HMS Daring was a 12-gun gun-brig of the Archer class of the British 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...

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History

She was built under contract by Jabez Bailey, of Ipswich

Ipswich

Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...

 and launched in October 1804. In August 1809, she served in the West Scheldt

Scheldt

The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...

, being detached under Sir Home Popham to take sounding

Sounding line

A sounding line or lead line is a length of thin rope with a plummet, generally of lead, at its end. Regardless of the actual composition of the plummet, it is still called a "lead."...

s. By 1811 she was fitting out at Sheerness

Sheerness

Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....

 before proceeding to the coast of West Africa

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

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On 27 January 1813 Daring’s captain, Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 William Pascoe RN was forced to run the gun-brig aground on Tamara (one of the Iles de Los

Iles de Los

Îles de Los are an island group lying off Conakry in Guinea. There are three main islands: Tamara , Kassa and Roume, while Coraille, Blanche and Cabris are smaller islands to the south.The islands have been inhabited for a long time...

 off Guinea

Guinea

Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...

) and burn her when he was threatened by the French frigates Aréthuse

French frigate Aréthuse (1812)

The French frigate Aréthuse was a 46-gun 18-pounder frigate of the French Navy. She served during the Napoleonic Wars, took part in the conquest of Algeria and ended her days as a coal depot in Brest.-Cruise off West Africa, 1812-1813:...

 and Rubis

French frigate Rubis (1812)

The Rubis was a 40-gun Pallas-class frigate of the French Navy.- Career :On 25 November 1812, under Commander Ollivier, Rubis sailed from Nantes along with Aréthuse to intercept British trade off West Africa...

. He arrived in the Sierra Leone River

Sierra Leone River

The Sierra Leone River is a river estuary on the Atlantic Ocean in Western Sierra Leone. It is formed by the Port Loko Creek and Rokel River and is between 4 and 10 miles wide and 25 miles long. It holds the major ports of Queen Elizabeth II Quay and Pepel. The estuary is also important for...

 with the greater part of his crew on 28 January and reported to Captain

Captain (naval)

Captain is the name most often given in English-speaking navies to the rank corresponding to command of the largest ships. The NATO rank code is OF-5, equivalent to an army full colonel....

 Frederick Paul Irby

Frederick Paul Irby

Rear Admiral The Hon. Frederick Paul Irby CB was a British Royal Navy officer and Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk.-Birth:...

 of HMS Amelia

HMS Amelia (1796)

Proserpine was a 38-gun Hébé-class frigate of the French Navy captured by on 13 June 1796. The Admiralty commissioned Prosperine into the Royal Navy as the fifth rate, HMS Amelia...

. Pascoe went back in a small schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

 to reconnoitre and found that the two frigates were unloading a Portuguese prize

Prize (law)

Prize is a term used in admiralty law to refer to equipment, vehicles, vessels, and cargo captured during armed conflict. The most common use of prize in this sense is the capture of an enemy ship and its cargo as a prize of war. In the past, it was common that the capturing force would be allotted...

 before preparing to sail to intercept home-bound trade. He returned on 4 February and found that a cartel

Prisoner of war

A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...

 had arrived with the master

Captain (nautical)

A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...

 and a boat's crew of Daring. Captain Irby, his crew depleted by sickness but reinforced by the men from Daring, sailed to attack one of the French frigates which was anchored well to the north of the other (Rubis having been disabled by striking a rock). Amelia found herself engaged for four hours and suffered heavy casualties - 51 killed (including Lt Pascoe) and 95 wounded. Although badly damaged, Amelia made it home to Britain via Madeira

Madeira

Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...

. Aréthuse returned to the stranded Rubis, which was burnt by the French on 8 February when she could not be refloated.

Commanding officers

From	Captain
1805	Lt Charles C Ormsby
1807	Lt George Hayes
1810	Lt Thomas Allen
1811	Lt John Campbell
1812	Lt William R Pascoe