HMS Sheldrake (1806)
Encyclopedia
HMS Sheldrake was a Royal Navy
16-gun Seagull-class brig-sloop
. She was built in Hythe
and launched in 1806. She fought in the Napoleonic Wars
and at the Battle of Anholt
during the Gunboat War
. She was stationed in the mouth of the River Loire in 1814 after Napoleon's abdication to prevent his escape to America. She was sold in 1816.
cutter Britannia sailing to reconnoiter Saint Malo when they spotted and gave chase to a strange sail near Cape Fréhel
. The British squadron chased the vessel, mostly using their sweeps, and at noon caught up with her. She had taken refuge on shore and near the rocks at Bouche d'Arkie (Bay of Erqui), under the protection of the French battery on the hill and some troops and field pieces. Captain Burrowes of Constance decided to attack. At 2pm a two-hour action began, during which both Burrowes and the French captain were killed. During the battle, Constance too ran aground. Thickness sent his first lieutenant
in boats to take possession of the French vessel vessel after she struck.
The French vessel was the frigate-built transport Salamander, armed with twenty-six long 12 and 18-pounder guns and carrying a crew of 150. She had been sailing from Saint Malo to Brest
with a cargo of ship timber. A month earlier, Constance, Strenuous and had run the same ship on shore before leaving her, apparently wrecked.
Thicknesse was unable to get either vessel off the rocks. He was, however, able to get many of Constances officers and crew on board Sheldrake. When her crew abandoned Constance, under heavy fire from shore, they could not set her on fire because of the number of wounded still on board. A party of her crew made a second attempt to retrieve her, but all were killed or captured. Next morning, Sheldrake destroyed Salamander by gunfire. At that time Thicknesse saw that the action of the sea had destroyed Constance.
Casualties were heavy. Sheldrake herself had lost one man killed and two wounded. Strenuous had had five men wounded. The casualty list for Constance was incomplete because a number of men may have been taken prisoner when they took to the boats or swam ashore. Sheldrake had about 100 of the crew on board her. Burrowes and eight others were known killed, and four others later died of their wounds. Twelve more aboard Sheldrake were wounded, two badly. Sheldrakes first lieutenant estimated that he had seen some 30 dead on Salamander. In addition, Sheldrake had taken nine French wounded aboard, two of whom died.
, which was some 15 leagues
away. During the night the prize sprang a leak and sank suddenly when her cargo of wheat clogged the pumps. Only one man survived. He had climbed into the rigging as she sank and after she sank was able to get to one of her boats that had providentially been left on deck and unfastened. Sheldrake recovered him the next morning.
Later in 1809, Sheldrake, alone or with other British warships, captured a large number of Danish merchantmen.
Sheldrake with :
Captured by Sheldrake; Kite and sharing by agreement:
Captured by Sheldrake, Leveret sharing by agreement:
Captured by Sheldrake, Leveret, and the gun-vessel :
Captured by Sheldrake, Leveret and sharing by agreement:
On 16 November 1809, Sheldrake was in company with when they captured diverse vessels. Some prize money was paid almost nine years later, in June 1818. Also on 16 November, Sheldrake captured the St. Peter. Prize money was paid some 11 years later.
In 1810 Commander James P. Stewart replaced Thicknesse, who was promoted to post-captain
.
, on which there was a garrison of British forces under Captain Maurice
of the Royal Navy
. sailed from Yarmouth on 20 March and anchored off the north end of the island on 26 March. On 27 March the garrison sighted the enemy off the south side of the island. Maurice marched to meet them with a battery of howitzers and 200 infantry, and signaled Tartar and Sheldrake. The two vessels immediately set sail and tried to head south but the shoals forced them to swing wide, delaying them by many hours.
The Danes, who had eighteen heavy gunboats for support, landed some 1000 troops in the darkness and fog and attempted to outflank the British positions. They were poorly equipped and their attack was uncoordinated, with the result that the British batteries at Fort Yorke (the British base) and Massareenes stopped the assault. Gunfire from Tartar and Sheldrake forced the gunboats to move off westwards. The gunboats made their escape over the reefs while the ships had to sail around the outside. Tartar chased three gunboats towards Læsø
but found herself in shoal water as night approached and gave up the chase. On the way back Tartar captured two Danish transports that it had passed while chasing the gunboats; one of them had 22 soldiers on board, with a considerable quantity of ammunition, shells and the like, while the other contained provisions.
Sheldrake managed to capture two gunboats. First she captured Gunboat No. 9, which struck without a fight. She was armed with two long 18-pounder guns and four brass howitzers. She had a crew of 65 men under the command of a Danish naval lieutenant. Stewart took the prisoners on board and set out for the largest lugger, which he captured at 8pm after the exchange of a few shots. The lugger proved to be Gunvessel No. 1. She was armed with two long 24-pounders and four brass howitzers. She had a complement of 70 men under a Danish naval lieutenant but had only 60 on board when Sheldrake captured her. Stewart believed that from the number of shot the lugger had taken that she had lost many of her crew. Sheldrake had suffered little damage and no casualties. Having 40 more Danish prisoners on board than his own crew, Stewart chose not to attempt to catch any more Danish vessels though he did fire on some and may have sunk one.
The Danes on the western side managed to embark on board fourteen gunboats and make their escape. The Battle of Anholt
cost the British only two killed and 30 wounded. The Danes lost their commander, three other officers, and 50 men killed. The British took, besides the wounded, five captains, nine lieutenants, and 504 ratings as prisoners, as well as three pieces of artillery, 500 muskets, and 6,000 rounds of ammunition. In addition, Sheldrakes two captured gunboats resulted in another two lieutenants of the Danish Navy and 119 men falling prisoner. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Anholt 27 March 1811" to the remaining British survivors of the battle.
a flotilla of 17 Dano-Norwegian gunboats and 10 rowboats came out to attack the convoy. The attackers lost four gunboats; the convoy had no losses. During the action, Sheldrake captured the Danish gunboats No. 2, which was under the command of Lieutenant Jørgen Conrad de Falsen
, and No. 5.Gunboat No. 5 was probably the former , tender to .
In February 1812 Commander James Gifford replaced Stewart. On 11 April, Sheldrake was in company with when they captured the Fosogern. On 13 May Sheldrake captured the Freihaden and on 11 August the Elias Jonas. Then on 13 August Commander George Brine replaced Gifford.
At some point in the summer, Sheldrake assisted in destroying seven large British merchant vessels that had run aground near Stralsund
. They were carrying a cargoes of hemp. The British were not able to get the vessels off due to the presence of 1500 French troops on cliffs above the vessels and so contented themselves with first scuttling the vessels and then setting them on fire.
On 16 October Sheldrake captured the French privateer Aimable D'Evrilly. Sheldrakes commander at the time was D. L. St. Clair, who apparently was promoted to the rank of commander on 12 November, that is, after having assumed command of the vessel. The capture took place in the vicinity of Möen Island. Prize money was paid in March 1818.
Sheldrake, now under the command of Captain George Brine, was in company with , when they captured the Aageroe on 6 November 1812. Sheldrake then captured the Ebenetzer on 16 March 1813.
Next, Sheldrake was in company with when they captured the vessels No. 35 and Lilla Maria on 23 and 24 March 1813. By this time St. Clair was captain of Reynard.
Between 23 May 1813 and 20 June Sheldrake was in company with and other vessels when they captured the Lilla Catherina, Tonsberg packet, Bergen, Cerberus, Caron Maria, Margaretha, Diana, Recovery, Gebhardina, and sundry boats and parcels of corn. Immediately thereafter, i.e., between 20 June 1813 and 24 July, Sheldrake was in company with , , , and . They captured the Erstatning, Gode Hensight, Freden, Falken, Freedshaabet, a boat (name unknown), and "corn ex Sheldrake".
On 27 July Sheldrake, Erebus and Thracian captured Forsoget, Stephanus and Erskine.
In about August 1815 Sheldrake was paid off into ordinary
at Portsmouth. Brine was assigned to on 12 August and joined her on 25 August. On 6 March 1817 Sheldrake was sold at Chatham to Mr. Manclerk for ₤700.
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...
16-gun Seagull-class brig-sloop
Seagull class brig-sloop
The Seagull class were built as a class of thirteen 16-gun brig-sloops for the Royal Navy, although an extra 2 carronades were added soon after completion. The class was designed by one of the Surveyors of the Navy - Sir William Rule - and approved on 4 January 1805...
. She was built in Hythe
Hythe, Hampshire
Hythe is a village near Southampton, Hampshire, England. It is located by the shore of Southampton Water, and has a ferry service connecting it to Southampton...
and launched in 1806. She fought in the 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 at the Battle of Anholt
Battle of Anholt
The Battle of Anholt occurred during the Gunboat War, a war between the United Kingdom and Denmark-Norway. It was an attempt by the Danes to recapture Anholt, a small Danish island off the coast of Jutland, which the British had captured in 1809...
during the Gunboat War
Gunboat War
The Gunboat War was the naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing small gunboats against the conventional Royal Navy...
. She was stationed in the mouth of the River Loire in 1814 after Napoleon's abdication to prevent his escape to America. She was sold in 1816.
Channel Islands
Commander John Thicknesse commissioned Sheldrake in April 1804 for the Channel Islands. On 12 October 1806, Sheldrake was in company with , and the hired armedHired armed vessels
right|thumb|250px|Armed cutter, etching in the [[National Maritime Museum]], [[Greenwich]]During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Royal Navy made use of a considerable number of hired armed vessels...
cutter Britannia sailing to reconnoiter Saint Malo when they spotted and gave chase to a strange sail near Cape Fréhel
Cap Fréhel
Cap Fréhel is a peninsula in Côtes-d'Armor, in northern Brittany, France which extends off the Côte d'Émeraude into the Golfe de Saint-Malo. No towns or villages are situated on the peninsula however two lighthouses, one from the 17th century and the other one from 1950, are located at the tip of it...
. The British squadron chased the vessel, mostly using their sweeps, and at noon caught up with her. She had taken refuge on shore and near the rocks at Bouche d'Arkie (Bay of Erqui), under the protection of the French battery on the hill and some troops and field pieces. Captain Burrowes of Constance decided to attack. At 2pm a two-hour action began, during which both Burrowes and the French captain were killed. During the battle, Constance too ran aground. Thickness sent his first lieutenant
First Lieutenant
First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
in boats to take possession of the French vessel vessel after she struck.
The French vessel was the frigate-built transport Salamander, armed with twenty-six long 12 and 18-pounder guns and carrying a crew of 150. She had been sailing from Saint Malo to 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...
with a cargo of ship timber. A month earlier, Constance, Strenuous and had run the same ship on shore before leaving her, apparently wrecked.
Thicknesse was unable to get either vessel off the rocks. He was, however, able to get many of Constances officers and crew on board Sheldrake. When her crew abandoned Constance, under heavy fire from shore, they could not set her on fire because of the number of wounded still on board. A party of her crew made a second attempt to retrieve her, but all were killed or captured. Next morning, Sheldrake destroyed Salamander by gunfire. At that time Thicknesse saw that the action of the sea had destroyed Constance.
Casualties were heavy. Sheldrake herself had lost one man killed and two wounded. Strenuous had had five men wounded. The casualty list for Constance was incomplete because a number of men may have been taken prisoner when they took to the boats or swam ashore. Sheldrake had about 100 of the crew on board her. Burrowes and eight others were known killed, and four others later died of their wounds. Twelve more aboard Sheldrake were wounded, two badly. Sheldrakes first lieutenant estimated that he had seen some 30 dead on Salamander. In addition, Sheldrake had taken nine French wounded aboard, two of whom died.
Prize-taking
In On 19 January 1809, Sheldrake captured a French vessel laden with wheat for the French army in Spain. Thicknesse put a prize crew aboard consisting of Sheldrakes master, Mr. William Hubbard, a midshipman and ten crew men. He also retained two of her French crew on board. Thickness instructed Hubbard to follow Sheldrake to GuernseyGuernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
, which was some 15 leagues
League (unit)
A league is a unit of length . It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The league originally referred to the distance a person or a horse could walk in an hour...
away. During the night the prize sprang a leak and sank suddenly when her cargo of wheat clogged the pumps. Only one man survived. He had climbed into the rigging as she sank and after she sank was able to get to one of her boats that had providentially been left on deck and unfastened. Sheldrake recovered him the next morning.
Later in 1809, Sheldrake, alone or with other British warships, captured a large number of Danish merchantmen.
- Haversteen (6 May);
- Anna Magdalina (9 May).
Sheldrake with :
- Drisden (17 May);
- Boat Anna Elizabeth, (17 May);
- Sloop of unknown name (19 May);
- Empty boat, (21 May);
- Sloop Jute Jaghen (29 May);
- Sloop Selden (30 May).
Captured by Sheldrake; Kite and sharing by agreement:
- Vrou (15 June);
- Boat Denmark (22 July).
Captured by Sheldrake, Leveret sharing by agreement:
- Sloop Folken (18 September).
Captured by Sheldrake, Leveret, and the gun-vessel :
- Mackerel (10 October).
Captured by Sheldrake, Leveret and sharing by agreement:
- Jupiter (24 October).
On 16 November 1809, Sheldrake was in company with when they captured diverse vessels. Some prize money was paid almost nine years later, in June 1818. Also on 16 November, Sheldrake captured the St. Peter. Prize money was paid some 11 years later.
In 1810 Commander James P. Stewart replaced Thicknesse, who 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:...
.
Battle of Anholt
At the beginning of March 1811 Vice Admiral Sir James Saumarez received information that the Danes would attack the island of AnholtAnholt (Denmark)
Anholt is a Danish island in the Kattegat, midway between Jutland and Sweden, with 171 permanent residents as of 1 January 2010. It is seven miles long and about four miles wide at its widest and covers an area of 21,75 km². Anholt is part of Norddjurs municipality in Region Midtjylland...
, on which there was a garrison of British forces under Captain Maurice
James Wilkes Maurice
Vice-Admiral James Wilkes Maurice was an officer of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...
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...
. sailed from Yarmouth on 20 March and anchored off the north end of the island on 26 March. On 27 March the garrison sighted the enemy off the south side of the island. Maurice marched to meet them with a battery of howitzers and 200 infantry, and signaled Tartar and Sheldrake. The two vessels immediately set sail and tried to head south but the shoals forced them to swing wide, delaying them by many hours.
The Danes, who had eighteen heavy gunboats for support, landed some 1000 troops in the darkness and fog and attempted to outflank the British positions. They were poorly equipped and their attack was uncoordinated, with the result that the British batteries at Fort Yorke (the British base) and Massareenes stopped the assault. Gunfire from Tartar and Sheldrake forced the gunboats to move off westwards. The gunboats made their escape over the reefs while the ships had to sail around the outside. Tartar chased three gunboats towards Læsø
Læsø
Læsø is the largest island in the North Sea bay of Kattegat, and is located off the northeast coast of the Jutland Peninsula, the Danish mainland. Læsø is also the name of the municipality on that island...
but found herself in shoal water as night approached and gave up the chase. On the way back Tartar captured two Danish transports that it had passed while chasing the gunboats; one of them had 22 soldiers on board, with a considerable quantity of ammunition, shells and the like, while the other contained provisions.
Sheldrake managed to capture two gunboats. First she captured Gunboat No. 9, which struck without a fight. She was armed with two long 18-pounder guns and four brass howitzers. She had a crew of 65 men under the command of a Danish naval lieutenant. Stewart took the prisoners on board and set out for the largest lugger, which he captured at 8pm after the exchange of a few shots. The lugger proved to be Gunvessel No. 1. She was armed with two long 24-pounders and four brass howitzers. She had a complement of 70 men under a Danish naval lieutenant but had only 60 on board when Sheldrake captured her. Stewart believed that from the number of shot the lugger had taken that she had lost many of her crew. Sheldrake had suffered little damage and no casualties. Having 40 more Danish prisoners on board than his own crew, Stewart chose not to attempt to catch any more Danish vessels though he did fire on some and may have sunk one.
The Danes on the western side managed to embark on board fourteen gunboats and make their escape. The Battle of Anholt
Battle of Anholt
The Battle of Anholt occurred during the Gunboat War, a war between the United Kingdom and Denmark-Norway. It was an attempt by the Danes to recapture Anholt, a small Danish island off the coast of Jutland, which the British had captured in 1809...
cost the British only two killed and 30 wounded. The Danes lost their commander, three other officers, and 50 men killed. The British took, besides the wounded, five captains, nine lieutenants, and 504 ratings as prisoners, as well as three pieces of artillery, 500 muskets, and 6,000 rounds of ammunition. In addition, Sheldrakes two captured gunboats resulted in another two lieutenants of the Danish Navy and 119 men falling prisoner. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Anholt 27 March 1811" to the remaining British survivors of the battle.
Prize-taking in the Baltic
On 5 July 1811 Sheldrake was in company with the third rates , , , and the gun-brig . The British warships were protecting a convoy of merchantmen. As they passed Hjelm IslandHjelm (island)
Hjelm is a small Danish island located in the Kattegat south-east from Ebeltoft....
a flotilla of 17 Dano-Norwegian gunboats and 10 rowboats came out to attack the convoy. The attackers lost four gunboats; the convoy had no losses. During the action, Sheldrake captured the Danish gunboats No. 2, which was under the command of Lieutenant Jørgen Conrad de Falsen
Jørgen Conrad de Falsen
Jørgen Conrad de Falsen was a Danish naval officer who, despite being plagued by ill health, saw duty throughout the Gunboat War with Britain during the Napoleonic Wars, and who rose eventually to the rank of rear admiral...
, and No. 5.Gunboat No. 5 was probably the former , tender to .
In February 1812 Commander James Gifford replaced Stewart. On 11 April, Sheldrake was in company with when they captured the Fosogern. On 13 May Sheldrake captured the Freihaden and on 11 August the Elias Jonas. Then on 13 August Commander George Brine replaced Gifford.
At some point in the summer, Sheldrake assisted in destroying seven large British merchant vessels that had run aground near Stralsund
Stralsund
- Main sights :* The Brick Gothic historic centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.* The heart of the old town is the Old Market Square , with the Gothic Town Hall . Behind the town hall stands the imposing Nikolaikirche , built in 1270-1360...
. They were carrying a cargoes of hemp. The British were not able to get the vessels off due to the presence of 1500 French troops on cliffs above the vessels and so contented themselves with first scuttling the vessels and then setting them on fire.
On 16 October Sheldrake captured the French privateer Aimable D'Evrilly. Sheldrakes commander at the time was D. L. St. Clair, who apparently was promoted to the rank of commander on 12 November, that is, after having assumed command of the vessel. The capture took place in the vicinity of Möen Island. Prize money was paid in March 1818.
Sheldrake, now under the command of Captain George Brine, was in company with , when they captured the Aageroe on 6 November 1812. Sheldrake then captured the Ebenetzer on 16 March 1813.
Next, Sheldrake was in company with when they captured the vessels No. 35 and Lilla Maria on 23 and 24 March 1813. By this time St. Clair was captain of Reynard.
Between 23 May 1813 and 20 June Sheldrake was in company with and other vessels when they captured the Lilla Catherina, Tonsberg packet, Bergen, Cerberus, Caron Maria, Margaretha, Diana, Recovery, Gebhardina, and sundry boats and parcels of corn. Immediately thereafter, i.e., between 20 June 1813 and 24 July, Sheldrake was in company with , , , and . They captured the Erstatning, Gode Hensight, Freden, Falken, Freedshaabet, a boat (name unknown), and "corn ex Sheldrake".
On 27 July Sheldrake, Erebus and Thracian captured Forsoget, Stephanus and Erskine.
Fate
One of Sheldrakes last assignments was to sit at the mouth of the Loire to prevent Napoleon from fleeing to America. joined her in this assignment, sitting further out to sea.In about August 1815 Sheldrake 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. Brine was assigned to on 12 August and joined her on 25 August. On 6 March 1817 Sheldrake was sold at Chatham to Mr. Manclerk for ₤700.