HMS Ganges was an 84-gun second-rate

Second-rate

In the British Royal Navy, a second rate was a ship of the line which by the start of the 18th century mounted 90 to 98 guns on three gun decks; earlier 17th century second rates had fewer guns and were originally two-deckers or had only partially armed third gun decks. The term in no way implied...

 ship of the line

Ship of the line

A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...

 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...

, launched on 10 November 1821 at Bombay Dockyard

Bombay Dockyard

Bombay Dockyard—also known as Naval Dockyard—is an Indian shipbuilding yard at Mumbai.Shipbuilding was an established profession throughout the Indian coastline prior to the advent of the Europeans and it contributed significantly to maritime exploration throughout Indian maritime history. Indian...

, constructed from teak

Teak

Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...

. She is notable for being the last sailing ship of the Navy to serve as a flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

, and was the second ship to bear the name.

Admiralty orders of 4 June 1816 directed her to be built as a facsimile of HMS Canopus

HMS Canopus (1798)

HMS Canopus was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line of the British Royal Navy. She had previously served with the French Navy as the Tonnant-class Franklin, but was captured after less than a year in service by the British fleet under Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson at the Battle of the Nile in 1798...

 (the ex-French ship Franklin, which had fought at the Battle of the Nile

Battle of the Nile

The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...

). Building began in May 1819, under the direction of master shipbuilder Jamsetjee Bomanjee Wadia.

She was commissioned at Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

 in 1823, and served in several locations over the following decades. Notable events included a period as flagship

Flagship

A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...

 of the South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 Station for three years, during which she landed Royal Marines

Royal Marines

The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...

 in Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

 after a mutiny by Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian soldiers. She also saw action in the Mediterranean in 1838—40, bombarding Beirut

Beirut

Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...

 and blockading Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

. She was paid off during the Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...

, and saw no action.

From 1857–61, she was the flagship of the Pacific Station

Pacific Station

The Pacific Station, often referred to as the Pacific Squadron, was one of the geographical divisions into which the Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities...

, based at Valparaíso

Valparaíso

Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...

, Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 under the command of Rear admiral

Rear Admiral

Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...

 Robert Lambert Baynes

Robert Lambert Baynes

Admiral Sir Robert Lambert Baynes KCB was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station.-Naval career:...

. She spent considerable time addressing the San Juan Boundary Dispute from the Esquimalt Royal Navy Dockyard at the Colony of Vancouver Island

Colony of Vancouver Island

The Colony of Vancouver Island , was a crown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with British Columbia. The united colony joined the Dominion of Canada through Confederation in 1871...

 after which she returned to England to be converted into a training ship; she began service as the training ship HMS Ganges

HMS Ganges (shore establishment)

HMS Ganges was a training ship and later stone frigate of the Royal Navy. She was established as a boys' training establishment in 1865, and was based aboard a number of hulks before moving ashore. She was based alternately in Falmouth, Harwich and Shotley...

 in 1865 at Mylor Harbour, near Falmouth

Falmouth, Cornwall

Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....

; in 1899, she was moved to Harwich

Harwich

Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...

.

In 1905, she became part of RNTE (Royal Naval Training Establishment) Shotley

RNTE Shotley

RNTE Shotley, known in the Royal Navy as HMS Ganges, was a naval training establishment at Shotley, near Ipswich in Suffolk. Starting in 1905, it trained boys for naval service until it closed in 1976, following the raising of the school leaving age from 15 to 16...

, which also included the ships HMS Caroline and HMS Boscawen III.

In 1906, she was renamed HMS Tenedos III, then moved to Devonport

HMNB Devonport

Her Majesty's Naval Base Devonport , is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy . HMNB Devonport is located in Devonport, in the west of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England...

 to become part of the training establishment HMS Indus; on 13 August, 1910, she was renamed HMS Indus V. In October 1922, she was renamed as HMS Impregnable III and transferred to the training establishment HMS Impregnable, also at Devonport. In 1923, she was finally taken out of service and transferred to the dockyard, and in 1929 she was sold for breaking up. In 1930, after over a century in service, she was finally broken up at Plymouth. The captain's cabin in the stern was used in the construction of the art-deco hotel on Burgh Island

Burgh Island

Burgh Island is a small tidal island off the coast of South Devon in England near to the small seaside village of Bigbury-on-Sea. There are several buildings on the island, the largest being the Art Deco Burgh Island Hotel...

 in Devon, where it still remains to this day.

The town of Ganges, British Columbia

Ganges, British Columbia

Ganges, British Columbia is an unincorporated community on Salt Spring Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada.-History:Ganges Harbour, from which Ganges takes its name, was originally called Admiralty Bay but was renamed by Captain Richards in 1859 for the , which was at the Pacific...

 and the adjacent waters of Ganges Harbour are named for HMS Ganges. The community of Vesuvius Bay, also on Saltspring Island

Saltspring Island

Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada and Vancouver Island. It is the largest, the most populous, and the most frequently visited of the Gulf Islands...

, was named for , which was on assignment with the Ganges.

The ships badge has been adopted by the Saltspring Island Sailing Club and the badge's distinctive elephant is the key symbol in the club's burgee. In addition the transom board of one of HMS Ganges' ships boats has pride of place in Centennial Park in the town of Ganges, B.C.

External links

• The HMS Ganges Association Website has a detailed timeline of the activities of the Ganges.
• GANGES Museum Houses memorabilia from the old shore establishment.