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HMS St George (1785)
Encyclopedia
HMS St George was a 98-gun second 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 14 October 1785 at 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...
. In 1793 she captured one of the richest prizes ever. She then participated in the Naval Battle of Hyères Islands
Naval Battle of Hyères Islands
The Naval Battle of Hyères Islands was fought on 13 July 1795 off the Hyères Islands, a group of islands off the French Mediterranean coast, about 25 km east of Toulon. The battle was fought between the van of a British fleet chasing the French squadron, and the French rear...
in 1795 and 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...
in 1801. She was wrecked off Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
in 1811 with the loss of almost all her crew.
Service
In 1793 Captain John Gell was appointed to be a Rear-Admiral of the Blue and raised his flag on the St George. Whilst in the Mediterranean with his division of the fleet, Gell was able to seize a French privateer and its Spanish registered prize the St Jago. These ships were said to be one of the most valuable prizes ever brought to England. The ownership of the St Jago was a matter of some debate and was not settled until 4 February 1795, when the value of the cargo was put at £935,000. At this time all the crew, captains, officers and admirals could expect to share in this prize. Admiral HoodSamuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood
Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood was a British Admiral known particularly for his service in the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars...
's share was £50,000. The ships that conveyed St Jago to 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...
were St George, Egmont
HMS Egmont (1768)
HMS Egmont was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 29 August 1768 at Deptford. She was designed by Sir Thomas Slade, and was the only ship built to her draught....
, 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...
, Ganges
HMS Ganges (1782)
HMS Ganges was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 30 March 1782 at Rotherhithe. She was the first ship of the Navy to bear the name. Her first captain was Charles Fielding...
and Phaeton.
In October 1793 Gell was able to obtain the surrender of the French frigate Modeste
HMS Modeste (1793)
HMS Modeste was a 36-gun fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She had previously been a ship of the French Navy under the name Modeste. Launched in France in 1786, she served during the first actions of the French Revolutionary Wars until being captured while in harbour at Genoa, in circumstances...
, which had abused the neutrality of the port of Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
. After this Gell had to return to England for the last time due to ill health.
St George was present at the Naval Battle of Hyères Islands
Naval Battle of Hyères Islands
The Naval Battle of Hyères Islands was fought on 13 July 1795 off the Hyères Islands, a group of islands off the French Mediterranean coast, about 25 km east of Toulon. The battle was fought between the van of a British fleet chasing the French squadron, and the French rear...
in 1795, and 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...
in 1801, where her captain was Thomas Masterman Hardy, future captain of HMS Victory
HMS Victory
HMS Victory is a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1759 and launched in 1765. She is most famous as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805....
under Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "COPENHAGEN 1801" to all remaining survivors of the battle.
Fate
St George was wrecked near RingkøbingRingkøbing
Ringkøbing is a town in Ringkøbing-Skjern municipality in Region Midtjylland on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in west Denmark. The town has a population of 9,742 .-History:...
on the west coast of Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
on 24 December 1811. She narrowly escaped wrecking on a shoal (Rødsand) south of Zeeland on 15 December, whilst returning from the Baltic Sea
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...
. Under jury masts and a temporary rudder she got a considerable distance out of the Sleeve when a gale came up. This, combined with a heavy sea, resulted in St George wrecking at Nazen
Nissum Fjord
Nissum Fjord is a inlet located in West Jutland, west of Vemb and is demarcated from the North Sea by a 13 km wide isthmus, Bøvling Klit, and passes through a lock in Thorsminde. The inlet has a water area of 70 km² or 7.000 ha. but the average water depth is only about 1 meter, and the deepest...
, about three miles from Ringkøbing, together with Defence
HMS Defence (1763)
HMS Defence was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 31 March 1763 at Plymouth Dockyard. She was one of the most famous ships of the period, taking part in several of the most important naval battles of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars...
.
Only seven of her 738 crew were saved. Among the dead were Rear-Admiral Robert Carthew Reynolds
Robert Carthew Reynolds
Rear-Admiral Robert Carthew Reynolds was a long serving and widely respected officer of the British Royal Navy who served in four separate major wars in a 52 year career...
and Captain Daniel Oliver Guion
Daniel Oliver Guion
Daniel Oliver Guion was an officer of the Royal Navy. He was the son of Daniel Guion Daniel Oliver Guion (London, 20 April 1776 - Ringkjøbing, 24 December 1811) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He was the son of Daniel Guion Daniel Oliver Guion (London, 20 April 1776 - Ringkjøbing, 24 December...
. Most of the bodies that came ashore were buried in the sand dunes of Thorsminde, which have been known ever since as "Dead Mens Dunes".
Post script
The ship's bell was recovered in 1876 and served as church bell in the church of No near RingkøbingRingkøbing
Ringkøbing is a town in Ringkøbing-Skjern municipality in Region Midtjylland on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in west Denmark. The town has a population of 9,742 .-History:...
until May 2011 where it was passed as a present from the church to the Strandingsmuseum St. George in Thorsminde in connection with renovation of the church' bell tower.
Following the exposure of the wreck of St George by a storm in 1981, thousands of artifacts have been recovered from the wreck, many of which are on display at the Strandingsmuseum St George in Thorsminde.