HMS Zenobia (1807)
Encyclopedia
HMS Zenobia was an 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloop
Cruizer class brig-sloop
The Cruizer class was an 18-gun class of brig-sloops of the Royal Navy. Brig-sloops were the same as ship-sloops except for their rigging...
launched 7 October 1807 by Brindley at King’s Lynn. Although she served during 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...
she is known for her role in two events, the claiming of Ascension Island
Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa...
for Great Britain in 1815, and the naming of the Saumarez Reefs
Saumarez Reefs
Saumarez Reefs is one of the southernmost reefs to be located in the Coral Sea Islands and part of the Coral Sea Shelf; it contains three main reefs and numerous smaller reefs all of which form a large crescent-shaped formation open to the northwest, about 27 by 14 km, area less than 300 km².There...
in 1823. She was broken up in 1835.
Napoleonic Wars and War of 1812
Commander Alexander K. Mackenzie commissioned her and remained her captain until July 1812. During that time she was in the North sea and visited Portugal at least twice.Zenobia was one of the Royal Navy vessels involved in the ill-fated Walcheren Campaign
Walcheren Campaign
The Walcheren Campaign was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Around 40,000 soldiers, 15,000 horses together with field artillery and two siege trains...
, which started on 30 July 1809. In August she was part of the light squadron under Sir Edward Owen
Edward Owen (Royal Navy officer)
Admiral Sir Edward William Campbell Rich Owen GCB GCH was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet. He was the son of Captain William Owen and elder brother of Vice-Admiral William Fitzwilliam Owen....
and participated in the bombardment of Flushing. British forces withdrew in December. On 26 November Zenobia captured the Danish Ship Twee Gebroeders.
On 18 September 1810 she joined Venerable
HMS Venerable (1808)
HMS Venerable was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 12 April 1808 at Northfleet.-Career:On 13 December 1810 Venerable was in company with the hired armed cutter Nimrod and several other vessels at the capture of the Goede Trouw.On 31 December 1813, she captured the...
in the chase and capture of the Alexander, a French ketch privateer of 16 guns (but only four mounted). Alexander was on her first cruise out of Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine.-Demographics:The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season...
and had captured the schooner Peggy.
In July, Commander Richard Foley assumed command. The next month Zenobia captured the American ships Cornelia (14 August), Catherine (17 August) and America (24 August). The London Gazette report of a grant of two-thirds of the value of the detained vessels states that the detainment took place prior to hostilities. On 19 September Zenobia sent into Plymouth the American brig Cordelia, from St. Ubes
Setúbal
Setúbal is the main city in Setúbal Municipality in Portugal with a total area of 172.0 km² and a total population of 118,696 inhabitants in the municipality. The city proper has 89,303 inhabitants....
.
On 25 June 1813 she captured the American ship Hindostan. The initial payment of prize money amounted to ₤5000. Two days later Zenobia captured the Isabella.
On 3 January 1814 Zenobia captured the Wellington. On 7 June Foley received 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:...
and Commander William Dobree assumed command. Under Dobree, Zenobia recaptured the William & Alfred on 5 January 1815 and Diana on 3 March. The American privateer Harpy had captured the William & Alfred off Cape Finisterre as she was sailing from London to Antiqua. Zenobia sent her into Lisbon on 10 January, minus part of the cargo, which Harpy had taken.
Ascension Island
Zenobia, under Captain William Dobree, together with her sister ship PeruvianHMS Peruvian (1808)
HMS Peruvian was an 18-gun launched in 1808 at Parson's Yard, Warsash, England. She was the first naval vessel built at that yard. Peruvian captured two American privateers and participated in an expedition up the Penobscot River during the War of 1812. Then she claimed Ascension Island for Great...
, under Captain James Kearney White, had been part of the flotilla under Rear Admiral George Cockburn
George Cockburn
Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet GCB was a British naval commander of the late 18th through the mid-19th centuries. He held important commands during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 and eventually rose to become Admiral of the Fleet and First Sea Lord.-Naval...
that had taken Napoleon into his final exile at St Helena. Cockburn was concerned that the French might use Ascension Island
Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, around from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America, which is roughly midway between the horn of South America and Africa...
, uninhabited at the time, to stage a rescue mission. He therefore decided to claim and garrison the island. On 22 October 1815, at 5pm, Zenobia and Peruvian anchored in Clarence Bay. The ships' logs record that at 5.30pm, Dobree and White came ashore, raised the Jack, and took possession of the island in the name of His Britannic Majesty, King George III. Zenobia left shortly thereafter, while Peruvian stayed until Spring. On 8 April 1816 Zenobia arrived in Plymouth and was laid up.
Napoleon died on St Helena in 1821 and the Admiralty wanted to withdraw the garrison. However, Sir George Collier
Sir George Collier, 1st Baronet
Sir George Ralph Collier, 1st Baronet KCB was an officer of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and the War of 1812. He had an eventful early life, being shipwrecked early in his career and later captured by the French...
, Commodore of the West Africa Squadron
West Africa Squadron
The Royal Navy established the West Africa Squadron at substantial expense in 1808 after Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act of 1807. The squadron's task was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa...
, persuaded the Admiralty to retain it as it had become a victualing station for the vessels of the squadron, which was engaged in anti-slavery patrols. It also provided a sanatorium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
for the squadron's ships and crew. The Admiralty later designated Ascension Island "HMS Ascension", a "Stone sloop of War of the smaller class".
Saumarez Reefs
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and had chosen a route through Torres Strait
Torres Strait
The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost continental extremity of the Australian state of Queensland...
. This was the first occasion a ship had navigated the Torres Strait from west to east. It was also the first occasion a ship traversed the Coral Sea from Torres Strait, south-eastward to the southward of New Caledonia. Lihou saw Sir James Saumarez' Shoal (now Saumarez Reefs
Saumarez Reefs
Saumarez Reefs is one of the southernmost reefs to be located in the Coral Sea Islands and part of the Coral Sea Shelf; it contains three main reefs and numerous smaller reefs all of which form a large crescent-shaped formation open to the northwest, about 27 by 14 km, area less than 300 km².There...
) on 27 February 1823, and named the reef system after Vice-Admiral James Saumarez
James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez
Admiral James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez , GCB was an admiral of the British Royal Navy, notable for his victory at the Battle of Algeciras.-Early life:...
. On this same trip, Lihou discovered the Lihou Reef and Cays and Port Lihou. Zenobia left Sydney, New South Wales, in April.
Fate
On 6 August 1835 the Navy Office offered Zenobia for sale by Dutch auctionDutch auction
A Dutch auction is a type of auction where the auctioneer begins with a high asking price which is lowered until some participant is willing to accept the auctioneer's price, or a predetermined reserve price is reached. The winning participant pays the last announced price...
for £1600 but had to take her in at £890. Later that month a Mr. Tibbett bought her for £650 for breaking up.