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HMS Neptune (1797)
Encyclopedia
HMS Neptune was a 98-gun second rate ship of the line
of the Royal Navy
. She served on a number of stations during the French Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars
and was present at the Battle of Trafalgar
in 1805.
Neptune was built during the early years of the war with Revolutionary France and was launched in 1797. She almost immediately became caught up in the events of the mutiny at the Nore
, and was one of a few loyal ships tasked with attacking mutinous vessels if they could not be brought to order. The mutiny died out before this became necessary and Neptune joined the Channel Fleet
. She moved to the Mediterranean in 1799, spending the rest of the French Revolutionary Wars in operations with Vice-Admiral Lord Keith's fleet. After refitting, and spending time on blockades, she formed part of Lord Nelson's
fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar, and was heavily involved in the fighting, sustaining casualties of 10 killed and 34 wounded.
She was not fully repaired and returned to service until 1807, when she went out to the Caribbean
. In 1809 she participated in the successful invasion of Martinique
, and the subsequent battle with Troude's squadron
. Returning to Britain towards the end of the wars, she was laid up in ordinary
, and in 1813 became a temporary prison ship
. She was finally broken up in 1818.
Sir John Henslow. She was one of three ships of the Neptune class
, alongside her sisters and . Neptune was laid down at Deptford in April 1791, receiving her name on 24 July 1790. The initial stages of her construction were overseen by Master Shipwright Martin Ware, though he was succeeded by Thomas Pollard in June 1795, and Pollard oversaw her completion. Neptune was launched on 28 January 1797 and sailed to Woolwich
to be fitted for sea. Arriving at Woolwich on 12 February, she was immediately docked to have her copper sheathing
fitted, a process that was completed by 1 March. Launched again, she finished fitting out, and received her masts and yards. Her final costs came to £77,053, and included £61,172 spent on the hull, masts and yards, and a further £15,881 on rigging and stores.
She was commissioned on 25 March 1797 under Captain Henry Stanhope, becoming the third ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name Neptune. Her predecessors had been two 90-gun ships, the first launched in 1683
, renamed HMS Torbay in 1750 and sold in 1784. The second had been launched in 1757
, was used as a sheer hulk from 1784, and was broken up in 1816. Stanhope sailed from Woolwich on 11 June 1797, flying the broad pendant of Commodore
Sir Erasmus Gower
, and made for the Nore.
. While lying at Gravesend
, Neptune and the 64-gun ships and , together with a fleet of gunboat
s, were ordered to intercept and attack the mutinous ships at the Nore. Before they could proceed word came that the mutineers had entered negotiations with the Earl of Northesk
, captain of the 64-gun , and by 9 June the mutiny was on the verge of collapse. The attack was called off, and on 21 September Stanhope was superseded by Gower as captain of Neptune. The crisis over, Neptune joined the Channel Fleet
.
became her acting-captain. Sawyer was in command until 22 January 1799, and Gower left her on 28 February 1799. Command of the ship formally passed to Captain James Vashon
on 5 March 1799. The first half of 1799 was spent with the Channel Fleet, and in June Neptune was one of 15 ships of the line assigned to join Vice-Admiral Lord Keith's fleet in the Mediterranean. The squadron, commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Cotton
, rendezvoused with Keith's force at Minorca
on 7 July, bringing the British fleet in the Mediterranean up to 31 ships. Keith intended to intercept a large Franco-Spanish force of 42 ships under Admirals Étienne Eustache Bruix
and Jose Mazarredo, and set out to sea on 10 July. Bruix' expedition evaded Keith, and reached the safety of Brest
on 9 August. Neptune went on to spend the rest of the French Revolutionary Wars in the Mediterranean.
Vashon was superseded on 26 March 1801, and the following day Captain Edward Brace arrived to take command. Neptune became the flagship
of Vice-Admiral James Gambier
during this period. Brace's period of command was brief, he was superseded by Captain Francis Austen
on 12 September. With the draw down in hostilities prior to the signing of the Treaty of Amiens
in March 1802, Neptune was one of the many ships of the Mediterranean fleet to be ordered home, arriving at Portsmouth
on 24 February. Austen paid her off on 29 April, but recommissioned her the next day. Neptune then underwent a brief refit, during which £5,728 was expended, £2,895 of which was spent on her hull, masts and yards. Austen was superseded on 30 September 1802 and the following day Captain William O'Bryen Drury
took command. With Neptune fully refitted and stored, she sailed from the dockyard and joined the Channel Fleet at Spithead
on 29 October.
took over. Neptune spent the rest of 1804 deployed with the Channel Fleet, blockading the French Atlantic ports. During this time Captain Williams' health progressively worsened, and he was invalided back to Britain on 7 May 1805. He was replaced by Captain Thomas Fremantle on 8 May, and was sent to join Robert Calder
's force blockading Ferrol, after the Franco-Spanish fleet had arrived there after the Battle of Cape Finisterre
. Calder decided that his eight ships were not sufficient to resist Villeneuve's
fleet were it to come out of harbour, and instead went north to join Admiral William Cornwallis
's fleet off Brest. Shortly afterwards Nelson's
fleet returned from the West Indies, bringing 12 more ships, and Calder was given 18 ships, including Neptune, and sent back to Ferrol to search for Villeneuve. By now Villeneuve had put into Cadiz
and Calder's force was ordered to join the hastily assembled British fleet under Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood
, that was blockading the Franco-Spanish fleet at Cadiz. As the British fleet settled in for a long blockade Fremantle commented on Neptunes sailing qualities. She had the reputation of being slow, and Fremantle complained that he did not like being in 'a large ship that don't sail and must continually be late in action.' During the battle however, Midshipman William Baddock commented that 'The old Neptune, which never was a good sailer, took it into her head that morning to sail better than I ever remember to have seen her do before.' Neptune went into the battle 18 men short of her complement.
on 21 October, and was the third ship from the lead, situated between her sister HMS Temeraire, and the 74-gun . Fremantle had been promised a position second to Nelson aboard , and by 10 o'clock was sailing fast enough to threaten to overtake her. Fremantle hoped to pass her, and lead the line into battle, but Nelson ordered Neptune, take in your studding-sails and drop astern. I shall break the line myself.' Neptune went into action with her band playing ,and everyone except the officers and the band lying down on the deck to protect them from enemy fire. Ahead of her Fremantle saw Eliab Harvey
's Temeraire turn to pass astern of the French Redoutable
, but resolved to follow Nelson and HMS Victory to pass astern of the French flagship Bucentaure
. As she passed under Bucentaures stern, Neptune discharged a double-shotted broadside from her larboard (port) guns, with devastating consequences on Villeneuve's already disabled flagship. Fremantle then had the helm swung hard to starboard, bringing his ship abeam of the Bucentaure. He fired two more triple-shotted broadsides from nearly 50 guns at a range of less than 100 yards into the beleaguered French ship.
Fremantle then spotted the towering mass of the Spanish four-decker Santísima Trinidad sailing away from him, and steered towards her starboard quarter in the hope of raking her stern. Opening fire with his larboard battery, he positioned Neptune off the Spanish vessel's starboard beam and the two exchanged heavy fire for the next hour as more British ships poured through the gap astern of Neptune. Neptune took fire from other ships of the combined fleet as they sailed past. Santísima Trinidad, heavily battered by Neptunes guns, as well as those from the 74-gun ships and , became completely dismasted and covered in debris. She fought on until 5.30 pm, when she struck her colours, having sustained casualties of 205 dead and 103 wounded. Neptune left the 98-gun to take possession and headed north to cut off the remains of the enemy fleet, briefly becoming engaged with the French 74-gun Intrépide. During the battle Neptune suffered considerable damage to her masts, although they did not fall. Most of her rigging was cut to pieces and she sustained nine shot holes in her hull. She sustained casualties of ten killed and 34 wounded. A remarkably small proportion of her officers became casualties, with only the captain's clerk, Richard Hurrell, being wounded.
After the battle Collingwood transferred his flag from the damaged to the frigate , and on 22 October Neptune took the Royal Sovereign in tow. On 23 October, as the Franco-Spanish forces that had escaped into Cadiz sortied under Commodore Julien Cosmao
, Neptune cast off the tow, surrendering the duty to , and took on board Villeneuve and several captured flag captain
s, who had originally been aboard Mars. As the weather continued to deteriorate Neptune sent her boats to assist in the evacuation of the Santísima Trinidad before she foundered. After riding out the storm she took the battered Victory, carrying Lord Nelson's body, in tow on 26 October and brought her into Gibraltar
on 28 October.
, but was moved to the West Indies in 1808. On 9 November Williams was superseded by Captain Thomas Pinto, who only spent six weeks in command before being succeeded by Captain Charles Dilkes on 20 December.
In January 1809 an attack
on the French colony of Martinique
, governed by Admiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse
, was planned. Neptune became the flagship of the expedition's commander, Rear-Admiral Alexander Cochrane
, and the invasion force, consisting of 44 vessels and transports for 10,000 troops under Lieutenant-General George Beckwith
, sailed on 28 January. The force arrived at Martinique on 30 January, and 3,000 troops were landed under Major-General Frederick Maitland
without resistance. 600 troops were put ashore at Cape Solomon under Major Henderson, both landings supervised by Captain William Charles Fahie
aboard the 74-gun . An additional force of 6,500 men were landed in the north of the island under Major-General Sir George Prévost
, and the French were driven into several fortified positions, the last of which surrendered on 24 February 1809.
Cochrane's squadron remained in the area blockading the island, and in March a French squadron consisting of three 74-gun ships, Hautpoult, Courageux
and Polonais
, and two frigates, Félicité
and Furieuse
, under the overall command of Commodore Amable Troude
, arrived in the Caribbean
. Finding Martinique in British hands, Troude anchored near Îles des Saintes
. Cochrane decided to remove this threat, landing troops on the islands and installing heavy guns on vantage points. Threatened, Troude put to sea, chased by Cochrane's squadron. After a running battle over several days the Hautpoult was brought to action and captured. Neptunes captain, Charles Dilkes, was given command of her, while Captain James Athol Wood
succeeded him in command of Neptune on 2 August.
. The process cost £713, and after undocking on 8 December she was laid up in the Hamoaze
until late autumn 1813. Her hull appears to have quickly deteriorated, and after a survey she was deemed unfit for further service at sea. The Navy Board
proposed that she be converted into a prison ship
, a recommendation the Admiralty
accepted, and she was taken in hand for fitting out on 22 November. On the completion of the work in December she was commissioned under Lieutenant George Lawrence. Neptune spent three years in this role, and was finally taken to pieces in October 1818.
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 served on a number of stations during the French Revolutionary
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...
and 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 was present at the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
in 1805.
Neptune was built during the early years of the war with Revolutionary France and was launched in 1797. She almost immediately became caught up in the events of the mutiny at the Nore
Spithead and Nore mutinies
The Spithead and Nore mutinies were two major mutinies by sailors of the Royal Navy in 1797. There were also discontent and minor incidents on ships in other locations in the same year. They were not violent insurrections, being more in the nature of strikes, demanding better pay and conditions...
, and was one of a few loyal ships tasked with attacking mutinous vessels if they could not be brought to order. The mutiny died out before this became necessary and Neptune joined the Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
. She moved to the Mediterranean in 1799, spending the rest of the French Revolutionary Wars in operations with Vice-Admiral Lord Keith's fleet. After refitting, and spending time on blockades, she formed part of Lord Nelson's
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...
fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar, and was heavily involved in the fighting, sustaining casualties of 10 killed and 34 wounded.
She was not fully repaired and returned to service until 1807, when she went out to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. In 1809 she participated in the successful invasion of Martinique
Invasion of Martinique (1809)
The invasion of Martinique of 1809 was a successful British amphibious operation against the French West Indian island of Martinique that took place between 30 January and 24 February 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars...
, and the subsequent battle with Troude's squadron
Troude's expedition to the Caribbean
Troude's expedition to the Caribbean was a naval operation by a French force under Commodore Amable-Gilles Troude during the Napoleonic Wars. The French squadron departed from Lorient in February 1809 in an attempt to reach and resupply the island colony of Martinique in the Caribbean Sea, then...
. Returning to Britain towards the end of the wars, she was laid up in ordinary
Reserve fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....
, and in 1813 became a temporary prison ship
Prison ship
A prison ship, historically sometimes called a prison hulk, is a vessel used as a prison, often to hold convicts awaiting transportation to penal colonies. This practice was popular with the British government in the 18th and 19th centuries....
. She was finally broken up in 1818.
Construction and commissioning
Neptune was ordered from Deptford Dockyard on 15 February 1790, to a design developed by Surveyor of the NavySurveyor of the Navy
The Surveyor to the Navy was a civilian officer in the Royal Navy. He was a member of the Navy Board from the inauguration of that body in 1546, and held overall responsibility for the design of British warships, although until 1745 the actual design work for warships built at each Royal Dockyard...
Sir John Henslow. She was one of three ships of the Neptune class
Neptune class ship of the line
The Neptune-class ships of the line were a class of three 98-gun second rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir John Henslow. All three of the ships in the class took part in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.-Ships:...
, alongside her sisters and . Neptune was laid down at Deptford in April 1791, receiving her name on 24 July 1790. The initial stages of her construction were overseen by Master Shipwright Martin Ware, though he was succeeded by Thomas Pollard in June 1795, and Pollard oversaw her completion. Neptune was launched on 28 January 1797 and sailed to Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
to be fitted for sea. Arriving at Woolwich on 12 February, she was immediately docked to have her copper sheathing
Copper sheathing
Copper sheathing was the practice of protecting the under-water hull of a ship or boat through the use of copper plates affixed to the outside of the hull. It was pioneered and developed by the Royal Navy during the 18th century.-Development:...
fitted, a process that was completed by 1 March. Launched again, she finished fitting out, and received her masts and yards. Her final costs came to £77,053, and included £61,172 spent on the hull, masts and yards, and a further £15,881 on rigging and stores.
She was commissioned on 25 March 1797 under Captain Henry Stanhope, becoming the third ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name Neptune. Her predecessors had been two 90-gun ships, the first launched in 1683
HMS Neptune (1683)
HMS Neptune was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was built under the 1677 "Thirty Great Ships" Programme and launched in 1683 at Deptford Dockyard. She was first commissioned in 1690 under Captain Thomas Gardiner, as the flagship of Vice-Admiral George Rooke...
, renamed HMS Torbay in 1750 and sold in 1784. The second had been launched in 1757
HMS Neptune (1757)
HMS Neptune was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Portsmouth Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched on 17 July 1757....
, was used as a sheer hulk from 1784, and was broken up in 1816. Stanhope sailed from Woolwich on 11 June 1797, flying the broad pendant of Commodore
Commodore (Royal Navy)
Commodore is a rank of the Royal Navy above Captain and below Rear Admiral. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-6. The rank is equivalent to Brigadier in the British Army and Royal Marines and to Air Commodore in the Royal Air Force.-Insignia:...
Sir Erasmus Gower
Erasmus Gower
Sir Erasmus Gower naval officer and colonial governor born Cilgerran, Wales and died Hambledon, Hampshire, England....
, and made for the Nore.
Mutiny at the Nore
Shortly after her arrival at the Nore, Neptune became caught up in the mutiny that had broken out thereSpithead and Nore mutinies
The Spithead and Nore mutinies were two major mutinies by sailors of the Royal Navy in 1797. There were also discontent and minor incidents on ships in other locations in the same year. They were not violent insurrections, being more in the nature of strikes, demanding better pay and conditions...
. While lying at Gravesend
Gravesend, Kent
Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, on the south bank of the Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. It is the administrative town of the Borough of Gravesham and, because of its geographical position, has always had an important role to play in the history and communications of this part of...
, Neptune and the 64-gun ships and , together with a fleet of gunboat
Gunboat
A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies.-History:...
s, were ordered to intercept and attack the mutinous ships at the Nore. Before they could proceed word came that the mutineers had entered negotiations with the Earl of Northesk
William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk
Admiral William Carnegie GCB, 7th Earl of Northesk was born in Hampshire to Admiral George Carnegie, 6th Earl of Northesk and Anne Melville.-Naval career:...
, captain of the 64-gun , and by 9 June the mutiny was on the verge of collapse. The attack was called off, and on 21 September Stanhope was superseded by Gower as captain of Neptune. The crisis over, Neptune joined the Channel Fleet
Channel Fleet
The Channel Fleet was the Royal Navy formation of warships that defended the waters of the English Channel from 1690 to 1909.-History:The Channel Fleet dates back at least to 1690 when its role was to defend England against the French threat under the leadership of Edward Russell, 1st Earl of...
.
Mediterranean
Gower remained in command of Neptune until his promotion to rear-admiral of the white, at which point Herbert SawyerHerbert Sawyer
Admiral Sir Herbert Sawyer KCB was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the American Revolution, the French Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Napoleonic Wars. He eventually rose to the rank of Admiral....
became her acting-captain. Sawyer was in command until 22 January 1799, and Gower left her on 28 February 1799. Command of the ship formally passed to Captain James Vashon
James Vashon
Sir James Vashon was a British officer of the Royal Navy. He saw service during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was first captain of HMS Dreadnought, between 1801 and 1802...
on 5 March 1799. The first half of 1799 was spent with the Channel Fleet, and in June Neptune was one of 15 ships of the line assigned to join Vice-Admiral Lord Keith's fleet in the Mediterranean. The squadron, commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Cotton
Sir Charles Cotton, 5th Baronet
Sir Charles Cotton, 5th Baronet was a senior Royal Navy officer of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars whose service continued until his death in command of the Channel Fleet from apoplexy in 1812. During his service, Cotton saw action off the Eastern Seaboard of the Thirteen Colonies and...
, rendezvoused with Keith's force at Minorca
Minorca
Min Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....
on 7 July, bringing the British fleet in the Mediterranean up to 31 ships. Keith intended to intercept a large Franco-Spanish force of 42 ships under Admirals Étienne Eustache Bruix
Étienne Eustache Bruix
Étienne Eustache Bruix was a French sailor.-Life:From a distinguished family originating from Béarn, he embarked as a volunteer on a slaving vessel commanded by captain Jean-François Landolphe...
and Jose Mazarredo, and set out to sea on 10 July. Bruix' expedition evaded Keith, and reached the safety of Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
on 9 August. Neptune went on to spend the rest of the French Revolutionary Wars in the Mediterranean.
Vashon was superseded on 26 March 1801, and the following day Captain Edward Brace arrived to take command. Neptune became the 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 Vice-Admiral James Gambier
James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier
Admiral of the Fleet James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier GCB was an admiral of the Royal Navy, who served as Governor of Newfoundland, and as a Lord of the Admiralty, but who gained notoriety for his actions at the Battle of the Basque Roads.-Early career:Gambier was born in New Providence, The...
during this period. Brace's period of command was brief, he was superseded by Captain Francis Austen
Francis Austen
Sir Francis William Austen, GCB was a British officer who spent most of his long life on active duty in the Royal Navy, rising to the position of Admiral of the Fleet.-Background:...
on 12 September. With the draw down in hostilities prior to the signing of the Treaty of Amiens
Treaty of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens temporarily ended hostilities between the French Republic and the United Kingdom during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was signed in the city of Amiens on 25 March 1802 , by Joseph Bonaparte and the Marquess Cornwallis as a "Definitive Treaty of Peace"...
in March 1802, Neptune was one of the many ships of the Mediterranean fleet to be ordered home, arriving 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...
on 24 February. Austen paid her off on 29 April, but recommissioned her the next day. Neptune then underwent a brief refit, during which £5,728 was expended, £2,895 of which was spent on her hull, masts and yards. Austen was superseded on 30 September 1802 and the following day Captain William O'Bryen Drury
William O'Bryen Drury
Rear-Admiral William O'Bryen Drury was a senior officer of the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. Drury served as commander of the ship of the line HMS Powerful during the French Revolutionary Wars, during which he was heavily engaged at the Battle of Camperdown, at which a Dutch fleet...
took command. With Neptune fully refitted and stored, she sailed from the dockyard and joined the Channel Fleet at Spithead
Spithead
Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...
on 29 October.
Blockade, and approach to Trafalgar
Drury commanded Neptune for the next two years, until his promotion to rear-admiral in 1804. He departed the ship on 13 May 1804, and the following day Captain Sir Thomas WilliamsThomas Williams (Royal Navy officer)
Admiral Sir Thomas Williams GCB was a senior British Royal Navy officer of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, who served in numerous theatres during the American Revolutionary War, French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars...
took over. Neptune spent the rest of 1804 deployed with the Channel Fleet, blockading the French Atlantic ports. During this time Captain Williams' health progressively worsened, and he was invalided back to Britain on 7 May 1805. He was replaced by Captain Thomas Fremantle on 8 May, and was sent to join 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 force blockading Ferrol, after the Franco-Spanish fleet had arrived there after 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...
. Calder decided that his eight ships were not sufficient to resist Villeneuve's
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....
fleet were it to come out of harbour, and instead went north to join Admiral William Cornwallis
William Cornwallis
Admiral the Honourable Sir William Cornwallis GCB was a Royal Navy officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, the 1st Marquess Cornwallis, governor-general of India...
's fleet off Brest. Shortly afterwards Nelson's
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...
fleet returned from the West Indies, bringing 12 more ships, and Calder was given 18 ships, including Neptune, and sent back to Ferrol to search for Villeneuve. By now Villeneuve had put into 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....
and Calder's force was ordered to join the hastily assembled British fleet under Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood
Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood
Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood was an admiral of the Royal Navy, notable as a partner with Lord Nelson in several of the British victories of the Napoleonic Wars, and frequently as Nelson's successor in commands.-Early years:Collingwood was born in Newcastle upon Tyne...
, that was blockading the Franco-Spanish fleet at Cadiz. As the British fleet settled in for a long blockade Fremantle commented on Neptunes sailing qualities. She had the reputation of being slow, and Fremantle complained that he did not like being in 'a large ship that don't sail and must continually be late in action.' During the battle however, Midshipman William Baddock commented that 'The old Neptune, which never was a good sailer, took it into her head that morning to sail better than I ever remember to have seen her do before.' Neptune went into the battle 18 men short of her complement.
Trafalgar
Neptune formed part of the weather column in the Battle of TrafalgarBattle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
on 21 October, and was the third ship from the lead, situated between her sister HMS Temeraire, and the 74-gun . Fremantle had been promised a position second to Nelson aboard , and by 10 o'clock was sailing fast enough to threaten to overtake her. Fremantle hoped to pass her, and lead the line into battle, but Nelson ordered Neptune, take in your studding-sails and drop astern. I shall break the line myself.' Neptune went into action with her band playing ,and everyone except the officers and the band lying down on the deck to protect them from enemy fire. Ahead of her Fremantle saw Eliab Harvey
Eliab Harvey
Admiral Sir Eliab Harvey, GCB was an eccentric and hot-tempered officer of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars who was as distinguished for his gambling and dueling as for his military record...
's Temeraire turn to pass astern of the French Redoutable
French ship Redoutable (1791)
The Redoutable was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She is known for her duel with HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar and for killing Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson during the action.- Early career :...
, but resolved to follow Nelson and HMS Victory to pass astern of the French flagship Bucentaure
French ship Bucentaure (1804)
Bucentaure was a 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She was the flagship of Vice-Admiral Latouche Tréville, who died on board on 18 August 1804....
. As she passed under Bucentaures stern, Neptune discharged a double-shotted broadside from her larboard (port) guns, with devastating consequences on Villeneuve's already disabled flagship. Fremantle then had the helm swung hard to starboard, bringing his ship abeam of the Bucentaure. He fired two more triple-shotted broadsides from nearly 50 guns at a range of less than 100 yards into the beleaguered French ship.
Fremantle then spotted the towering mass of the Spanish four-decker Santísima Trinidad sailing away from him, and steered towards her starboard quarter in the hope of raking her stern. Opening fire with his larboard battery, he positioned Neptune off the Spanish vessel's starboard beam and the two exchanged heavy fire for the next hour as more British ships poured through the gap astern of Neptune. Neptune took fire from other ships of the combined fleet as they sailed past. Santísima Trinidad, heavily battered by Neptunes guns, as well as those from the 74-gun ships and , became completely dismasted and covered in debris. She fought on until 5.30 pm, when she struck her colours, having sustained casualties of 205 dead and 103 wounded. Neptune left the 98-gun to take possession and headed north to cut off the remains of the enemy fleet, briefly becoming engaged with the French 74-gun Intrépide. During the battle Neptune suffered considerable damage to her masts, although they did not fall. Most of her rigging was cut to pieces and she sustained nine shot holes in her hull. She sustained casualties of ten killed and 34 wounded. A remarkably small proportion of her officers became casualties, with only the captain's clerk, Richard Hurrell, being wounded.
After the battle Collingwood transferred his flag from the damaged to the frigate , and on 22 October Neptune took the Royal Sovereign in tow. On 23 October, as the Franco-Spanish forces that had escaped into Cadiz sortied under Commodore Julien Cosmao
Julien Cosmao
Julien Marie Cosmao-Kerjulien was a French Navy officer, admiral, and hero of the Battle of Trafalgar.- Early career :...
, Neptune cast off the tow, surrendering the duty to , and took on board Villeneuve and several captured flag captain
Flag 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...
s, who had originally been aboard Mars. As the weather continued to deteriorate Neptune sent her boats to assist in the evacuation of the Santísima Trinidad before she foundered. After riding out the storm she took the battered Victory, carrying Lord Nelson's body, in tow on 26 October and brought her into Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
on 28 October.
West Indies
After undergoing some repairs at Gibraltar Neptune sailed to Britain, arriving at Portsmouth on 6 December 1805, where she was paid off. She was moved to Spithead in 1806, but was back in Portsmouth on 23 November, and was moved into a dock on 24 March 1807 to undergo a refit. The refit lasted until November 1807 and involved having her copper sheathing removed and her hull refitted. She was then recoppered, having had a sum of £29,053 expended on her. She was recommissioned on 18 August 1807 under her old commander, Captain Sir Thomas Williams, and was relaunched three days later on 21 August to complete her refit. She was initially assigned to serve in the English ChannelEnglish Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, but was moved to the West Indies in 1808. On 9 November Williams was superseded by Captain Thomas Pinto, who only spent six weeks in command before being succeeded by Captain Charles Dilkes on 20 December.
In January 1809 an attack
Invasion of Martinique (1809)
The invasion of Martinique of 1809 was a successful British amphibious operation against the French West Indian island of Martinique that took place between 30 January and 24 February 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars...
on the French colony of Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, governed by Admiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse
Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse
Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse was a French admiral.-Early career:Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse was born in Auch, in the heart of Gascony. The Villaret de Joyeuse family figured among the minor nobility from Languedoc...
, was planned. Neptune became the flagship of the expedition's commander, Rear-Admiral Alexander Cochrane
Alexander Cochrane
Admiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane GCB RN was a senior Royal Navy commander during the Napoleonic Wars.-Naval career:...
, and the invasion force, consisting of 44 vessels and transports for 10,000 troops under Lieutenant-General George Beckwith
George Beckwith (British Army officer)
General Sir George Beckwith KB was a British Army officer.-Military career:Beckwith was commissioned into the 37th Regiment of Foot in 1771. He distinguished himself as a regimental officer in the American Revolutionary War, where he was assistant to Major Oliver Delancey responsible for British...
, sailed on 28 January. The force arrived at Martinique on 30 January, and 3,000 troops were landed under Major-General Frederick Maitland
Frederick Maitland
General Frederick Maitland was the youngest son of the hon. Sir Alexander Maitland Baronet and Penelope, daughter of Martin Madan and Judith Madan the poet...
without resistance. 600 troops were put ashore at Cape Solomon under Major Henderson, both landings supervised by 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...
aboard the 74-gun . An additional force of 6,500 men were landed in the north of the island under Major-General Sir George Prévost
George Prevost
Sir George Prévost, 1st Baronet was a British soldier and colonial administrator. Born in Hackensack, New Jersey, the eldest son of Swiss French Augustine Prévost, he joined the British Army as a youth and became a captain in 1784. Prévost served in the West Indies during the French Revolutionary...
, and the French were driven into several fortified positions, the last of which surrendered on 24 February 1809.
Battle with Troude
French ship Courageux (1806)
The Courageux was a 80-gun ship of the line of the French Navy, lead ship of her class.She was started as Alcide, and renamed in 1802. She was commissioned on 8 April 1806 under Amable Troude. On 16 February 1809, she left Lorient as flagship of a squadron also comprising Polonais and Hautpoult.She...
and Polonais
French ship Polonais (1808)
The Polonais was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.First named Glorieux, she was renamed on 23 February 1807....
, and two frigates, Félicité
French frigate Félicité (1785)
The Félicité was a 32-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. Captured by the British Navy and sold to the State of Haiti, she entered Haitian service as Améthyste.-French service:In 1792, she traveled to the Caribbean Sea...
and Furieuse
HMS Furieuse (1809)
Furieuse was a 38-gun frigate of the French Navy. She was captured by the Royal Navy in 1809 and taken into servive as the fifth rate HMS Furieuse.-French career and capture:...
, under the overall command of Commodore Amable Troude
Amable Troude
Amable Gilles Troude was a French Navy officer, hero of the Napoleonic wars.- Early career :...
, arrived in the Caribbean
Troude's expedition to the Caribbean
Troude's expedition to the Caribbean was a naval operation by a French force under Commodore Amable-Gilles Troude during the Napoleonic Wars. The French squadron departed from Lorient in February 1809 in an attempt to reach and resupply the island colony of Martinique in the Caribbean Sea, then...
. Finding Martinique in British hands, Troude anchored near 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...
. Cochrane decided to remove this threat, landing troops on the islands and installing heavy guns on vantage points. Threatened, Troude put to sea, chased by Cochrane's squadron. After a running battle over several days the Hautpoult was brought to action and captured. Neptunes captain, Charles Dilkes, was given command of her, while Captain James Athol Wood
James Athol Wood
Sir James Athol Wood , British rear-admiral. Younger brother of Sir Sir Mark Wood, 1st Baronet. After serving on merchant ships for the East India Company from a young age, he entered the Royal Navy in 1774. Wood served in the navy for almost his whole life, and took part in several of the wars...
succeeded him in command of Neptune on 2 August.
Final years
Dilkes resumed command of Neptune on 2 March 1810, while Wood was exchanged into . Dilkes had apparently been suffering poor health, and Captain N Ballard took command in an acting capacity on 22 July. Neptune returned to Plymouth on 26 October and entered the dock on 9 November to be fitted for the ordinaryReserve fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....
. The process cost £713, and after undocking on 8 December she was laid up in the Hamoaze
Hamoaze
The Hamoaze is an estuarine stretch of the tidal River Tamar, between the River Lynher and Plymouth Sound, England.The Hamoaze flows past Devonport Dockyard, which belongs to the Royal Navy...
until late autumn 1813. Her hull appears to have quickly deteriorated, and after a survey she was deemed unfit for further service at sea. The Navy Board
Navy Board
The Navy Board is today the body responsible for the day-to-day running of the British Royal Navy. Its composition is identical to that of the Admiralty Board of the Defence Council of the United Kingdom, except that it does not include any of Her Majesty's Ministers.From 1546 to 1831, the Navy...
proposed that she be converted into a prison ship
Prison ship
A prison ship, historically sometimes called a prison hulk, is a vessel used as a prison, often to hold convicts awaiting transportation to penal colonies. This practice was popular with the British government in the 18th and 19th centuries....
, a recommendation the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
accepted, and she was taken in hand for fitting out on 22 November. On the completion of the work in December she was commissioned under Lieutenant George Lawrence. Neptune spent three years in this role, and was finally taken to pieces in October 1818.