HMS Comus was a 22-gun Laurel-class

Laurel class post ship

The Laurel-class sailing sixth rates were a series of six post ships built to an 1805 design by Sir John Henslow. The first three were launched in 1806, two more in 1807, and the last in 1812...

 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:...

 post ship

Post ship

Post ship was a designation used in the Royal Navy during the Age of Sail to describe a ship of the sixth-rate that was smaller than a frigate , but by virtue of being a rated ship , had to have as its captain a post captain rather than a lieutenant or commander...

 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 launched in 1806. In 1807 she took part in one notable single-ship action

Single-ship action

A single ship action is a naval engagement fought between two warships of opposing sides, excluding submarine engagements; called so because there is a single ship on each side...

 and was at the capture of Copenhagen. In 1815 she spent six months with the West Africa Squadron

West Africa Squadron

The Royal Navy established the West Africa Squadron at substantial expense in 1808 after Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act of 1807. The squadron's task was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa...

 suppressing the slave trade during which time she captured ten slavers and freed 500-1000 slaves. She was wrecked in 1816, though with no loss of life.

Canaries

She was commissioned in October 1806 under her first captain, Conway Shipley. The following year her boats executed cutting-out operations in the Canaries

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

. On 15 March 1807 her boats, under the command of Lieutenant George Edward Watts, entered "Puerto de Haz" [sic], Grand Canaria, which was defended by the crossfire of three shore batteries. The British succeeded in bringing out six Spanish brigs (one armed with five guns), three with cargoes of salt pork, salt fish, or wine and fruit, and three in ballast. The only British casualty was a lieutenant, who was wounded. That month Comus also captured two brigs, the St Philip, with salt fish, and Nostra Senora de los Remedies, with a mixed cargo of merchandise.

On 8 May Comus sent her boats into the harbour of Gran Canaria, which was defended by a strong fort and two shore batteries. There they cut out a large armed felucca

Felucca

A felucca is a traditional wooden sailing boat used in protected waters of the Red Sea and eastern Mediterranean including Malta, and particularly along the Nile in Egypt, Sudan, and also in Iraq. Its rig consists of one or two lateen sails....

, which was flying His Catholic Majesty's colours. The boarding party, under the command of Lieutenant Watts, cleared her deck of her crew and the boats started to pull her out (the Spaniards had taken the precaution of removing her rudder and sails and taking them on shore), when a tug-of-war developed as men on the quay pulled on a hawser. Eventually the boarding party cut the hawser and the boats succeeded in pulling the felucca out, an operation they conducted under fire. The felucca was the packet ship

Packet ship

A "packet ship" was originally a vessel employed to carry post office mail packets to and from British embassies, colonies and outposts. In sea transport, a packet service is a regular, scheduled service, carrying freight and passengers...

 San Pedro de Apostol, which had been carrying bale goods from Cadiz to Buenos Ayres. On her way, San Pedro de Apostol had captured the Lord Keith, which had been sailing from London to Mogador

Essaouira

Mogador redirects here, for the hamlet in Surrey see Mogador, Surrey.Essaouira is a city in the western Moroccan economic region of Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz, on the Atlantic coast. Since the 16th century, the city has also been known by its Portuguese name of Mogador or Mogadore...

.

The British lost one man killed and five men wounded, one of whom was Watts, who had been severely wounded. The Spanish casualties included her captain and some crew killed, and 21 men taken prisoner, of whom 19 were wounded. The Lloyd's Patriotic Fund

Lloyd's Patriotic Fund

Lloyd's Patriotic Fund founded in 28th July 1803 at Lloyd's Coffee House. They gave grants to those wounded in service to the crown and set up annuities to the dependents of those killed in action. They also awarded prizes for those who went beyond the call of duty, such rewards could be a sum of...

 awarded Watts a sword worth £50. The prize money was substantial too.

In May, Comus captured the Spanish lugger

Lugger

A lugger is a class of boats, widely used as traditional fishing boats, particularly off the coasts of France, Scotland and England. It is a small sailing vessel with lugsails set on two or more masts and perhaps lug topsails.-Defining the rig:...

 St Francisco, with her cargo of wheat and salt. The other capture was the schooner Louisa, a completely new vessel sailing in ballast.

Comus vs. Fredrickscoarn

Comus was under Captain Edward Heywood from July 1807, and in August she was with the expedition to Copenhagen

Battle of Copenhagen (1807)

The Second Battle of Copenhagen was a British preemptive attack on Copenhagen, targeting the civilian population in order to seize the Dano-Norwegian fleet and in turn originate the term to Copenhagenize.-Background:Despite the defeat and loss of many ships in the first Battle of Copenhagen in...

. During this service she took part in a notable, illegal and ultimately one-sided single-ship action

Single-ship action

A single ship action is a naval engagement fought between two warships of opposing sides, excluding submarine engagements; called so because there is a single ship on each side...

, and accumulated substantial prize money.

On 12 August the 32-gun Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 frigate Frederiksværn (Fredrickscoarn in British usage), sailed for Norway from Elsinor and Admiral Lord Gambier

James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier

Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier GCB was an admiral of the Royal Navy, who served as Governor of Newfoundland, and as a Lord of the Admiralty, but who gained notoriety for his actions at the Battle of the Basque Roads.-Early career:Gambier was born in New Providence, The...

 sent the 74-gun third rate  and Comus after her, even though war had not yet been declared. Comus was faster than Defence in the light winds and so outdistanced her.

On 14 August 1807 Comus sighted Frederiksværn and chased her, catching up off Marstrand

Marstrand

Marstrand is a seaside locality situated in Kungälv Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 1,432 inhabitants in 2005. It has held city privileges since 1200. The most striking feature about Marstrand is the 17th century fortress Carlsten, named after King Carl X Gustav of Sweden. The...

 a little before midnight on the 15th. Heywood ordered the Frederiksværn to halt and allow herself to be detained. War not having been declared and Frederiksværn being a naval vessel, she ignored Heywood's instructions. Heywood ordered a musket fired, to which Frederiksværn replied with a shot from her stern guns. Comus followed with a broadside.

After an action of 45 minutes, Frederiksværns rigging was disabled. Comus and Frederiksværn then came together, which enabled a boarding party from Comus to climb over Frederiksværns bow and capture her.

The two vessels had been relatively evenly matched in firepower. Comuss broadside weighed 204 pounds, while Frederiksværns broadside weighed 200 pounds. However, Frederiksværn had a crew of 226 men to Comuss 145 men. Still, the British had suffered only one man wounded. The Danes lost 12 men killed and 20 wounded, some mortally.
The Royal Navy took her into service as .

Defence and Comus then sailed in search of a Danish 74-gun reported to be returning to Copenhagen, but did not find her.This was HDMS Prins Christian Frederik, which remained at Kristiansand

Kristiansand

-History:As indicated by archeological findings in the city, the Kristiansand area has been settled at least since 400 AD. A royal farm is known to have been situated on Oddernes as early as 800, and the first church was built around 1040...

, in Norway. The Royal Navy would capture her in the Battle of Zealand Point

Battle of Zealand Point

The Battle of Zealand Point was a naval battle of the English Wars and the Gunboat War. It was fought off Zealand Point by ships of the Danish and British navies on 22 March 1808 and was a British victory.-Prelude:...

. On 18 August Comus captured the Danish merchant vessel Haabet.

Comus went on to participate in the capitulation of Copenhagen on 7 September and to share in the prize money for that. Comus also shared with in the recapture on the same day of the Britannia. Three days later Comus shared with and in the capture of the Danish merchant vessel Fredeus Forsward. Later that month, on 9 September, Comus and Pelican captured the Danish merchant vessel Elizabeth vonder Pahlen, but had to share with Defence, which was in sight. Three days after that, on 2 October, Comus and Pelican captured the Danish merchant vessel Anna Catherina.

Subsequent service

Captain Josceline Percy took command in November 1807, and sailed to Portugal later that month. There Comus participated in the occupation of Madeira by Sir Samuel Hood. Here her primary task was to reconnoiter the island. She returned to Hood's fleet on 23 December and the British took unopposed possession the next day.

Captain Matthew Smith took command in 1808, and Comus continued off the Portuguese coast and in the Mediterranean. On 5 February she captured sundry Danish vessels at St. Ubes (Setubal

Setúbal

Setúbal is the main city in Setúbal Municipality in Portugal with a total area of 172.0 km² and a total population of 118,696 inhabitants in the municipality. The city proper has 89,303 inhabitants....

, Portugal). The vessels Comus captured were the Ovenum, Martha Beata, Aufgehende Sonne, Finegheden, Johannes, Soe Blomstedt, Speculation, Haabet, Fortuna, Bragernes and Magdalena. The initial distribution of prize money amounted to ₤12,000. Given the small size of her crew, this resulted in a notable amount even for an ordinary seaman.

On 27 February 1808 she captured the American brig Fame.

On 20 February 1811 Comus was part of a flotilla of English warships and Spanish transports under the command of Rear-Admiral Sir Richard Godwin Keats. The flotilla was waiting to land some British troops and 7,000 Spanish troops at Tariffa. The weather did not permit the landing so instead the British troops landed at Algeciras and marched to Tariffa, later being joined by the Spanish troops when the transports could sail.

On 10 May 1812, Smith, on behalf of the British government, signed a treaty of commerce with His Highness Sidi Jusef Caramanli, Bashaw, Bey, Governor and Captain General of the City and Kingdom of Tripoli

Tripoli

Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...

 in the West.

On 14 May 1813 Comus captured the American brig Jane Barnes. In March 1814 she delivered £600,000 to Arthur Wellesley, Marquess Wellington

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...

.

She was under Captain John Tailour from November 1814, during which time she served off West Africa. On 17 March 1815 Comus captured the Portuguese slave schooner Dos Amigos.
Then on 15 July she captured the Spanish slaver Palafox.
Comus also captured the Spanish slavers Nuestra Senora del Carmen (120 slaves), the Intrepida (245 slaves), and the Catalina (no slaves). Among the slaves there were 54 boys and 47 girls. All three vessels were condemned at the court in Sierra Leone.
Comus appears to have been the first warship to have sailed up the Calabar River

Calabar River

The Calabar River in Cross River State, Nigeria flows from the north past the city of Calabar, joining the larger Cross River about to the south. The river at Calabar forms a natural harbor deep enough for vessels with a draft of ....

 as far as Duke's Town

Akwa Akpa

Akwa Akpa, known to colonialists as Old Calabar or Duke Town was an Efik city-state that flourished in the 19th century in what is now southeastern Nigeria.Although absorbed into Nigeria, traditional rulers of the state are still recognized....

. There her boats captured seven Portuguese and Spanish slavers carrying some 550 slaves. First though, they had to overcome the slavers' determined resistance, which resulted in some bloodshed.

Captain Thomas Tucker had succeeded Tailour by 1816, and Captain James Gordon Bremer succeeded Tucker.

Fate

Comus was wrecked

Shipwreck

A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....

 at St Mary's Bay, off Cape Pine

Cape Pine

The Headland of Cape Pine is the point of land marking the boundary of Trepassey Bay on the Avalon Peninsula of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador....

, Newfoundland

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

on 24 October 1816. At around midnight she grounded and developed leaks. The crew abandoned her around 3am when she threatened to roll over on her side as the tide receded. Subsequent efforts to refloat her were unsuccessful. The wreck was abandoned on 4 November 1816. The subsequent court martial blamed the wrecking on a strong current that had driven her closer to shore than Bremer had realized. However, the court also warned Bremer and the master, Bateman Ainsworth, to be more careful in the future, finding that they had been overconfident in their navigation and had failed to take frequent depth soundings. The court added that Bremer, his officers and his crew were
due the greatest praise for "for their arduous exertions in their endeavours to save her, and also for their good and steady conduct throughout the business, both in the boats and on shore."