HMS Racehorse was a 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...

 18-gun Cruizer-class

Cruizer class brig-sloop

The Cruizer class was an 18-gun class of brig-sloops of the Royal Navy. Brig-sloops were the same as ship-sloops except for their rigging...

 brig-sloop built by Hamilton & Breeds and launched in 1806 at Hastings

Hastings

Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....

. She served in the Channel, where she captured a small privateer, and in the East Indies, where she participated in the capture of Île de France

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

 and the operations around it. She was wrecked in 1822.

Service

Racehorse was commissioned in March 1806 under Commander Robert Forbes, who sailed her for the Mediterranean on 25 May. By June 1807 she was under Captain William Fisher, cruising in the Channel. On 2 March 1808 she captured the 4-gun privateer Amiral Ganteaume in home waters. She then cruised the Channel Islands.

Fisher sailed for the Cape of Good Hope

Cape of Good Hope

The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...

 on 29 September. There a number of her crew volunteered aboard other ships during the Invasion of Ile de France

Invasion of Île de France

The Invasion of Île de France was a complicated but successful amphibious operation in the Indian Ocean, launched in November 1810 during the Napoleonic Wars. During the operation, a substantial British military force was landed by the Royal Navy at Grand Baie on Île de France...

. On 13 and 14 March 1809, Racehorse was in company with her class-mate, , about 1000 miles from Rodrigues

Rodrigues

Rodrigues is a common surname in the Portuguese language. It was originally a Patronymic, meaning Son of Rodrigo or Son of Rui. The "es" signifies "son of". The name Rodrigo is the Portuguese form of Roderick, meaning "famous power" or "famous ruler", from the Germanic elements "hrod" and "ric" ,...

. Harrier fell behind and this was the last sighting of her; she was lost, presumed foundered.

In December 1810, Commander James de Rippe replaced Fisher. Racehorse was sent to Mauritius

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

 to join the squadron there under James Hillyar

James Hillyar

Admiral Sir James Hillyar KCB KCH was a prominent British Royal Navy officer of the early nineteenth century, who is best known for his service in the frigate HMS Phoebe during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812...

 that had been assembled to attack the French squadron under Francois Roquebert that was expected from 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...

. Early in 1811 Racehorse was in company with her sister-ship Elipse

HMS Eclipse (1807)

HMS Eclipse was a Royal Navy built by John King at Dover and launched in 1807. She served off Portugal and then in the Indian Ocean at the capture of the Île de France. Shortly thereafter she captured Tamatave. She was sold for mercantile service in 1815.-Service:Eclipse entered service in...

 when Eclipse recaptured the Donna Emilia.

The French squadron evaded Hillyar, but Racehorse and the rest of the squadron, now under Captain Charles Marsh Schomberg

Charles Marsh Schomberg

Sir Charles Marsh Schomberg was the youngest son of the naval officer Alexander Schomberg and Arabella Susannah Chalmers, and followed his father's profession...

, caught them off Tamatave in Madagascar

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

. In the ensuing Action of 20 May 1811, the British defeated the French and captured two of their ships. Racehorse was not heavily engaged, and suffered no casualties. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Off Tamatave 20 May 1811" to the remaining survivors of that action.

Racehorse was present at the capture of the Néréide three days later. Racehorse then sailed for the Cape on 7 August.

On 5 January 1812 Eclipse, with Racehorse in company, took the lugger Eliza with 145 slaves, which she sent to the Cape of Good Hope.

Post-war

Racehorse was paid off into 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....

 at Portsmouth in 1813. Between February 1816 and July 1818 she underwent repair and fitting for sea there. She was recommissioned in May under Commander George Pryse Campbell

Earl Cawdor

Earl Cawdor, of Castlemartin in the County of Pembroke, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1827 for John Campbell, 2nd Baron Cawdor...

, who took command on 5 May, for the Mediterranean. Racehorse came under the command of Commander Charles Abbot

Charles Abbot, 2nd Baron Colchester

Admiral Charles Abbot, 2nd Baron Colchester PC , known as Charles Abbot before 1829, was a British naval commander and Conservative politician.-Background and education:...

 on 27 January 1821 when Campbell was promoted to post-captain

Post-Captain

Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy.The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from:...

.

Fate

Racehorse returned to Britain in 1822 under Captain William Suckling, who had taken command in February 1822. On 14 December 1822 she sailed from Holyhead

Holyhead

Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....

, Anglesey, bound for the Isle of Man

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

 to meet with the Revenue cutter Vigilant. That night she was wrecked on a reef of rocks off Langness on the Isle of Man

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

. Her pilot mistook the light on Langness Pier for the light on Douglas Pier. Boats from Racehorse took a number of the crew to shore, and five intrepid local men made four trips out and back to rescue more. On the last trip, with Suckling on board, the boat overturned in the surf. Six men from Racehorse drowned, as did three rescuers from Castletown

Castletown

Castletown is a town geographically within the Malew parish of the Isle of Man but administered separately. Lying at the south of the island, it is the former Manx capital. The centre of town is dominated by Castle Rushen, a well-preserved castle.-History:...

..

The subsequent court martial reprimanded the Master, Henry Hodder, for failing to take constant depth soundings, and warned him to be more careful in the future. The court martial severely reprimanded the pilot, William Edwards, for sailing too close to land, and mulcted him of all pay due.