HMS Firm was a 12-gun Archer-class gun-brig 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...

, built by Josiah and Thomas Brindley at Frindsbury

Frindsbury

Frindsbury is part of the Medway Towns conurbation in Kent, southern England. It lies on the opposite side of the River Medway to Rochester, and at various times in its history has been considered fully or partially part of the City of Rochester. Frindsbury refers to both a parish and a manor....

, Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, and launched on 2 July 1804.

Service history

Firm was first commissioned by Lieutenant Collett in 1805, and stationed at The Downs

The Downs

The Downs are a roadstead or area of sea in the southern North Sea near the English Channel off the east Kent coast, between the North and the South Foreland in southern England. In 1639 the Battle of the Downs took place here, when the Dutch navy destroyed a Spanish fleet which had sought refuge...

. On 23-25 April 1805 she formed part of a large British squadron off Boulogne that captured eight Dutch armed schuyts (No.'s 43, 44, 45, 48, 52, 54, 57, and 58) and the unarmed Transport No.3., for which Firm received her share of prize money.

Command of Firm was assumed by Lieutenant John Little in August 1808, under the orders of Commodore Philippe d'Auvergne, and the ship was stationed at Guernsey

Guernsey

Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...

 for the protection of the Channel Islands

Channel Islands

The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...

.

On 15 October 1809 she captured the Danish ship Dageragg.

On 20 April 1810 the boats of Firm, , and , under the command of Lieutenant Hodgkins of Firm and Mr Lagaw, 2nd Master of Sharpshooter, cut out

Boarding (attack)

Boarding, in its simplest sense, refers to the insertion on to a ship's deck of individuals. However, when it is classified as an attack, in most contexts, it refers to the forcible insertion of personnel that are not members of the crew by another party without the consent of the captain or crew...

 the 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...

 cutter Alcide off 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...

. The Alcide was moored under the protection of 400 troops on shore, who kept up a incessant fire while she was carried off. One man was killed and another wounded. In 1847 the Naval General Service Medal

Naval General Service Medal

The Naval General Service Medal was a campaign medal approved in 1847, for issue to officers and men of the Royal Navy. William Wyon was the designer...

 was awarded with the clasps "Firm 24 April 1810" and "Surly 24 April 1810".

On 12 March 1811 Firm witnessed the capture of by a French frigate off Roscoff

Roscoff

Roscoff is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.The nearby Île de Batz, called Enez Vaz in Breton, is a small island that can be reached by launch from the harbour....

, but managed to escape.

On 28 June 1811, in company with the , he attacked two praam

Pram (ship)

A pram or pramm describes a type of shallow-draught flat-bottomed ship.They were used in Europe during the 18th century, particularly in the Baltic Sea during the Great Northern War and Napoleonic Wars, as the pram's shallow draught allowed it to approach the shore. They typically carried 10-20...

 brigs off Granville, which were attempting to drive off boats which were reconnoitring, but were then unable to return to harbour. The praams were in water too shallow for Firm to approach and she was unable to engage them with much effect.

The following night, while wearing round

Jibe

A jibe or gybe is a sailing maneuver where a sailing vessel turns its stern through the wind, such that the wind direction changes from one side of the boat to the other...

 to sail out of Cancalle Bay, Firm grounded at the top of high water

High Water

High Water is an album by hip hop artist El-P, released on March 9, 2004 through Thirsty Ear Recordings.Made in conjunction with jazz pianist Matthew Shipp and the group for which he is artistic director, The Blue Series Continuum, the album is a striking departure from El-P's usual style, almost...

. She was set on fire to avoid capture and Lt. Little, his officers and crew were taken to Jersey

Jersey

Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

by Fylla. A court martial acquitted him of blame.