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HMS Raisonnable (1768)
Encyclopedia
HMS Raisonnable (sometimes spelt Raisonable) was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line
of the Royal Navy
, named after the ship of the same name captured from the French
in 1758. She was built at Chatham Dockyard
, launched
on 10 December 1768 and commissioned
on 17 November 1770 under the command of Captain Maurice Suckling
, Horatio Nelson's uncle. Raisonnable was built to the same lines as HMS Ardent
, and was one of the seven ships forming the of 1761. Raisonnable was the first ship in which Nelson served.
as a guard ship
. At this time, Suckling took command of the 74-gun HMS Triumph
, and took Nelson with him.
The ship re-commissioned on 25 May 1771 under Captain Henry St. John, a mere 10 days since paying off as a guard ship, and joined the Channel Fleet
. St John was succeeded by Captain Thomas Greaves on 23 January 1773, and Raisonnable paid off at Plymouth
on 23 September 1775.
squadron, which was lying off Sandy Point
. The French Admiral d'Estaing
was nearby with a large fleet, and the two opposing sides were only prevented from engaging in battle by the weather and sea conditions, which forced the two fleets to disperse.
Captain Henry Evans
took command of Raisonnable on 5 December 1778, and in May of the following year, took part in an assault on Hampton Roads
, as part of Commodore Sir George Collier
's squadron. On 1 June Raisonnable was in action on the Hudson River
, during which two forts were captured. In August, with Collier embarked, Raisonnable sailed to Penobscot
, where British forces were under heavy siege. Immediately after arriving, Collier's squadron of 7 ships engaged a rebel fleet of 41 vessels, of which 2 were captured, and the rest were either sunk or destroyed to prevent capture.
In January 1780, Raisonnable was part of Vice Admiral
Mariot Arbuthnot's squadron which took part in the siege of Charleston, South Carolina
, although Raisonnable, along with the 5 other third rates in the squadron, was sent back to New York
before the siege began. Captain Evans left the ship on 14 May 1780.
Captain Sir Digby Dent assumed the command on 30 August, and returned the ship to England. Dent transferred to Repulse
on 16 December, and Raisonnable paid off in January the following year. On 11 May 1781 she went into dock, during which time she had her bottom coppered
. She was re-launched on 14 January 1782 and placed under the command of Captain Smith Child
on 15 May, until 29 August when he shifted to HMS Europa
. She was commissioned again on 8 January 1782 under Captain Lord Hervey
, who paid the ship off at Chatham
in August. The American war at this stage was coming to an end, and Raisonnable was no longer required by the Navy, and so was laid up in ordinary
- a state in which she remained for some ten years.
. She joined with the Channel Fleet in April, but was back in dock, in Portsmouth
this time, on 14 January 1794. She put to sea again in March, but returned to dock in Portsmouth in September so as her copper might be replaced. She once more re-joined the Channel Fleet on 1 November, and remained on active service until 14 October 1796, when she was docked at Plymouth for re-coppering. She returned to duty in January 1797, and during 1799, Captain Charles Boyles took over the command, and left the ship again, when Raisonnable returned to Chatham on 21 January 1800, for HMS Saturn
. She was dry docked on 2 April for re-coppering and other repairs, and sailed again on 19 August.
Captain John Dilkes became Raisonnable's commanding officer on 21 January 1801, and the ship joined the North Sea Squadron. 1801 saw the creation of an alliance between Denmark
, Norway
, Prussia
and Russia
, which cut Britain
off from the supplies relied upon from the Baltic
. Raisonnable joined Admiral Sir Hyde Parker's fleet sent to attack the Danes at Copenhagen
. On 2 April, she took part in the Battle of Copenhagen
. After the battle, she was attached to a squadron under Captain George Murray in the Edgar
, which included one of Raisonnable's sister ships, HMS Agamemnon
, to watch the Swedish Navy
at Karlskrona
. Once the situation in the Baltic was resolved, Raisonnable returned to the North Sea
, before paying off.
When the Treaty of Amiens
was signed in March 1802, Raisonnable was docked at Chatham in July and her copper repaired. She was on station at Sheerness
once again by the end of December.
and the Channel Fleet, and participated in the blockade of Brest
. In September 1804 Hotham was replaced by Captain Robert Barton, who was himself replaced in April 1805 by Captain Josias Rowley
.
In July 1805, she was with Admiral Sir Robert Calder
's squadron off Ferrol, when they fell in with the combined Franco-Spanish fleet under Admiral Villeneuve
, and took part in the ensuing Battle of Cape Finisterre
.
Raisonnable remained on blockade duty until sailing from Cork
in late 1805 with Commodore Sir Home Riggs Popham
's squadron, consisting of 9 vessels, including another of Raisonnable's sister ships, Belliqueux
, for the Cape of Good Hope
. The following campaign saw British troops drive the Dutch out of Cape Town
, and the subsequent peace terms handed the Cape dependencies to the British crown. In April 1806, after receiving news that the people of Buenos Aires
were unhappy with Spanish rule, and would welcome the British, Popham sailed with his squadron to the Río de la Plata
. Popham was replaced by Rear Admiral Murray, and following a disastrous second attempt to take Buenos Aires, Raisonnable returned to the Cape.
In 1809, Captain Rowley commanded a squadron that blockaded Mauritius
(the Isle of France) and Réunion
(the Isle of Bourbon). On 20 September, Rowley, commanding the squadron from HMS Nereide, succeeded in taking the town of Saint-Paul
, the batteries, a 40-gun frigate
Caroline
, a 16-gun brig, and 2 merchantmen, as well as rescuing 2 ships of the Honourable East India Company (Streatham and Europe). Captain Rowley transferred to HMS Boadicea
during March 1810, and Captain John Hatley took over the command, paying the ship off in Chatham at the end of July.
and converted into a receiving ship, and towed to Sheerness. In March 1815, she was finally broken up.
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...
, named after the ship of the same name captured from the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1758. She was built at Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
, launched
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
on 10 December 1768 and commissioned
Ship commissioning
Ship commissioning is the act or ceremony of placing a ship in active service, and may be regarded as a particular application of the general concepts and practices of project commissioning. The term is most commonly applied to the placing of a warship in active duty with its country's military...
on 17 November 1770 under the command of Captain Maurice Suckling
Maurice Suckling
Captain Maurice Suckling was a Royal Navy officer who was instrumental in the training of his nephew, Horatio Nelson.-Seven Years War:...
, Horatio Nelson's uncle. Raisonnable was built to the same lines as HMS Ardent
HMS Ardent (1764)
HMS Ardent was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was built by contract by Hugh Blaydes at Hull according to the plans of Sir Thomas Slade, and launched on 13 August 1764 as the first ship of the...
, and was one of the seven ships forming the of 1761. Raisonnable was the first ship in which Nelson served.
Service history
At the request of Nelson's father, Suckling entered the young Horatio Nelson as midshipman into the ship's books, though Nelson did not embark until a couple of months after this (it was not uncommon practise to rate sons of relatives or friends several months before they entered the ship, though Admiralty orders expressly forbade this), on 15 March 1771. Raisonnable had been in the process of commissioning at this time, in response to an expected conflict with Spain. However, the war never developed, and Raisonnable remained in the MedwayRiver Medway
The River Medway, which is almost entirely in Kent, England, flows for from just inside the West Sussex border to the point where it enters the Thames Estuary....
as a guard ship
Guard ship
A guard ship is a warship stationed at some port or harbour to act as a guard, and in former times in the Royal Navy to receive the men impressed for service...
. At this time, Suckling took command of the 74-gun HMS Triumph
HMS Triumph (1764)
HMS Triumph was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 3 March 1764 at Woolwich.In 1797, she took part in the Battle of Camperdown, and in 1805 Triumph was part of Admiral Calder's fleet at the Battle of Cape Finisterre....
, and took Nelson with him.
The ship re-commissioned on 25 May 1771 under Captain Henry St. John, a mere 10 days since paying off as a guard ship, and 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...
. St John was succeeded by Captain Thomas Greaves on 23 January 1773, and Raisonnable paid off 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...
on 23 September 1775.
American Revolutionary War
She was again re-commissioned on 25 February 1776 under Captain Thomas Fitzherbert, and despatched to the North American Station. In July 1778, Raisonnable formed part of Lord Howe'sRichard Howe, 1st Earl Howe
Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe KG was a British naval officer, notable in particular for his service during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars. He was the brother of William Howe and George Howe.Howe joined the navy at the age of thirteen and served...
squadron, which was lying off Sandy Point
Sandy Point, Newfoundland and Labrador
Sandy Point is a formerly a peninsula but now is an island on the west coast of the of Newfoundland which has been recently transformed into a hidden island as a result of sea level rise and ocean storm-induced coastal erosion...
. The French Admiral d'Estaing
Charles Hector, comte d'Estaing
Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, comte d'Estaing was a French general, and admiral. He began his service as a soldier in the War of the Austrian Succession, briefly spending time as a prisoner of war of the British during the Seven Years' War...
was nearby with a large fleet, and the two opposing sides were only prevented from engaging in battle by the weather and sea conditions, which forced the two fleets to disperse.
Captain Henry Evans
Henry Evans
Henry Evans was an English cricketer who played for Derbyshire between 1878 and 1882.Evans was born in Stoneyford, Derbyshire the son of Thomas Evans, a farmer. He became a clerk with the Midland Railway....
took command of Raisonnable on 5 December 1778, and in May of the following year, took part in an assault on Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
, as part of Commodore Sir George Collier
George Collier
Sir George Collier was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the Seven Years War, the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars. As commander of the frigate HMS Rainbow, he was one of the most successful British naval commanders during the opening stages of war...
's squadron. On 1 June Raisonnable was in action on the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
, during which two forts were captured. In August, with Collier embarked, Raisonnable sailed to Penobscot
Penobscot, Maine
Penobscot is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The Bagaduce River runs through the town. The population was 1,344 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
, where British forces were under heavy siege. Immediately after arriving, Collier's squadron of 7 ships engaged a rebel fleet of 41 vessels, of which 2 were captured, and the rest were either sunk or destroyed to prevent capture.
In January 1780, Raisonnable was part of Vice Admiral
Vice Admiral
Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...
Mariot Arbuthnot's squadron which took part in the siege of Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, although Raisonnable, along with the 5 other third rates in the squadron, was sent back to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
before the siege began. Captain Evans left the ship on 14 May 1780.
Captain Sir Digby Dent assumed the command on 30 August, and returned the ship to England. Dent transferred to Repulse
HMS Repulse (1780)
HMS Repulse was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 28 November 1780 at East Cowes, on the Isle of Wight.-Mutiny at The Nore:...
on 16 December, and Raisonnable paid off in January the following year. On 11 May 1781 she went into dock, during which time she had her bottom coppered
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:...
. She was re-launched on 14 January 1782 and placed under the command of Captain Smith Child
Smith Child (Royal Navy officer)
Smith Child was an officer in the Royal Navy. He served in the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary Wars, rising to the rank of admiral...
on 15 May, until 29 August when he shifted to HMS Europa
HMS Europa (1765)
HMS Europa was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 21 April 1765 at Lepe, Hampshire. She was renamed HMS Europe in 1778, and spent the rest of her career under this name....
. She was commissioned again on 8 January 1782 under Captain Lord Hervey
John Hervey, Lord Hervey
John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey , English courtier and political writer and memoirist, was the eldest son of John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, by his second wife, Elizabeth. He was known as Lord Hervey from 1723, upon the death of his elder half-brother, Carr, the only son of his father's first wife,...
, who paid the ship off at Chatham
Chatham, Medway
Chatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England.Although the dockyard has long been closed and is now being redeveloped into a business and residential community as well as a museum featuring the famous submarine, HMS Ocelot,...
in August. The American war at this stage was coming to an end, and Raisonnable was no longer required by the Navy, and so was laid up in ordinary
In ordinary
In ordinary as a phrase has two technical meanings recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary:# In relation particularly to the staff of the British royal household, and more generally to those employed by the Crown, it is used as a suffix showing that the appointment is to the regular staff, for...
- a state in which she remained for some ten years.
French Revolutionary War
When war with France broke out in 1793, Raisonnable, along with many other vessels, was brought out of ordinary, and made ready for service once more. On 31 January she was re-commissioned under Captain James, Lord CranstounJames Cranstoun, 8th Lord Cranstoun
James Cranstoun, 8th Lord Cranstoun was an officer of the Royal Navy.The third son of James Cranstoun, 6th Lord Cranstoun, he succeeded to the title on 1 August 1778 on the death of his elder brother William Cranstoun, 7th Lord Cranstoun....
. She joined with the Channel Fleet in April, but was back in dock, in 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...
this time, on 14 January 1794. She put to sea again in March, but returned to dock in Portsmouth in September so as her copper might be replaced. She once more re-joined the Channel Fleet on 1 November, and remained on active service until 14 October 1796, when she was docked at Plymouth for re-coppering. She returned to duty in January 1797, and during 1799, Captain Charles Boyles took over the command, and left the ship again, when Raisonnable returned to Chatham on 21 January 1800, for HMS Saturn
HMS Saturn (1786)
HMS Saturn was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 22 November 1786 at Northam. She was present at the Battle of Copenhagen as part of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker's reserve....
. She was dry docked on 2 April for re-coppering and other repairs, and sailed again on 19 August.
Captain John Dilkes became Raisonnable's commanding officer on 21 January 1801, and the ship joined the North Sea Squadron. 1801 saw the creation of an alliance between Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
and Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, which cut Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
off from the supplies relied upon from the Baltic
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. Raisonnable joined Admiral Sir Hyde Parker's fleet sent to attack the Danes at Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
. On 2 April, she took part in the Battle of Copenhagen
Battle of Copenhagen (1801)
The Battle of Copenhagen was an engagement which saw a British fleet under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker fight and strategically defeat a Danish-Norwegian fleet anchored just off Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson led the main attack. He famously disobeyed Parker's...
. After the battle, she was attached to a squadron under Captain George Murray in the Edgar
HMS Edgar (1779)
HMS Edgar was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, that saw service in the American Revolutionary, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...
, which included one of Raisonnable's sister ships, HMS Agamemnon
HMS Agamemnon (1781)
HMS Agamemnon was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She saw service in the American Revolutionary, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and fought in many of the major naval battles of those conflicts...
, to watch the Swedish Navy
Swedish Navy
The Royal Swedish Navy is the naval branch of the Swedish Armed Forces. It is composed of surface and submarine naval units – the Fleet – as well as marine units, the so-called Amphibious Corps .In Swedish, vessels of the Swedish Navy are given the prefix "HMS," short for Hans/Hennes...
at Karlskrona
Karlskrona
Karlskrona is a locality and the seat of Karlskrona Municipality, Blekinge County, Sweden with 35,212 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Blekinge County. Karlskrona is known as Sweden's only baroque city and is host to Sweden's only remaining naval base and the headquarters of the...
. Once the situation in the Baltic was resolved, Raisonnable returned to the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
, before paying off.
When 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"...
was signed in March 1802, Raisonnable was docked at Chatham in July and her copper repaired. She was on station at Sheerness
Sheerness
Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
once again by the end of December.
Napoleonic Wars
War broke out again with France in March 1803, and Raisonnable was by this time under the command of Captain William Hotham. She joined Admiral William CornwallisWilliam 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...
and the Channel Fleet, and participated in the blockade 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...
. In September 1804 Hotham was replaced by Captain Robert Barton, who was himself replaced in April 1805 by Captain Josias Rowley
Josias Rowley
Admiral Sir Josias Rowley, 1st Baronet GCB, GCMG , known as "The Sweeper of the Seas", was a naval officer who commanded the campaign that captured the French Indian Ocean islands of Réunion and Mauritius in 1810.-Naval career:...
.
In July 1805, she was with Admiral Sir 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 squadron off Ferrol, when they fell in with the combined Franco-Spanish fleet under Admiral 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....
, and took part in the ensuing 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...
.
Raisonnable remained on blockade duty until sailing from Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
in late 1805 with Commodore Sir Home Riggs Popham
Home Riggs Popham
Admiral Sir Home Riggs Popham KCB was a British Royal Naval Commander who saw service during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars...
's squadron, consisting of 9 vessels, including another of Raisonnable's sister ships, Belliqueux
HMS Belliqueux (1780)
HMS Belliqueux was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 5 June 1780 at Blackwall Yard, London. She was named after the French ship captured in 1758....
, 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...
. The following campaign saw British troops drive the Dutch out of Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, and the subsequent peace terms handed the Cape dependencies to the British crown. In April 1806, after receiving news that the people of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
were unhappy with Spanish rule, and would welcome the British, Popham sailed with his squadron to the Río de la Plata
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
. Popham was replaced by Rear Admiral Murray, and following a disastrous second attempt to take Buenos Aires, Raisonnable returned to the Cape.
In 1809, Captain Rowley commanded a squadron that blockaded 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...
(the Isle of France) and Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
(the Isle of Bourbon). On 20 September, Rowley, commanding the squadron from HMS Nereide, succeeded in taking the town of Saint-Paul
Saint-Paul, Réunion
Saint-Paul is the second-largest commune in the French overseas department of Réunion. It is located on the extreme west side of the island of Réunion.Until 1999, near Saint Paul there was the 428 metres tall mast OMEGA Chabrier transmitter.- Transport :...
, the batteries, a 40-gun frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
Caroline
French frigate Caroline (1806)
The Caroline was a 40-gun Hortense Class frigate of the French Navy.On 12 November 1808, the French authorities sent four new 40 gun frigates to the Indian Ocean...
, a 16-gun brig, and 2 merchantmen, as well as rescuing 2 ships of the Honourable East India Company (Streatham and Europe). Captain Rowley transferred to HMS Boadicea
HMS Boadicea (1797)
HMS Boadicea was a frigate of the Royal Navy. She served in the Channel and in the East Indies during which service she captured many prizes. She participated in one action for which the Admiralty would award the Naval General Service Medal...
during March 1810, and Captain John Hatley took over the command, paying the ship off in Chatham at the end of July.
Fate
In November 1810, Raisonnable was hulkedHulk (ship)
A hulk is a ship that is afloat, but incapable of going to sea. Although sometimes used to describe a ship that has been launched but not completed, the term most often refers to an old ship that has had its rigging or internal equipment removed, retaining only its flotational qualities...
and converted into a receiving ship, and towed to Sheerness. In March 1815, she was finally broken up.