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HMS Spitfire (1782)
Encyclopedia
HMS Spitfire was a Tisiphone-class fireship of the Royal Navy
. She served during the years of peace following the end of the American War of Independence, and by the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars
, had been reclassified as a 14-gun sloop-of-war
. Spitfire went on to serve under a number of notable commanders during a successful career that saw her capture a considerable number of French privateer
s and small naval vessels. She spent most of her career in Home waters, though during the later part of her life she sailed further afield, to the British stations in North America and West Africa. She survived the Napoleonic Wars
and was eventually sold in 1825 after a period spent laid up.
, and was launched on 19 March 1782. She had been completed at Sheerness
by 18 July 1782, having been first commissioned in March that year under Commander Robert Mostyn, for service in the English Channel
. He was succeeded by Commander Thomas Byard
in November, and he by Commander Charles Bartholomew in January 1783. Spitfire was paid off in April that year and spent a period laid up in ordinary at Sheerness, briefly being refitted for a period of service in 1790 under the command of Commander Robert Watson. Spitfire was then paid off again. More extensive work was carried out the following year, and she recommissioned in March 1791 under Commander Thomas Fremantle. Fremantle commanded her until her paying off in September that year, upon which she was almost immediately recommissioned as a sloop under Commander John Woodley. She served under Woodley in the Irish Sea
and the English Channel
, until Woodley was succeeded in February 1793 by Commander Philip Charles Durham
.
. On 19 February 1793 he sent off his boats against a privateer sloop and two other sloops near Dieppe. The fire from some 2,000 troops ashore with field pieces made it impossible to bring the prizes off but they managed to knock the privateer to pieces and set fire to the other two vessels which were laden with brandy.
Also in February he captured the privateer cutter Afrique; and the following month captured the privateer St Jean and destroyed the Marguerite. On 27 April 1793 Spitfire fell in with two French armed brigs and engaged them for half an hour under the fort at Cherbourg before being forced to break off to avoid grounding.
Durham stepped down in June 1793, and was replaced by Commander James Cook. Cook's death by drowning in January 1794 necessitated the assigning of Commander John Clements to take over the Spitfire. Clements was succeeded in October 1794 by Commander Amherst Morris, and he in 1796 by Commander Michael Seymour
.
.
He was active off the English and Irish coasts during the French attempt to invade Ireland
in early 1797 and on 12 January 1797 he captured one of the expedition's storeships, Allègre, off Ushant
. He followed this success by capturing the 6-gun privateer Bons Amis off the Eddystone on 2 April 1797, the 14-gun privateer Aimable Manet in the Channel on 1 May 1797, and the privateer schooner Trompeuse
, of Morlaix, later that month. Trompeuse was armed with six guns and had a crew of 40 men. Trompeuse had been out five days and had taken two Prussian vessels, one sailing to Liverpool and the other to Oporto.
Seymour and Spitfire took the 3-gun privateer Incroyable off the Lizard
on 15 September 1797. A little over a year later, on 27 December 1798, he recaptured Sybille, of Dartmouth, while in the Channel. The French privateer Vigilant had captured Sybille while Sybille was taking bullocks and sheep to Guernsey
. She then had a narrow escape from Vigilant off Start Point while returning to Plymouth. One week later Spitfire captured the 14-gun transport Wilding in the Bay of Biscay
. Wildings crew consisted of seamen from three French ships of the line and she had been taking firewood for the French Navy from Aber Wrac'h
to Brest
under the escort of the Levrette, a gun vessel from which she had parted company. Wilding was a captured British ship that had been in the West Indies trade. On 31 March 1799 Spitfire took the 14-gun privateer Résolue of St. Malo, off Scilly during a violent gale. Also in March, the prize agent, J. Hawker esq., paid Spitfires foremast men nearly £40 each. One man spent it in two days and finished up owing his landlady 15 guineas.
On 18 April 1800 a French privateer in the Channel plundered the American vessel A. B. C. two hours before Spitfire boarded her. When A.B.C. reported the privateer, Seymour left A.B.C. to make her own way into Plymouth and set off in pursuit. Finally he caught up with and captured the 14-gun privateer brig, the Heureuse Societé. She had been cruising for two weeks before her capture. Seymour took her into Plymouth on the 20th.
In May Spitfire sailed through a severe gale on the 16th. to arrive safely in Guernsey
. On 19 June, thirty miles SSE off Scilly, Spitfire captured a French privateer brig, the Heureux Courier of Granville
. The privateer was armed with sixteen brass French 6-pounders and was on her way from her first cruise. She had made three captures, two Newfoundland brigs and a Portuguese schooner, which she had cut out at St. Michael's. The British privateer Tartar, of Guernsey, recaptured the Portuguese schooner.
Spitfire returned to Plymouth on 14 July from a cruise off the Île de Batz
. She then sailed to cruise against smugglers and captured the lugger Three Friends, with 150 anker
s of spirits. Three Friends had landed part of her cargo at Polperro
but Spitfire took several boats that were endeavouring to escape; one smuggler was killed in the process. The prize was brought into Plymouth on 4 August.
On 11 August Seymour received a promotion to post-captain
. His replacement on Spitfire was Commander Robert Keen, who spent the next four years on the Irish station.
. Robust resumed her voyage to Amsterdam.
On 3 October, Spitfire the Anna, bound for Philadelphia from Amsterdam into Plymouth. During 20 to 21 March 1801 a hurricane blew in the Channel. Spitfire, Suffisante and Renard had to ride it out before seeking shelter in Jersey
. In July, a court martial was held on board the flag ship Cambridge
in the Hamoaze
to try Spitfires purser, Mr. Bamfield for disobedience of his captain's orders. The charge was fully proven but several officers testified to Bamfield's excellent character; he was reinstated with the loss of a year's pay.
On 17 January 1802 Spitfire and Weazle were ordered to fit-out and victual for foreign service. On 21 January a messenger came by express from the Admiralty to Plymouth with orders for a fast sloop to be ready to sail at a moment's notice with dispatches for the Straits. Weazle and Spitfire went out into the Sound, still very rough from a gale the previous night, to await orders. Weazle sailed the following day; Spitfire had to wait for orders until 6 February. The next morning she and Hunter
sailed for the St. Georges Channel to intercept smugglers.
Spitfire was paid off and laid up in ordinary at Sheerness on 30 August 1804 and she remained out of commission through 1805.
She recommissioned again in February 1807 in her original role as a fireship, under the command of Commander Henry Butt. She served in the Downs
, at first under Butt, and then from 1808 under Commander John Ellis. Ellis would eventually spend six years with Spitfire, serving at a number of British ports and spending some time in North American waters, including the Greenland station in 1813.
On 22 October 1808, Spitfire and Basilisk
sailed to the assistance of the sloop Cygnet, which the Dowlaw signal station, near Dunbar
, reported had cut away her masts and bowsprit and thrown some of her guns overboard. Basilisk and Spitfire brought Cygnet back to Leith Roads.
Spitfire was cruising with the 32-gun frigate Alexandria off North Cape on 19 July 1813. There they chased the 44-gun American frigate President
and her consort, the schooner Scourge, away from a British convoy out of Archangel
. Captain John Rodgers
of President excused his fleeing the British by claiming that he had fled from a ship of the line
and a frigate.
in May 1815. She remained there for the next ten years, finally being sold for breaking up to a Mr Ranwell for the sum of £1,205 on 30 July 1825.
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 during the years of peace following the end of the American War of Independence, and by the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars
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...
, had been reclassified as a 14-gun sloop-of-war
Sloop-of-war
In the 18th and most of the 19th centuries, a sloop-of-war was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. As the rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above, this meant that the term sloop-of-war actually encompassed all the unrated combat vessels including the...
. Spitfire went on to serve under a number of notable commanders during a successful career that saw her capture a considerable number of French privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s and small naval vessels. She spent most of her career in Home waters, though during the later part of her life she sailed further afield, to the British stations in North America and West Africa. She survived 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 was eventually sold in 1825 after a period spent laid up.
Early career
Spitfire was built at the yards of Stephen Teague, of IpswichIpswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, and was launched on 19 March 1782. She had been completed 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....
by 18 July 1782, having been first commissioned in March that year under Commander Robert Mostyn, for service in the English Channel
English 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...
. He was succeeded by Commander Thomas Byard
Thomas Byard
Captain Sir Thomas Byard was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars. He is best known for his service in two significant battles, fighting at the Battle of Camperdown in 1797 and the Battle of Tory Island in 1798. In these engagements Byard was highly praised for...
in November, and he by Commander Charles Bartholomew in January 1783. Spitfire was paid off in April that year and spent a period laid up in ordinary at Sheerness, briefly being refitted for a period of service in 1790 under the command of Commander Robert Watson. Spitfire was then paid off again. More extensive work was carried out the following year, and she recommissioned in March 1791 under Commander Thomas Fremantle. Fremantle commanded her until her paying off in September that year, upon which she was almost immediately recommissioned as a sloop under Commander John Woodley. She served under Woodley in the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
and the English Channel
English 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...
, until Woodley was succeeded in February 1793 by Commander Philip Charles Durham
Philip Charles Durham
Admiral Sir Philip Charles Calderwood Henderson Durham, GCB was a Royal Navy officer whose service in the American War of Independence, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic Wars was lengthy, distinguished and at times controversial.-Biography:Destined to be one of the luckiest men in the...
.
French Revolutionary Wars
Durham went on to enjoy considerable success during his brief stint in command during the early months of the French Revolutionary WarsFrench 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...
. On 19 February 1793 he sent off his boats against a privateer sloop and two other sloops near Dieppe. The fire from some 2,000 troops ashore with field pieces made it impossible to bring the prizes off but they managed to knock the privateer to pieces and set fire to the other two vessels which were laden with brandy.
Also in February he captured the privateer cutter Afrique; and the following month captured the privateer St Jean and destroyed the Marguerite. On 27 April 1793 Spitfire fell in with two French armed brigs and engaged them for half an hour under the fort at Cherbourg before being forced to break off to avoid grounding.
Durham stepped down in June 1793, and was replaced by Commander James Cook. Cook's death by drowning in January 1794 necessitated the assigning of Commander John Clements to take over the Spitfire. Clements was succeeded in October 1794 by Commander Amherst Morris, and he in 1796 by Commander Michael Seymour
Sir Michael Seymour, 1st Baronet
Sir Michael Seymour, 1st Baronet KCB was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, eventually rising to the rank of Rear-Admiral.-Family and early life:...
.
Commander Michael Seymour
Seymour would spend the next four years as her commander and, like Durham before him, enjoyed considerable success in actions against small French raiders. He captured at least nine privateers and small vessels of the French NavyFrench Navy
The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching...
.
He was active off the English and Irish coasts during the French attempt to invade Ireland
Expédition d'Irlande
The Expédition d'Irlande was an unsuccessful attempt by the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republican group, in their planned rebellion against British rule...
in early 1797 and on 12 January 1797 he captured one of the expedition's storeships, Allègre, off Ushant
Ushant
Ushant is an island at the south-western end of the English Channel which marks the north-westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and is in the traditional region of Bro-Leon. Administratively, Ushant is a commune in the Finistère department...
. He followed this success by capturing the 6-gun privateer Bons Amis off the Eddystone on 2 April 1797, the 14-gun privateer Aimable Manet in the Channel on 1 May 1797, and the privateer schooner Trompeuse
Trompeuse (ship)
During the French Revolutionary War Trompeuse, meaning “misleading” or “deceptive”, was a popular name for French naval vessels and privateers...
, of Morlaix, later that month. Trompeuse was armed with six guns and had a crew of 40 men. Trompeuse had been out five days and had taken two Prussian vessels, one sailing to Liverpool and the other to Oporto.
Seymour and Spitfire took the 3-gun privateer Incroyable off the Lizard
The Lizard
The Lizard is a peninsula in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The most southerly point of the British mainland is near Lizard Point at ....
on 15 September 1797. A little over a year later, on 27 December 1798, he recaptured Sybille, of Dartmouth, while in the Channel. The French privateer Vigilant had captured Sybille while Sybille was taking bullocks and sheep to Guernsey
Guernsey
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...
. She then had a narrow escape from Vigilant off Start Point while returning to Plymouth. One week later Spitfire captured the 14-gun transport Wilding in the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
. Wildings crew consisted of seamen from three French ships of the line and she had been taking firewood for the French Navy from Aber Wrac'h
Aber Wrac'h
The Aber Wrac'h is a small village and port located on the Wrac'h river in the commune of Landéda in the department of Finistère in France, located in Brittany.The Wrac'h river source is Trémaouézan...
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...
under the escort of the Levrette, a gun vessel from which she had parted company. Wilding was a captured British ship that had been in the West Indies trade. On 31 March 1799 Spitfire took the 14-gun privateer Résolue of St. Malo, off Scilly during a violent gale. Also in March, the prize agent, J. Hawker esq., paid Spitfires foremast men nearly £40 each. One man spent it in two days and finished up owing his landlady 15 guineas.
On 18 April 1800 a French privateer in the Channel plundered the American vessel A. B. C. two hours before Spitfire boarded her. When A.B.C. reported the privateer, Seymour left A.B.C. to make her own way into Plymouth and set off in pursuit. Finally he caught up with and captured the 14-gun privateer brig, the Heureuse Societé. She had been cruising for two weeks before her capture. Seymour took her into Plymouth on the 20th.
In May Spitfire sailed through a severe gale on the 16th. to arrive safely in Guernsey
Guernsey
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...
. On 19 June, thirty miles SSE off Scilly, Spitfire captured a French privateer brig, the Heureux Courier of Granville
Granville, Manche
-Sights:The old town preserves all the history of its military and religious past. The lower town was partly built on land reclaimed from the sea. The upper part of the old town is surrounded by ramparts from the fifteenth century...
. The privateer was armed with sixteen brass French 6-pounders and was on her way from her first cruise. She had made three captures, two Newfoundland brigs and a Portuguese schooner, which she had cut out at St. Michael's. The British privateer Tartar, of Guernsey, recaptured the Portuguese schooner.
Spitfire returned to Plymouth on 14 July from a cruise off the Île de Batz
Île de Batz
The Île de Batz is an island off Roscoff in Brittany, France. Administratively, it is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-Population:...
. She then sailed to cruise against smugglers and captured the lugger Three Friends, with 150 anker
Anker
Anker is a given name of Danish and Norwegian origin, sometimes used as a surname. Anker may also refer to a place name.-Given name:*Ancher Nelsen , American politician*Anker Boye , Danish politician...
s of spirits. Three Friends had landed part of her cargo at Polperro
Polperro
Polperro is a village and fishing harbour on the south-east Cornwall coast in South West England, UK, within the civil parish of Lansallos. Situated on the River Pol, 4 miles west of the neighbouring town of Looe and west of the major city and naval port of Plymouth, it is well-known for...
but Spitfire took several boats that were endeavouring to escape; one smuggler was killed in the process. The prize was brought into Plymouth on 4 August.
On 11 August Seymour received a promotion 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:...
. His replacement on Spitfire was Commander Robert Keen, who spent the next four years on the Irish station.
Commander Robert Keen
Towards the end of September Spitfire detained the American merchantman Robust, on passage from Baltimore to Amsterdam, and put a mate and six men on board as a prize crew to take her into Plymouth. While three men were aloft trimming the sails and two in the hold stowing the cable tier, the Americans, armed with pistols, seized the steersman and the prize-master, who was having breakfast, and threatened to shoot the men aloft if they did not give up the ship. Off the Eddystone the Americans forced the prize crew into a boat; after a long pull the British reached SalcombeSalcombe
Salcombe is a town in the South Hams district of Devon, south west England. The town is close to the mouth of the Kingsbridge Estuary, built mostly on the steep west side of the estuary and lies within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
. Robust resumed her voyage to Amsterdam.
On 3 October, Spitfire the Anna, bound for Philadelphia from Amsterdam into Plymouth. During 20 to 21 March 1801 a hurricane blew in the Channel. Spitfire, Suffisante and Renard had to ride it out before seeking shelter in Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
. In July, a court martial was held on board the flag ship Cambridge
HMS Cambridge (1755)
HMS Cambridge was an 80-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Deptford Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched on 21 October 1755.-Early career:...
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...
to try Spitfires purser, Mr. Bamfield for disobedience of his captain's orders. The charge was fully proven but several officers testified to Bamfield's excellent character; he was reinstated with the loss of a year's pay.
On 17 January 1802 Spitfire and Weazle were ordered to fit-out and victual for foreign service. On 21 January a messenger came by express from the Admiralty to Plymouth with orders for a fast sloop to be ready to sail at a moment's notice with dispatches for the Straits. Weazle and Spitfire went out into the Sound, still very rough from a gale the previous night, to await orders. Weazle sailed the following day; Spitfire had to wait for orders until 6 February. The next morning she and Hunter
HMS Hunter
Eighteen ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Hunter:*HMS Hunter was a dogger captured in 1646 and sold in 1649.*HMS Hunter was a 10-gun fire ship, previously the French sloop Chasseur, captured in 1652. She was burnt in 1653....
sailed for the St. Georges Channel to intercept smugglers.
Spitfire was paid off and laid up in ordinary at Sheerness on 30 August 1804 and she remained out of commission through 1805.
Napoleonic Wars
Spitfire underwent a repair and refit at Sheerness between April 1805 and April 1806, returning to active service under Captain William Green. While in the Channel under the command of Lieut. Parry (acting), on 28 December she recaptured the English trading brig Friendship, which the French privateer luggers Deux Freres and Espoir had captured, and sent her in to the Downs. The next day he captured Deux Frères, which had only four of her 14 guns mounted. She nevertheless had put up a fight and did not surrender till she had lost her captain and her third officer killed and four men wounded. (Spitfires surgeon had to amputate the arm of one of the wounded men.) Spitfire was unable to rescue Friendships master and crew as they were on Espoir, which escaped. Spitfire was then paid off.She recommissioned again in February 1807 in her original role as a fireship, under the command of Commander Henry Butt. She served in the Downs
The Downs
The Downs are a roadstead or area of sea in the southern North Sea near the English Channel off the east Kent coast, between the North and the South Foreland in southern England. In 1639 the Battle of the Downs took place here, when the Dutch navy destroyed a Spanish fleet which had sought refuge...
, at first under Butt, and then from 1808 under Commander John Ellis. Ellis would eventually spend six years with Spitfire, serving at a number of British ports and spending some time in North American waters, including the Greenland station in 1813.
On 22 October 1808, Spitfire and Basilisk
HMS Basilisk (1801)
HMS Basilisk was a built by Randall in Rotherhithe and launched in 1801. She served during the Napoleonic Wars protecting convoys from privateers, conducting close-inshore surveillance and taking enemy coastal shipping. She served briefly at the end of the French Revolutionary Wars, with most of...
sailed to the assistance of the sloop Cygnet, which the Dowlaw signal station, near Dunbar
Dunbar
Dunbar is a town in East Lothian on the southeast coast of Scotland, approximately 28 miles east of Edinburgh and 28 miles from the English Border at Berwick-upon-Tweed....
, reported had cut away her masts and bowsprit and thrown some of her guns overboard. Basilisk and Spitfire brought Cygnet back to Leith Roads.
Spitfire was cruising with the 32-gun frigate Alexandria off North Cape on 19 July 1813. There they chased the 44-gun American frigate President
USS President (1800)
USS President was a nominally rated 44-gun wooden-hulled, three-masted heavy frigate of the United States Navy. She was named by George Washington to reflect a principle of the United States Constitution. Forman Cheeseman was in charge of her construction, and she was launched in April 1800 from a...
and her consort, the schooner Scourge, away from a British convoy out of Archangel
Archangel
An archangel is an angel of high rank. Archangels are found in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Michael and Gabriel are recognized as archangels in Judaism and by most Christians. Michael is the only archangel specifically named in the Protestant Bible...
. Captain John Rodgers
John Rodgers (naval officer, War of 1812)
John Rodgers was a senior naval officer in the United States Navy who served under six Presidents for nearly four decades during its formative years in the 1790s through the late 1830s, committing the greater bulk of his adult life to his country...
of President excused his fleeing the British by claiming that he had fled from a 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...
and a frigate.
Fate
Commander James Dalton took over in 1814, commanding the Spitfire on the West African coast, before returning to Britain the following year. Spitfire was paid off for the final time and laid up at PortsmouthPortsmouth
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...
in May 1815. She remained there for the next ten years, finally being sold for breaking up to a Mr Ranwell for the sum of £1,205 on 30 July 1825.