowning two crew men from Cerberus.On 13 September Cerberus served as flagship to Admiral Sir James Saumarez
James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez
Admiral James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez , GCB was an admiral of the British Royal Navy, notable for his victory at the Battle of Algeciras.-Early life:...
. Saumarez commanded a small squadron comprising the sloops of war and , the schooner , the cutter , and the bomb vessel
Bomb vessel
A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannon —although bomb vessels carried a few cannon for self-defence—but rather mortars mounted forward near the bow and elevated to a high angle, and projecting their fire in a...
s and . The squadron massed for a bombardment of the port of Granville
Granville, Manche
-Sights:The old town preserves all the history of its military and religious past. The lower town was partly built on land reclaimed from the sea. The upper part of the old town is surrounded by ramparts from the fifteenth century...
where there were some gunboats moored. The squadron bombarded the port several times over the next two days. On 15 September, as Cerberus was withdrawing, she grounded. For the three hours it took to refloat her nine gunboats harried her, but without effect. When the rest of the squadron came up they drove the gunboats away. The British retired with no information on what, if anything, the bombardment had achieved.
Cerberus was assigned to operate of the English and French coasts by 1804 and sailed from the Guernsey Roads on the afternoon of 25 January 1804. She passed through the Little Russel and headed towards Cape la Hogue to reach and reconnoiter Cherbourg before nightfall.
As she neared the Cape, lookouts sighted a convoy of four armed vessels sailing eastwards. The vessels then anchored, while the strong tides prevented Cerberus from closing them. Captain Selby sailed slightly to the south until darkness fell. The enemy force was then sighted sailing around the cape, close in shore. Cerberus shadowed them until a squall drove them off the land and allowed Cerberus to engage them.
The British captured the French gun-vessel Chameau, and drove another vessel onto the rocks. The other two French vessels escaped. The Chameau was a new 300-ton ship. She was armed with four long 6-pounders and two swivels. She was under the command of Ensign Francis Gabiare, and carried a crew of 37 plus 21 armed soldiers. Head money for the unknown vessel was paid in May 1824.
Action against privateers
Cerberus was later involved in another engagement, this time on 2 April 1805 off Madeira. A strange sail was spotted at daylight and Cerberus gave chase, eventually overhauling and capturing her quarry. The vessel was the privateerPrivateer
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...
brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
Bonheur, of 114 tons. She was armed with 14 guns and had a crew of 46 men under the command of Francis Folliott. She had sailed 13 days earlier from Cherbourg but during her cruise she had only managed to make a single capture.
At some point Cerberus was under the temporary command of Lieutenant Baker while Selby was absent. Baker felt indisposed and went ashore at Guernsey where he died a few hours later.
Cerberus continued to serve in the Atlantic, escorting convoys to the West Indies. On 15 May 1806, while she was escorting one such convoy, dawn revealed a suspicious vessel hovering near the fleet. Selby gave chase and after a six-hour pursuit captured the Aimable Theresa. She was armed with two brass howitzers and had a crew of 18 men. She was carrying a cargo of wine and merchandise, and had left Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
three days previously.
In the West Indies
By December 1806 Cerberus was in the West Indies, and in company with was reconnoitering the ports of GuadeloupeGuadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
and Îles des Saintes
Îles des Saintes
The Îles des Saintes , also called simply Les Saintes , is a small archipelago of French Antilles located in the South of Basse-Terre Island, on the West of Marie-Galante and in the North of Dominica in the arc of Lesser Antilles...
. They found little of interest, except a 16-gun brig at Îles des Saintes. Selby left Circe, under Captain Pigot to watch her, whilst he took Cerberus on a cruise.
On 2 January, as the Cerberus was sailing between Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
and Dominique
Dominique
"Dominique" is a popular song in French by Sœur Sourire , of Belgium, also known as The Singing Nun. It is about Saint Dominic, a Spanish-born priest and founder of the Dominican Order, of which she was a member . The English version of the song was written by Noël Regney...
lookouts sighted a privateer schooner, with a schooner and a sloop standing nearby. The three ships were heading for St. Pierre
Saint-Pierre, Martinique
Saint-Pierre is a town and commune of France's Caribbean overseas department of Martinique, founded in 1635 by Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc. Before the total destruction of Saint-Pierre in 1902 by a volcanic eruption, it was the most important city of Martinique culturally and economically, being known...
. Cerberus gave chase, cutting them off from the port and forcing them to anchor close to shore, under cover of a battery near the Pearl Rock.
A cutting out party, under Lieutenants Coote and Bligh was formed, including Mr Hall, master's mate
Master's mate
Master's mate is an obsolete rating which was used by the Royal Navy, United States Navy and merchant services in both countries for a senior petty officer who assisted the master...
, Mr Sayer, Mr Carlwis and Mr Selby, midshipmen, Mr Collins, boatswain and Messers Horopka and Ratcove, two Russian gentlemen acting as midshipmen. They took the Cerberuss boats in under heavy cannon and small arms fire; they boarded the schooner and sloop and brought them out. The privateer schooner escaped in the darkness by using her sweeps. Though the attack was successful, Lieutenant Coote was blinded and a musket ball hit George Sayer in the leg. Two men were killed, and eight more were wounded, one of whom died later. The vessels captured or recaptured may have been a schooner of unknown name and the cutter Sally for which prize money was paid in September 1809.
Cerberus remained in the West Indies through 1807 and into 1808. On April 1807 she was part of a squadron under the command of Admiral, the Honourable Sir Alexander Cochrane, that captured the Telemaco.
In September and October Cerberus captured several Danish vessels. On 30 September she captured the schooner Sylenus. On 6 October Cerberus captured the Danish ship Resolution. assisted at the capture. That same day, Cerberus and Cygnet also captured the Fanny.
Next day, Cerberus captured the sloop (or galliot) Mary. On 23 October she captured the schooner Johanna Frederica. The brig assisted at the capture of the Mary. On 20 October, , Circe, , Cerberus, Cygnet, and Hart shared in the capture of the Danish schooner Danske Patriot. Then on 31 October Cerberus captured the schooner Nancy. The Nancy was carrying a cargo of enslaved Senegalese Africans in the waters of the British Virgin Islands.See: Slavery in the British Virgin Islands.
In early 1808 Captain Selby was the commander of the blockading squadron covering Pointe-à-Pitre
Pointe-à-Pitre
Pointe-à-Pitre is the largest city of Guadeloupe, an overseas région and département of France located in the Lesser Antilles, of which it is a sous-préfecture, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Pointe-à-Pitre....
, Guadeloupe. He realized that the French privateers were using the batteries on Marie-Galante
Marie-Galante
Marie-Galante is an island of the Caribbean Sea located at the south of Guadeloupe and at north of Dominica. Marie-Galante is a dependence of Guadeloupe which is a french overseas department....
to shelter themselves and their prizes and decided to remedy the situation. He sent Pigot with 200 seamen and marines from Cerberus, Circe and to capture the island. Pigot landed his force early on 2 March some two miles from Grand Bourg and the garrison duly capitulated. The British also captured a number of cannons and some small arms. In 1825 shared in the prize money with the other three vessels.
Cerberus remained in the area, and on 29 March and in company with , Pelican
French brig Voltigeur (1804)
The French brig Voltigeur was a Palinure-class brig launched in 1804. The British captured her in 1806 and renamed her HMS Pelican. She was sold in 1812.-Capture:...
, Express, Swinger and Mosambique
HMS Mosambique (1804)
HMS Mosambique was the French privateer schooner Mosambique, built in 1798, which the British captured in 1804. She served in the West Indies, engaging in several indecisive single-ship actions before she captured one French privateer...
, sailed from Marie-Galante to attack the island of La Désirade
La Désirade
La Désirade is a French West Indies island located at the eastern of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles.It has a land area of 20.64 km² and a population of 1,595 in 2006 , with a population density of 77 inh. per km² in 2006...
. They arrived on 30 March and sent in a landing party of seamen and marines from the vessels of the squadron, all under the overall command of Captain Sherriff of Lily. As the boats approached they exchanged fire with a battery of 9-pounder guns covering the entrance to the harbour. The ships' guns silenced the battery and the French surrendered.
The Baltic
Cerberus then returned to England and was paid off at DeptfordDeptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
later in 1808.Captain Selby took command of Owen Glendower
HMS Owen Glendower (1808)
HMS Owen Glendower was a Royal Navy 36-gun fifth-rate Apollo class frigate launched in 1808 and disposed of in 1884...
in February 1809 and died aboard her whilst at the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
on 28 March 1811. Between August and 1808 and March 1809, Cerberus underwent a substantial repair and fitting at Deptford.
Cerberus was recommissioned in March 1809 under the command of Captain Henry Whitby. She then sailed to the Baltic, where she participated in the Anglo-Russian War
Anglo-Russian War (1807-1812)
The Anglo-Russian War occurred during the Napoleonic Wars. Hostilities were limited primarily to a small number of naval actions in the Baltic, though there were also attacks in the Barents Sea...
.
Thus on 25 July, 17 boats from a British squadron, consisting of Cerberus, , and attacked a flotilla of four enemy gunboats and a brig off Aspö
Aspö
Aspö is a small village on the Aspö Island in Väståboland, Finland. Until 2009 it belonged to the municipality of Korpo. Its Finnish-language name is Haapasaari, although this name is seldom used. The village is known for its white limestone church that has a red brick roof. The current church was...
Head near Fredrickshamn (present–day Hamina
Hamina
Hamina is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Kymenlaakso region. The town has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water. The population density is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
), in the Grand Duchy of Finland
Grand Duchy of Finland
The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed 1809–1917 as part of the Russian Empire and was ruled by the Russian czar as Grand Prince.- History :...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Captain Forrest of Prometheus commanded the boats and succeeded in capturing gunboats Nos. 62, 65, and 66, and the transport brig No. 11. The action was sanguinary in that the British lost 19 men killed and 51 wounded, and the Russians lost 28 men killed and 59 wounded. Lieutenant Simpson commanded the Cerberuss boats, which had five seamen and two marines wounded in the operation. In 1847 the Admiralty issued the NGSM with clasp "25 July Boat Service 1809" to surviving claimants from the action. Cerberus then moved to the Mediterranean in 1810.
The day before the boats of the squadron also captured Ruffian schooner Waffer. The Russian transport brig the boats captured on 25 July appears to have been the Nicholas Murioff.
The Mediterranean
On 14 June 1810 Cerberus was cruising in the Mediterranean in company with and . Together, the three British vessels captured three French gun-boats: Vincentina, Modanese and Elvetica (or Elvetria).Then on 28 June 1810 intercepted a convoy from Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
and chased it into Grao
Grado, Italy
Grado is a town and comune in the north-eastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located on a peninsula of the Adriatic Sea between Venice and Trieste....
. Amphion and Cerberus sent a number of boats into the harbour and after a brief struggle, captured the town, taking a number of French soldiers prisoner and discovering 25 vessels in the harbour. Boats from Active reinforced the shore parties, enabling them repel, at bayonet point, a counter attack by more French troops. On the evening of 29 June, the British sailed five prizes and a number of prisoners out of the harbour and on to Lissa
Vis (island)
Vis is the most outerly lying larger Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, and is part of the Central Dalmatian group of islands, with an area of 90.26 km² and a population of 3,617 . Of all the inhabited Croatian islands, it is the farthest from the coast...
. The British burnt 11 vessels in the river, and 14 or 15 boats after removing their cargoes. The British had four men killed and eight wounded, with five of the wounded being from Cerberus; the French lost 10 men killed and eight men wounded.
Prize taking continued the following year when Captain Whitby discovered four vessels anchored at Pestichi on 4 February 1811. He dispatched a number of barges from Cerberus and Active to capture them. The British took three trabaccolo
Trabaccolo
The Trabaccoló, Trabaccalo, or Trabakul, is a type of Adriatic Sea sailing coaster. The name comes from the word trabacca, which means tent, which in turn recalls the vessel's sails. The trabaccoló was a typical Venetian boat-form that dates back to the first half of the 15th Century, and which...
s, one the Carlo Grimaldi, and sent them off to Lissa
Vis (island)
Vis is the most outerly lying larger Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea, and is part of the Central Dalmatian group of islands, with an area of 90.26 km² and a population of 3,617 . Of all the inhabited Croatian islands, it is the farthest from the coast...
, whilst burning a fourth after removing its cargo to Active. In the action Active had one seaman badly wounded.
On 12 February boats from Cerberus and Active set out to secure a number of vessels spotted moored at Ortano. As the boats attempted this, they came under heavy fire from shore positions but cleared all opposition. A party of marines and small arms men under the command of Actives lieutenant of marines landed to secure the shore to protect the cutting out operation. The carronades on Actives launches also provided cover. British casualties amounted to four men wounded. The British captured 11 Venetian vessels in all, most of which were from Ancona, bound for Corfu. The ones the British didn't burn they sent to Lissa.
- trabaccolo Eugenie, armed with six guns and under the command of a lieutenant;
- transport Fortunée, No. 52, burnt after the transfer of her cargo of corn to another transport;
- transport, name unknown, carrying oil:
- transport, name unknown, No. 2, carrying plank and corn;
- transport St. Anongiato, carrying hemp and cordage;
- transport, name unknown, No. 50, carrying wheat;
- transport, name unknown, No. 55, partly laden with sundries;
- transport Anime del Purgatorio, cargo of rice transferred and vessel burnt;
- transport, name unknown, carrying wheat.
- two transports, names unknown, burnt in the port, together with two magazines of oil, soldiers'
clothing, ammunition and naval stores, including cables, blocks, hawsers, hemp, etc.
On 11 March, Cerberus, along with Active, and Amphion engaged an enemy force consisting of five frigates, a corvette, a brig, two schooners and 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...
in what became known as the Battle of Lissa
Battle of Lissa (1811)
The Battle of Lissa was a naval action fought between a British frigate squadron and a substantially larger squadron of French and Venetian frigates and smaller ships on 13 March 1811 during the Adriatic campaign of the Napoleonic Wars...
. The result was a British victory with the capture of two French ships and the burning of another. However, the British lost 50 men killed and 150 men wounded. Cerberus alone lost 13 killed and 44 wounded. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the NGSM with clasp "Lissa" to all surviving claimants form the action.
Cerberus came under the command of Captain Robert Clephane in June 1811. Command then passed to Captain Thomas Garth
Thomas Garth (Royal Navy)
Captain Thomas Garth RN was a Napoleonic era British Naval Commander. Garth, whose seat was Haines Hill at Hurst in Berkshire, was the son of Charles Garth MP for Devizes and the government agent for South Carolina, Georgia and Maryland...
in December.
On 16 June 1812 boats from , and Cerberus captured three vessels of from eighty to one hundred tons in the small port of Badisea, near Otranto. A little over a month later, on 17 July, boats from and Cerberus captured or destroyed, off Venice, 12 enemy trabaccolos.
On 29 January 1813, boats from Cerberus captured a trabaccolo
Trabaccolo
The Trabaccoló, Trabaccalo, or Trabakul, is a type of Adriatic Sea sailing coaster. The name comes from the word trabacca, which means tent, which in turn recalls the vessel's sails. The trabaccoló was a typical Venetian boat-form that dates back to the first half of the 15th Century, and which...
of two guns, sailing to Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
, heavily laden with a cargo of corn and flour. This was probably the Madonna della Grazzia, captured on that day and for which Cerberus received prize money a little over 25 years later.
Then on 13 March, she took the French gunboat Veloce, which was armed with one 18-pounder and which had a crew of 22 men. She was sailing with money for the troops at Corfu. Lastly, the boats brought out a large trabaccolo from under a battery near Brindisi
Brindisi
Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...
.
On 27 February, Cerberus and Achille were in company when they captured the brig Centauro.
On 19 March, boats from Cerberus and destroyed several vessels, a battery and a tower three miles northwest of the port of Monopoli
Monopoli
Monopoli is a town and comune in Italy, in the province of Bari, region of Apulia. The town is roughly in area and lies about 40 km southeast from Bari. It has about 50,000 inhabitants....
near Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
. Then on 11 April, Apollo and Cerberus took Devil's Island, near the north entrance to Corfu, and thereby captured a brig and a trabaccolo bringing in grain. On 14 April the boats chased a vessel into Merlera. They then suffered three men wounded before Apollo arrived and helped them capture the island. There they found eight vessels with cargoes of flour and grain, but scuttled.
On 17 May boats from Apollo and Cerberus took a vessel that ran aground near Brindisi. She was armed with a 9-pounder gun in the bow and a swivel gun. She was sailing from Otranto to Ancona. The next day the boats also brought off a gun from a Martello tower
Martello tower
Martello towers are small defensive forts built in several countries of the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the Napoleonic Wars onwards....
a little further to the south. Then ten days later the boats captured three gunboats at Fano
Fano
Fano is a town and comune of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort 12 km southeast of Pesaro, located where the Via Flaminia reaches the Adriatic Sea...
that were protecting a convoy. The gun-boats each had a 9-pounder in their bows and two 4-pounder guns abaft. They were under the command of an Ufficiale di Vascello, carrying troops for Corfu. The British also captured four vessels from the convoy. British losses amounted to two men killed and one wounded.
Cerberus spent much of the first half of 1814 in the Gulf of Venice
Gulf of Venice
The Gulf of Venice is a gulf that borders modern day Italy, Slovenia and Croatia, and is at the far north of the Adriatic Sea between the delta of the Po river in northern Italy and the Istria peninsula in Croatia.- Geography :...
. However, on 16 January the French frigate Uranie escaped from Ancona. Cerberus chased her into Brindisi. He did not pursue her further as Brindisi owed allegiance to the Kingdom of Naples, an English ally. When Apollo arrived, the Frenchman unloaded the power from Uranie and set her on fire.