HMS Ramillies was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line

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...

, launched on 12 July 1785 at Rotherhithe

Rotherhithe

Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...

.

In 1801, she was part of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker's reserve squadron at 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...

, and so did not take an active part in the battle.

In August 1812, Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy took command of Ramillies and was sent to North America at the outbreak of the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

. Hardy, in Ramillies, led the fleet that escorted and transported the army commanded by John Coape Sherbrooke

John Coape Sherbrooke

Sir John Coape Sherbrooke was a British soldier and colonial administrator. After serving in the British army in Nova Scotia, the Netherlands, India, the Mediterranean , and Spain, he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia in 1811.His active defense of the colony during the War of 1812...

 which captured significant portions of eastern coastal Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

 (then part of Massachusetts), including Fort Sullivan, Eastport

Eastport, Maine

Eastport is a small city in Washington County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,640 at the 2000 census. The principal island is Moose Island, which is connected to the mainland by causeway...

, Machias, Bangor

Bangor, Maine

Bangor is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States, and the major commercial and cultural center for eastern and northern Maine...

, and Castine

Castine, Maine

Castine is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States and was once the capital of Acadia . The population was 1,343 at the 2000 census. Castine is the home of Maine Maritime Academy, a four-year institution that graduates officers and engineers for the United States Merchant Marine and marine...

.

However, on 10 August 1814, a landing party from Ramillies was defeated at Stonington, Connecticut

Stonington, Connecticut

The Town of Stonington is located in New London County, Connecticut, in the state's southeastern corner. It includes the borough of Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Lords Point, Wequetequock, the eastern halves of the villages of Mystic and Old Mystic...

. The party was to have burned Stonington Borough and the shipping, but was repulsed.

Ramillies was on harbour service from 1831, and was eventually broken up in 1850.