HMS Hornet (1794)
Encyclopedia
HMS Hornet was a 16-gun ship-rigged sloop of the Cormorant class
in the Royal Navy
, ordered 18 February 1793, built by Marmaduke Stalkart and launched 3 February 1794 at Rotherhithe
.There was a second HMS Hornet (1796); she was a purchased Dutch hoy
that was in service for about a year. Hornet saw most of her active duty during the French Revolutionary Wars
. During the Napoleonic Wars
she served for about six years as a hospital ship before being laid up in 1811 and sold in 1817.
Hornet was then paid off February 1795 and recommissioned under W. Lakin. In January 1796 Commander Robert Larkan sailed her in Home waters. On 4 February 1796 Hornet was in company with the hired armed
cutter Grand Falconer when they recaptured the Portuguese brig Diana. Next, on 17 May, Hornet capture the French transport Emilie. Then in November 1796, Captain John Nash replaced Larkan.
On 10 March 1798 the Admiralty published a list of six vessels that , under Captain Henry Lidgbird Ball, and Hornet had captured off Gorée
:
Daedalus and letters of marque
Ellis and St Ann shared, by agreement, in the capture of the Quaker (December 1797) and the Ocean (January 1798).This Ellis was almost surely the ship that received her warrant on 18 September 1797. She was under the command of James Soutar, was of 303 tons burthen, and was armed with sixteen 8, 9 and 12-pounder guns. She is listed as having had only 30 crew. St Ann is in all probability the St Anne, which received her warrant on 30 September 1797. She was under the command of Robert James, was of 243 tons burthen, and was armed with sixteen 9-pounders. She too had a crew of 30 men.http://www.1812privateers.org/GB/marque1793-1815.htm
Hornet was refitted for ₤3,554 at Portsmouth in June and July 1799. In August Hornet was part of the British fleet that captured the Dutch fleet in the Vlieter Incident
.
Nash then sailed Hornet to the West Indies. In 1800 she accompanied a convoy to the West Indies.
While at Guadeloupe in October, a boat from Hornet attempted to press some men off the New Ceres, whose crew resisted, killing Hornets second lieutenant, and wounding another crewman. The next day Hornet tried again, this time in force, but all the crew except the chief mate and steward had disappeared. Captain Nash turned the two men over to the civil authorities.
On 27 November 1800, Hornet captured the French privateer Femme Divorcee. On 16 October Hornet captured the French privateer Mahomet.
On 15 January 1801, the 20-gun , Captain Richard Matson, 18-gun ship-sloops and Hornet, Captains Henry Matson and John Nash, and the (a schooner serving as a tender), were at an anchor in the harbour of the Îles des Saintes
. The British observed a convoy of French coasters, with an armed schooner as escort, sailing towards Vieux-Fort, Guadeloupe
. At midnight the Garland, together with two boats from each of the other three vessels, attempted to cut out the convoy. However, all of the convoy, but one, were able to shelter under the guns of Basse-Terre
. The British were able to take the one French vessel that had anchored near Vieux-Fort.
On 17 January, boats from Hornet, together with boats from Daphne, set out to cut out a ship moored under the protection of shore batteries at Trois-Rivières, Guadeloupe
. This was the Eclair, a schooner that had recently sailed from Rochefort. Eclair was of 145 tons, had a crew of 45 men, and was armed with four long four-pounder guns and twenty 1½-pounder brass swivels
, though she was pierced for 12 guns. A party from the Garland succeeded in taking Eclair the next day. Fire from the schooner killed two men and wounded another. The French lost one seaman killed, two drowned, and her captain, first and second lieutenants, and six men wounded. The British took her into service as the 10-gun .
In March, Hornet participated in Rear Admiral
Duckworth's
successful attack on the islands of St. Bartholomew
and St. Martin
. On the 23 March, Hornet and the 16-gun hired armed
brig Fanny, later joined by 14-gun , attempted to capture two privateers, a brig and a schooner, but were unsuccessful though they chased the privateers for some 24 hours. The 32-gun frigate , Hornet and Drake stayed at St. Martin to secure the island and to embark the garrison on 26 March, while the rest of Duckworth's force went on to St Thomas. The proceeds of the property seized at St. Bartholomew, St. Martin, St. Thomas, and St. Croix, between 15 March and 17 April was paid out in January 1804.
At some point thereafter, Hornet was in company with when they captured the Spanish vessel Aguilla.
In June 1803, Hornet was in Commodore Samuel Hood's squadron at the capture of St. Lucia. The squadron, including Hornet went on to capture Tobago on 25 June. On 3 September Hornet captured a Dutch ship, whose name was not recorded, which was carrying 410 slaves.
Then in September Hood went on to take the colonies of Demerara
and Essequibo
from the Batavian Republic
. On 20 September Hornet, the schooner and 200 troops entered the Demerara River
and took possession of Fort William Frederick. At the capitulation, the British took over the Batavian Republic's sole warship there, .
, a future hero of the Napoleonic Wars
and Australian pioneer, served as a midshipman
on Hornet.
Cormorant class ship-sloop
The Cormorant class were built as a 16-gun class of ship-sloops for the Royal Navy, although an extra 2 guns were added soon after completion.-Design:...
in 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...
, ordered 18 February 1793, built by Marmaduke Stalkart and launched 3 February 1794 at Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
.There was a second HMS Hornet (1796); she was a purchased Dutch hoy
Hoy (boat)
A hoy was a small sloop-rigged coasting ship or a heavy barge used for freight, usually displacing about 60 tons. The word derives from the Middle Dutch hoey. In 1495, one of the Paston Letters included the phrase, An hoye of Dorderycht , in such a way as to indicate that such contact was then...
that was in service for about a year. Hornet saw most of her active duty during the French Revolutionary Wars
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...
. During 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...
she served for about six years as a hospital ship before being laid up in 1811 and sold in 1817.
Service
Hornet was commissioned in March 1794 under Commander Christmas Paul. On 26 June 1794 she fired a salute to the King and Queen while they were visiting Portsmouth. Hornet shared with , , , and in the capture of the Lust en Vlyt on 22 August.Hornet was then paid off February 1795 and recommissioned under W. Lakin. In January 1796 Commander Robert Larkan sailed her in Home waters. On 4 February 1796 Hornet was in company with the hired armed
Hired armed vessels
right|thumb|250px|Armed cutter, etching in the [[National Maritime Museum]], [[Greenwich]]During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Royal Navy made use of a considerable number of hired armed vessels...
cutter Grand Falconer when they recaptured the Portuguese brig Diana. Next, on 17 May, Hornet capture the French transport Emilie. Then in November 1796, Captain John Nash replaced Larkan.
On 10 March 1798 the Admiralty published a list of six vessels that , under Captain Henry Lidgbird Ball, and Hornet had captured off Gorée
Gorée
Île de Gorée Île de Gorée Île de Gorée (i.e. "Gorée Island"; is one of the 19 communes d'arrondissement (i.e. "commune of arrondissement") of the city of Dakar, Senegal. It is a island located at sea from the main harbor of Dakar ....
:
- American snowSnow (ship)A snow or snaw is a sailing vessel. A type of brig , snows were primarily used as merchant ships, but saw war service as well...
Rebecca, which had sailed from Charlestown. Her cargo included pitch, tar, dry goods, tobacco, molasses and gunpowder. The British took the naval and gunpowder, which they landed, and then released the vessel. - American ship President, carrying a cargo of salt belonging to English merchants. The French had taken the ship off the Islands de Loss and the British had recaptured her off the mouth of the River Gambia. The British returned the vessel and her cargo to the owner after receiving salvage money.
- Ship Quaker, late of Liverpool, which the British recaptured. She was of 260 tons, 10 guns and a crew of 36. She was trading on the coast and had a cargo of merchandise and 337 slaves.
- Sloop Ocean, which the British recaptured and which had belonged to the Sierra Leone CompanySierra Leone CompanyThe Sierra Leone Company was the corporate body involved in founding the second British colony in Africa in 1792 through the resettlement of black American ex-slaves who had initially been settled in Nova Scotia after the American Revolutionary War...
. She was carrying cloth, iron, beads and ten slaves. - French schooner Prosperité, carrying Guinea Corn. She was disposed of at Gorée.
- The British destroyed the armed ship Bell, of 20 guns.
Daedalus and letters 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...
Ellis and St Ann shared, by agreement, in the capture of the Quaker (December 1797) and the Ocean (January 1798).This Ellis was almost surely the ship that received her warrant on 18 September 1797. She was under the command of James Soutar, was of 303 tons burthen, and was armed with sixteen 8, 9 and 12-pounder guns. She is listed as having had only 30 crew. St Ann is in all probability the St Anne, which received her warrant on 30 September 1797. She was under the command of Robert James, was of 243 tons burthen, and was armed with sixteen 9-pounders. She too had a crew of 30 men.http://www.1812privateers.org/GB/marque1793-1815.htm
Hornet was refitted for ₤3,554 at Portsmouth in June and July 1799. In August Hornet was part of the British fleet that captured the Dutch fleet in the Vlieter Incident
Vlieter Incident
The Vlieter incident was the surrender without a fight of a squadron of the navy of the Batavian Republic, commanded by Rear-Admiral Samuel Story, during the Anglo-Russian Invasion of Holland to the British navy on a sandbank near the Channel known as De Vlieter, near Wieringen, on August 30,...
.
Nash then sailed Hornet to the West Indies. In 1800 she accompanied a convoy to the West Indies.
While at Guadeloupe in October, a boat from Hornet attempted to press some men off the New Ceres, whose crew resisted, killing Hornets second lieutenant, and wounding another crewman. The next day Hornet tried again, this time in force, but all the crew except the chief mate and steward had disappeared. Captain Nash turned the two men over to the civil authorities.
On 27 November 1800, Hornet captured the French privateer Femme Divorcee. On 16 October Hornet captured the French privateer Mahomet.
On 15 January 1801, the 20-gun , Captain Richard Matson, 18-gun ship-sloops and Hornet, Captains Henry Matson and John Nash, and the (a schooner serving as a tender), were at an anchor in the harbour of the 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...
. The British observed a convoy of French coasters, with an armed schooner as escort, sailing towards Vieux-Fort, Guadeloupe
Vieux-Fort, Guadeloupe
Vieux-Fort is a commune in the overseas department of Guadeloupe. It is on the island of Basse-Terre.-References:*...
. At midnight the Garland, together with two boats from each of the other three vessels, attempted to cut out the convoy. However, all of the convoy, but one, were able to shelter under the guns of Basse-Terre
Basse-Terre
Basse-Terre is the prefecture of Guadeloupe, an overseas region and department of France located in the Lesser Antilles...
. The British were able to take the one French vessel that had anchored near Vieux-Fort.
On 17 January, boats from Hornet, together with boats from Daphne, set out to cut out a ship moored under the protection of shore batteries at Trois-Rivières, Guadeloupe
Trois-Rivières, Guadeloupe
Trois-Rivières is a commune in the overseas department of Guadeloupe, and the chef-lieu of the Canton of Trois-Rivières. It is on the south coast of the island of Basse-Terre.-External links:* ....
. This was the Eclair, a schooner that had recently sailed from Rochefort. Eclair was of 145 tons, had a crew of 45 men, and was armed with four long four-pounder guns and twenty 1½-pounder brass 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...
, though she was pierced for 12 guns. A party from the Garland succeeded in taking Eclair the next day. Fire from the schooner killed two men and wounded another. The French lost one seaman killed, two drowned, and her captain, first and second lieutenants, and six men wounded. The British took her into service as the 10-gun .
In March, Hornet participated in 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"...
Duckworth's
John Thomas Duckworth
Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British naval officer, serving during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as the Governor of Newfoundland during the War of 1812, and a member of the British House of Commons during his...
successful attack on the islands of St. Bartholomew
Saint Barthélemy
Saint Barthélemy , officially the Territorial collectivity of Saint Barthélemy , is an overseas collectivity of France. Often abbreviated to Saint-Barth in French, or St. Barts in English, the indigenous people called the island Ouanalao...
and St. Martin
Saint Martin
Saint Martin is an island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km2 island is divided roughly 60/40 between France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands ; however, the Dutch side has the larger population. It is one of the smallest sea islands divided between...
. On the 23 March, Hornet and the 16-gun hired armed
Hired armed vessels
right|thumb|250px|Armed cutter, etching in the [[National Maritime Museum]], [[Greenwich]]During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Royal Navy made use of a considerable number of hired armed vessels...
brig Fanny, later joined by 14-gun , attempted to capture two privateers, a brig and a schooner, but were unsuccessful though they chased the privateers for some 24 hours. The 32-gun frigate , Hornet and Drake stayed at St. Martin to secure the island and to embark the garrison on 26 March, while the rest of Duckworth's force went on to St Thomas. The proceeds of the property seized at St. Bartholomew, St. Martin, St. Thomas, and St. Croix, between 15 March and 17 April was paid out in January 1804.
At some point thereafter, Hornet was in company with when they captured the Spanish vessel Aguilla.
In June 1803, Hornet was in Commodore Samuel Hood's squadron at the capture of St. Lucia. The squadron, including Hornet went on to capture Tobago on 25 June. On 3 September Hornet captured a Dutch ship, whose name was not recorded, which was carrying 410 slaves.
Then in September Hood went on to take the colonies of Demerara
Demerara
Demerara was a region in South America in what is now Guyana that was colonised by the Dutch in 1611. The British invaded and captured the area in 1796...
and Essequibo
Essequibo (colony)
Essequibo was from 1616 to 1814 a Dutch colony in the region of the Essequibo river on the north coast of South America. The colony formed a part of the colonies that are known under the collective name of Dutch Guyana.- History :...
from the Batavian Republic
Batavian Republic
The Batavian Republic was the successor of the Republic of the United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on January 19, 1795, and ended on June 5, 1806, with the accession of Louis Bonaparte to the throne of the Kingdom of Holland....
. On 20 September Hornet, the schooner and 200 troops entered the Demerara River
Demerara River
The Demerara River is a river in eastern Guyana that rises in the central rainforests of the country and flows to the north for 346 kilometres until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. Georgetown, Guyana's largest seaport and capital, is situated on the east bank of the river's mouth. The Demerara's...
and took possession of Fort William Frederick. At the capitulation, the British took over the Batavian Republic's sole warship there, .
Fate
Paid off in 1804 from active service, the Hornet was fitted at Plymouth between September 1804 and July 1805 for the Medical Military Staff, and was commissioned in June 1805 under Lieutenant Charles William as a hospital ship in the Isles of Scilly. She was paid off from this service and laid up at Plymouth Dockyard in May 1811. On 30 October 1817 she was sold to a Mr Bailey for £920.Notable personnel
From November 1795 to September 1797, Richard SpencerRichard Spencer RN
Captain Sir Richard Spencer KCH was a sea captain of the Royal Navy who served in a number of battles, particularly against the French. Later in life he settled in Albany, Western Australia and was appointed Government Resident in 1833...
, a future hero of 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...
and Australian pioneer, served as a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
on Hornet.