HMS Malta (1800)
Encyclopedia
HMS Malta was an 80-gun third rate ship of the line
of the Royal Navy
. She had previously served with the French Navy
as the Tonnant-class
Guillaume Tell, but was captured in the Mediterranean in 1800 by a British squadron enforcing the blockade of Malta
. Having served for less than four years for the French from her completion in July 1796 to her capture in March 1800, she would eventually serve for 40 years for the British.
Guillaume Tell took part in the Battle of the Nile
, but formed part of the rear of the French fleet and saw little action. She became one of only two French ships of the line to escape the destruction of the fleet, and took refuge at Malta
. She was trapped there by the British blockade, and as the island began to fall to the British, she attempted to escape. She was spotted by a patrolling British frigate and attacked, with nearby British ships of the line joining the action. After a fierce fight she struck her colours and was taken over by the British. Renamed HMS Malta after the island she was captured off she served in the Channel, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. She fought with Vice-Admiral Robert Calder
's fleet at the Battle of Cape Finisterre
in 1805, contributing to the capture of two enemy ships. Transferred to take part in the blockade of the French ports, she helped in the chase and capture of the French frigate Président
in 1806. The last years of the war were spent as a flagship in the Mediterranean, after which she returned to Britain. She spent some time as the Plymouth
guardship, and remained on active service until being reduced to a harbour depot ship, in which role she spent nearly a decade. She was finally broken up in 1840, forty years after her capture from the French.
at the Toulon
shipyard between September 1794 and July 1796, having been launched on 21 October 1795. She was named after the folk hero William Tell
. Flagship of Rear-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
she was one of the ships that accompanied Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys's
fleet, carrying Napoleon Bonaparte
and the French troops to invade Egypt.Franklin was anchored with Brueys's fleet in Aboukir Bay on 1 August, when they were discovered in the evening by a British fleet under Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson
. Nelson ordered his fleet to attack immediately, with the British forces moving on the French van, doubling their line. Brueys was taken by surprise, having expected the British to attack his rear and centre, where he had consequently placed his heaviest ships, including the Guillaume Tell. Guillaume Tell formed part of the rear division and therefore remained out of the engagement until dawn, as the French van surrendered and the British ships moved down the line to engage the remaining ships.
Villeneuve fought on until midday on 2 August, before attempting to escape to sea with the remains of the French rear, including the Généreux
and Timoléon
, and two frigates, but the Timoléon ran aground and had to be abandoned. Villeneuve was later criticised for not using his initiative to bring the rear to support the van earlier in the attack, but pleaded that it would not have made a difference to the outcome. The four surviving French ships escaped to Malta, with Généreux returning from there to Toulon, but Guillaume Tell became trapped at Valletta
by the British blockade.
, Edward Berry
. Nelson, by now infatuated with Emma Hamilton, and resisting his commanding officer Lord Keith's order to move his base of operations away from Palermo
, left the blockade to his subordinates while he went ashore. While he was away, Guillaume Tell prepared for sea and got under way from Valletta at 11 at night on 29 March, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral Denis Decrès
. Her departure was observed by the Captain Henry Blackwood
aboard the frigate , who immediately engaged her, having dispatched the brig Minorca
to bring up the rest of the blockading squadron.
By dawn on 30 March the 64-gun had closed and the two exchanged fire, with Lions bowsprit
becoming entangled in Guillaume Tells rigging. The crew of Lion fought off two attempts to board by the French, before drifting away with her sails and rigging cut to pieces in order to repair the damage. Edward Berry's came up at 6 in the morning, and after ordering Guillaume Tell to surrender, fired a broadside. Guillaume Tell had had her main and mizzen top masts shot away by Penelope, but resisted Foudroyant. The two ships exchanged broadsides while Penelope ranged up on Guillaume Tells un-engaged quarter and opened fire. Now engaged on both sides, Guillaume Tell lost her foremast at 6.36 am, and her mainmast at 6.45 am. At about this time a French seaman nailed the French ensign to stump of the mizzen-mast. Now engaged by all three British ships the French fought on for another two hours, until completely dismasted and obliged to close her lower gunports to stop them flooding as the ship rolled helplessly. Realising that further resistance was useless, Decrès ordered the colours to be struck at 9.35 am.
The badly damaged Guillaume Tell was taken in tow by Penelope, the only ship in any condition to remain at sea and arrived at Syracuse on 3 April. After being patched up she was sailed to Britain, arriving at Portsmouth
on 23 November 1800. She was surveyed and fitted out there, a process completed by July 1801, during which time she was commissioned as HMS Malta in May under Captain Albemarle Bertie
. She initially based in the roadstead
off St Helens
, but was damaged in a serious fire in April 1802 and was paid off for repairs. After these were completed she recommissioned in March 1803,on the outbreak of war, under the command of Captain Edward Buller
. Buller was temporarily replaced in January 1805 by Captain William Granger for service off Cadiz
, but Buller was back in command in time to take part in Calder's Action off Cape Finisterre
on 22 July 1805. Malta formed the rear-most ship in the British line in the approach to the battle, but as the fleets became confused in the failing light and thick patchy fog, Buller found that he was surrounded by five enemy ships. After a fierce engagement in which Malta suffered five killed and forty wounded, Buller forced the Spanish 84-gun San Rafael to strike, and afterwards sent the Maltas boats to take possession of the Spanish 74-gun Firme.
Malta became the flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Louis
in August 1806, and was still serving with Louis' squadron when they were ordered to intercept a French force under Jean-Baptiste Philibert Willaumez
that was expected to arrive in European waters from the Caribbean. On 27 September they came across the 44-gun French frigate Président
, and after a pursuit, forced her to surrender. Malta departed for the Mediterranean on 5 January 1807 and spent the year participating in the blockade of Cadiz, with Buller being succeeded in command by Captain William Shield during the year. She blockaded Toulon in 1808, at first under Shield, and later under Captain Robert Otway
. Returning home to Britain in December that year, she was paid off. Work began on a large repair at Plymouth
in July 1809, after which she was fitted out for foreign service, a process completed by December 1811. She had recommissioned in September 1811 under the command of Captain Charles Paget to serve as the flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Benjamin Hallowell in the Mediterranean. Malta sailed from Britain on 8 January 1812, and spent the next few years in the Mediterranean, passing under the command of Captain William Charles Fahie
in January 1815.
With the end of the Napoleonic Wars she returned to Britain, where various defects were repaired and she was fitted out as the Plymouth guardship between November 1815 and January 1816. Captain Thomas Caulfield took command in January 1816 and remained in her until she was paid off in July 1816. Malta remained in active service until being fitted as an reserve depot ship at Plymouth in late 1831. She spent another nine years in the role until being broken up at Plymouth in August 1840.
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...
. She had previously served with the French Navy
French Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
as the Tonnant-class
Tonnant class ship of the line
The Tonnant Class was a class of eight 80-gun ships of the line designed in 1787 by Jacques-Noël Sané. From 1802 a new group was begun of slightly modified design, of which more than 24 were begun....
Guillaume Tell, but was captured in the Mediterranean in 1800 by a British squadron enforcing the blockade of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. Having served for less than four years for the French from her completion in July 1796 to her capture in March 1800, she would eventually serve for 40 years for the British.
Guillaume Tell took part in 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...
, but formed part of the rear of the French fleet and saw little action. She became one of only two French ships of the line to escape the destruction of the fleet, and took refuge at Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. She was trapped there by the British blockade, and as the island began to fall to the British, she attempted to escape. She was spotted by a patrolling British frigate and attacked, with nearby British ships of the line joining the action. After a fierce fight she struck her colours and was taken over by the British. Renamed HMS Malta after the island she was captured off she served in the Channel, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. She fought with Vice-Admiral Robert Calder
Robert Calder
Admiral Sir Robert Calder, 1st Baronet, KCB was a British naval officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.-Early life:...
's fleet at the Battle of Cape Finisterre
Battle of Cape Finisterre (1805)
In the Battle of Cape Finisterre off Galicia, Spain, the British fleet under Admiral Robert Calder fought an indecisive naval battle against the Combined Franco-Spanish fleet which was returning from the West Indies...
in 1805, contributing to the capture of two enemy ships. Transferred to take part in the blockade of the French ports, she helped in the chase and capture of the French frigate Président
French frigate Président
The Président was a 40-gun frigate of the Gloire Class in the French Navy, built to a 1802 design by Pierre-Alexandre Forfait. She served with the French Navy from her completion in 1804 until late 1806 when the Royal Navy captured her...
in 1806. The last years of the war were spent as a flagship in the Mediterranean, after which she returned to Britain. She spent some time as the Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
guardship, and remained on active service until being reduced to a harbour depot ship, in which role she spent nearly a decade. She was finally broken up in 1840, forty years after her capture from the French.
Nile
Guillaume Tell was built to a design by Jacques-Noël SanéJacques-Noël Sané
Jacques-Noël Sané was a French naval engineer, one of the most successful shipbuilders of the Age of Sail.Sané studied under Duhamel du Monceau...
at the Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
shipyard between September 1794 and July 1796, having been launched on 21 October 1795. She was named after the folk hero William Tell
William Tell
William Tell is a folk hero of Switzerland. His legend is recorded in a late 15th century Swiss chronicle....
. Flagship of Rear-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
Pierre-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Silvestre de Villeneuve was a French naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars. He was in command of the French and Spanish fleets defeated by Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar....
she was one of the ships that accompanied Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys's
François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers
Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers, Comte de Brueys was the French commander in the Battle of the Nile, in which the French Revolutionary Navy was defeated by Royal Navy forces under Admiral Horatio Nelson. The British victory helped to ensure their naval supremacy throughout the...
fleet, carrying Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
and the French troops to invade Egypt.Franklin was anchored with Brueys's fleet in Aboukir Bay on 1 August, when they were discovered in the evening by a British fleet under Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
. Nelson ordered his fleet to attack immediately, with the British forces moving on the French van, doubling their line. Brueys was taken by surprise, having expected the British to attack his rear and centre, where he had consequently placed his heaviest ships, including the Guillaume Tell. Guillaume Tell formed part of the rear division and therefore remained out of the engagement until dawn, as the French van surrendered and the British ships moved down the line to engage the remaining ships.
Villeneuve fought on until midday on 2 August, before attempting to escape to sea with the remains of the French rear, including the Généreux
French ship Généreux (1785)
The Généreux was a French Téméraire class ship of the line.She was launched in 1785 at Rochefort. With the Guillaume Tell, she was one of only two ships to escape the British attack at the Battle of the Nile in August 1798....
and Timoléon
French ship Commerce de Bordeaux (1785)
The Commerce de Bordeaux was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.Renamed Timoléon in February 1794, she took part in the Battle of the Nile under captain Louis-Léonce Trullet. In the confusion of the battle, her rudder was damaged by misdirected fire from the neighbouring...
, and two frigates, but the Timoléon ran aground and had to be abandoned. Villeneuve was later criticised for not using his initiative to bring the rear to support the van earlier in the attack, but pleaded that it would not have made a difference to the outcome. The four surviving French ships escaped to Malta, with Généreux returning from there to Toulon, but Guillaume Tell became trapped at Valletta
Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
by the British blockade.
Capture
Nelson's irritation that two of the French ships of the line at the Nile had escaped him was assuaged by interception of the Généreux in February 1800 while trying to protect a squadron attempting to break the blockade of Malta. Nelson wrote in a letter to Emma Hamilton 'I have got her - Le Genereux - thank God! 12 out of the 13, only the Guillaume Tell remaining: I am after the others.' Généreux was captured after a brief action, surrendering to Nelson's flag captainFlag captain
In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a "captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "First Captain", with the "flag captain" as the ship's...
, Edward Berry
Edward Berry
Rear Admiral Sir Edward Berry, 1st Baronet, KCB was an officer in Britain's Royal Navy primarily known for his role as flag captain of Rear Admiral Horatio Nelson's ship HMS Vanguard at the Battle of the Nile, prior to his knighthood in 1798...
. Nelson, by now infatuated with Emma Hamilton, and resisting his commanding officer Lord Keith's order to move his base of operations away from Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, left the blockade to his subordinates while he went ashore. While he was away, Guillaume Tell prepared for sea and got under way from Valletta at 11 at night on 29 March, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral Denis Decrès
Denis Decrès
Denis Decrès, , was an officer of the French Navy and count, later duke of the First Empire.-Early career:...
. Her departure was observed by the Captain Henry Blackwood
Henry Blackwood
Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Blackwood, 1st Baronet, GCH, KCB , whose memorial is in the St. John's Church, Killyleagh, was a British sailor....
aboard the frigate , who immediately engaged her, having dispatched the brig Minorca
French brig Alerte (1787)
The French brig Alerte was launched in 1787 and captured by the Royal Navy at Toulon in 1793. The British set her on fire when they evacuated Toulon later that year. After the French rebuilt her as Alerte, she served at the Battle of Aboukir Bay. The British recaptured her in 1799 and took her into...
to bring up the rest of the blockading squadron.
By dawn on 30 March the 64-gun had closed and the two exchanged fire, with Lions bowsprit
Bowsprit
The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestay, allowing the fore-mast to be stepped farther forward on the hull.-Origin:...
becoming entangled in Guillaume Tells rigging. The crew of Lion fought off two attempts to board by the French, before drifting away with her sails and rigging cut to pieces in order to repair the damage. Edward Berry's came up at 6 in the morning, and after ordering Guillaume Tell to surrender, fired a broadside. Guillaume Tell had had her main and mizzen top masts shot away by Penelope, but resisted Foudroyant. The two ships exchanged broadsides while Penelope ranged up on Guillaume Tells un-engaged quarter and opened fire. Now engaged on both sides, Guillaume Tell lost her foremast at 6.36 am, and her mainmast at 6.45 am. At about this time a French seaman nailed the French ensign to stump of the mizzen-mast. Now engaged by all three British ships the French fought on for another two hours, until completely dismasted and obliged to close her lower gunports to stop them flooding as the ship rolled helplessly. Realising that further resistance was useless, Decrès ordered the colours to be struck at 9.35 am.
British career
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...
on 23 November 1800. She was surveyed and fitted out there, a process completed by July 1801, during which time she was commissioned as HMS Malta in May under Captain Albemarle Bertie
Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet
Admiral Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet, KCB, was a long-serving and at time controversial officer of the British Royal Navy who saw extensive service in his career but also courted controversy with several of his actions....
. She initially based in the roadstead
Roadstead
A roadstead is a place outside a harbor where a ship can lie at anchor. It is an enclosed area with an opening to the sea, narrower than a bay or gulf. It has a surface that cannot be confused with an estuary. It can be created artificially by jetties or dikes...
off St Helens
St Helens, Isle of Wight
St. Helens is a village and civil parish located on the eastern side of the Isle of Wight. The village is based around village greens. This is claimed to be the largest in England but some say the Village Green is the second largest. The greens are often used for cricket matches during the summer...
, but was damaged in a serious fire in April 1802 and was paid off for repairs. After these were completed she recommissioned in March 1803,on the outbreak of war, under the command of Captain Edward Buller
Sir Edward Buller, 1st Baronet
Sir Edward Buller, 1st Baronet was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
. Buller was temporarily replaced in January 1805 by Captain William Granger for service off Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, but Buller was back in command in time to take part in Calder's Action off Cape Finisterre
Cape Finisterre
right|thumb|300px|Position of Cape Finisterre on the [[Iberian Peninsula]]Cape Finisterre is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain....
on 22 July 1805. Malta formed the rear-most ship in the British line in the approach to the battle, but as the fleets became confused in the failing light and thick patchy fog, Buller found that he was surrounded by five enemy ships. After a fierce engagement in which Malta suffered five killed and forty wounded, Buller forced the Spanish 84-gun San Rafael to strike, and afterwards sent the Maltas boats to take possession of the Spanish 74-gun Firme.
Malta became the flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Louis
Thomas Louis
Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Louis, 1st Baronet was an officer of the British Royal Navy who served in three wars and saw numerous actions, notably as one of Horatio Nelson's "Band of Brothers" in the Mediterranean in 1798 who commanded ships at the Battle of the Nile...
in August 1806, and was still serving with Louis' squadron when they were ordered to intercept a French force under Jean-Baptiste Philibert Willaumez
Jean-Baptiste Philibert Willaumez
Jean-Baptiste Philibert Willaumez was a French sailor and admiral of the First French Empire....
that was expected to arrive in European waters from the Caribbean. On 27 September they came across the 44-gun French frigate Président
French frigate Président
The Président was a 40-gun frigate of the Gloire Class in the French Navy, built to a 1802 design by Pierre-Alexandre Forfait. She served with the French Navy from her completion in 1804 until late 1806 when the Royal Navy captured her...
, and after a pursuit, forced her to surrender. Malta departed for the Mediterranean on 5 January 1807 and spent the year participating in the blockade of Cadiz, with Buller being succeeded in command by Captain William Shield during the year. She blockaded Toulon in 1808, at first under Shield, and later under Captain Robert Otway
Robert Otway
Admiral Sir Robert Waller Otway, 1st Baronet, GCB was a senior Royal Navy officer of the early nineteenth century who served extensively as a sea captain during the Napoleonic War and later supported the Brazilian cause during the Brazilian War of Independence...
. Returning home to Britain in December that year, she was paid off. Work began on a large repair at Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
in July 1809, after which she was fitted out for foreign service, a process completed by December 1811. She had recommissioned in September 1811 under the command of Captain Charles Paget to serve as the flagship of Rear-Admiral Sir Benjamin Hallowell in the Mediterranean. Malta sailed from Britain on 8 January 1812, and spent the next few years in the Mediterranean, passing under the command of Captain William Charles Fahie
William Charles Fahie
Vice-Admiral Sir William Charles Fahie KCB was a prominent British Royal Navy officer during the American War of Independence, French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars. Unusually, Fahie's service was almost entirely spent in the West Indies, where he had been born and where he lived during...
in January 1815.
With the end of the Napoleonic Wars she returned to Britain, where various defects were repaired and she was fitted out as the Plymouth guardship between November 1815 and January 1816. Captain Thomas Caulfield took command in January 1816 and remained in her until she was paid off in July 1816. Malta remained in active service until being fitted as an reserve depot ship at Plymouth in late 1831. She spent another nine years in the role until being broken up at Plymouth in August 1840.