58-621: HMS Phaeton was a 38-gun, Minerva -class fifth rate of Britain's Royal Navy . This frigate was most noted for her intrusion into Nagasaki harbour in 1808. John Smallshaw (Smallshaw & Company) built Phaeton in Liverpool between 1780 and 1782. She participated in numerous engagements during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars during which service she captured many prizes. Francis Beaufort , inventor of
116-453: A British sloop-of-war under the name Calpe , the ancient name for Gibraltar. Although it would have been usual to promote Beaufort, the successful and heroic leader of the expedition, to command Calpe , Lord Keith chose instead George Dundas who not only was not present at the battle, but was junior to Beaufort. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the survivors to that date of the boarding party
174-407: A French privateer brig. The following night the brig escaped while the polacca tried twice, unsuccessfully, to escape to Málaga . On the night of 27 October, Francis Beaufort led Phaeton's boats on a cutting out expedition. Unfortunately the launch, with a carronade , was unable to keep up and was still out of range when a French privateer schooner, which had come into the anchorage unseen, fired on
232-444: A crew of 120 men. She had sailed from Nantes on 17 February and ten days later had captured the packet ship Princess Elizabeth , which was her only prize. On 28 May, Phaeton , Melpomene , and the hired armed lugger Speedwell detained Frederickstadt . On 16 September Phaeton took the 6-gun Chasseur . Then two days later she took the privateer Brunette . Then with Unite she took 16-gun Indien on 24 September off
290-474: A cutter (6 guns), of unknown names. The cutting out party also burned some 15 merchant vessels loaded with corn and supplies for the French fleet at Brest . However, in this enterprise, 92 officers and men out of the entire party of 192 men, fell prisoners to the French when their boats became stranded. Lord Nelson had contributed no men to the attacking force and so had no casualties. In 1801, Defence sailed to
348-617: A landing party from Phaeton and Sir Francis Drake , together with marines from Hussar , captured a fort from the French at Sumenep on the island of Madura , off Java. The British lost three men killed and 28 wounded. Pellew sailed Phaeton home in August 1812, escorting a convoy of East Indiamen . For his services he received a present of 500 guineas and the thanks of the East India Company . In 1816, Capt. Frances Stanfell sailed Phaeton from Sheerness, bound for Saint Helena and
406-646: A party of light dragoons, and lodged in the Tower of London . On 11 December the High Court of Admiralty decided that the ship should be restored to Spain, less one eighth of the value after expenses for salvage, provided the Spanish released British ships held at Corunna . The agents for the captors appealed and on 4 February 1795 the Lords of the council (the Privy council) put the value of
464-709: A series of four ships built to a 1778 design by Sir Edward Hunt, which served in the Royal Navy during the latter decades of the eighteenth century. During the early stages of the American Revolutionary War , the Royal Navy – while well supplied with ships from earlier programs, but faced with coastal operations and trade protection tasks along the American littoral – ordered numerous forty-four gun, two-decked ships and thirty-two gun 12-pounder armed frigates. Anticipating
522-571: A single ship. Early estimates put the value of the cargo as some £1.2 and £1.3 million. The most valuable portion of the cargo was a large number of gold bars that had a thin covering of pewter and that were listed on the manifest as "fine pewter". General Dumourier had taken on board 680 cases, each containing 3000 dollars, plus several packages worth two to three thousand pounds. The ships that conveyed St Jago to Portsmouth were St George , Egmont , Edgar , Ganges and Phaeton . The money came over London Bridge in 21 wagons, escorted by
580-487: A spectacular string of prize-taking. During Stopford's service in the Channel , Phaeton captured some 13 privateers and three vessels of war, and also recovered numerous vessels that the French had taken. On 10 March 1796, Phaeton engaged and captured the French corvette Bonne Citoyenne off Cape Finisterre . She was armed with twenty 9-pounder guns and had a crew of 145 men. She had left Rochefort on 4 March in company with
638-588: The Beaufort Wind-Scale , was a lieutenant on Phaeton when he distinguished himself during a successful cutting out expedition . Phaeton sailed to the Pacific in 1805, and returned in 1812. She was finally sold on 26 March 1828. Phaeton was commissioned in March 1782. Within a year she had been paid off. In December 1792 Phaeton was commissioned under Sir Andrew Snape Douglas . In March 1793 Phaeton captured
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#1732851250011696-496: The Cape of Good Hope . She arrived at St Helena on 14 April 1816, where she delivered its newly appointed military governor, Lieutenant-General Sir Hudson Lowe , his wife, Susan de Lancey Lowe, and her two daughters by a former marriage. Lowe had been expressly sent to the island to serve as the gaolor of Napoleon Bonaparte, who would die there in exile in 1821. Minerva-class frigate The Minerva -class sailing frigates were
754-473: The Invasion of Île de France in 1810 and the reduction of Java in 1811. In May, Phaeton escorted the second division of British troops, commanded by Major-General Frederick Augustus Wetherall , from Madras to Prince of Wales Island , and then on to Malacca . Once the expedition reached Batavia , Phaeton and three of the other frigates patrolled for French frigates known to be in the area. On 31 August
812-744: The Marquis of Wellesley and his suite, who was returning to England after having served as Governor General of India. They arrived at Spithead on 13 January 1806. In October 1806 Captain John Wood took command of Phaeton . Then in July 1808, Captain Fleetwood Pellew succeeded him. After the French had annexed the Dutch Republic and Napoleon began to use its resources against Britain, Royal Navy ships started to attack Dutch shipping. In 1808, Phaeton , by now under
870-546: The St. Rosalia . Phaeton had to share her share of the proceeds with five vessels due to a prior agreement. On 3 May, Mutine , Phaeton and Cameleon captured eight vessels in Anguilla Bay: Five days later they captured eleven Genoese vessels. They captured the first eight at St Remo : On 25 October Phaeton chased a Spanish polacca to an anchorage under a battery of five heavy guns at Fuengirola , where she joined
928-786: The 20-gun Sphinx -class post ship Daphne , which the French had captured almost exactly three years earlier. Out of a crew of 276, including 30 passengers of various descriptions, Daphne , lost five men killed and several wounded before she surrendered. Anson had no casualties. On New Year's Day, 1798, Phaeton took Aventure . On 19 February she took the 18-gun Légère in the Channel. On 21 February, 1798 she, Nymphe , and Mermaid recaptured American armed mechantman "Eliza" ( 49°10′N 10°30′W / 49.167°N 10.500°W / 49.167; -10.500 ) that had been captured by French privateer "Don Guicote" on 13 February (seems to be some conflicting info on which ship actually made
986-451: The 32-gun privateer Flore after a 24-hour-long chase. Stopford, in his letter, described Flore as a frigate of 36 guns and 255 men. She was eight days out of Boulogne on a cruise. Flore had also served the Royal Navy in the American Revolutionary War . Then on 8 October Phaeton took the 16-gun privateer Lévrier . Together with Ambuscade and Stag , on 20 November she took Hirondelle . On 24 November 1798, Phaeton captured
1044-453: The 4-gun privateer lugger Aimable Liberté . Then on 14 April Phaeton sighted the French privateer Général Dumourier (or Général Du Mourier ), of twenty-two 6-pounder guns and 196 men, and her Spanish prize, the St Jago , 140 leagues to the west of Cape Finisterre . Phaeton was part of Admiral John Gell's squadron and the entire squadron set off in pursuit, but it was Phaeton that made
1102-721: The Baltic under Captain Lord Henry Paulet with Admiral Hyde Parker's fleet. She was present at the Battle of Copenhagen , but did not see action as she was part of the reserve under Parker. In 1805 she saw action again at the Battle of Trafalgar , where under Captain George Johnstone Hope , she captured the San Ildefonso and fought the Berwick , suffering 36 casualties. Defence
1160-731: The British Ensign until she was burnt in the Bay of Bengal in 1816. On 2 August 1805, under Captain John Wood, Phaeton fought the 40-gun Sémillante , Captain Léonard-Bernard Motard , in the San Bernardino Strait off San Jacinto, Philippines , together with the 18-gun Cruizer -class brig-sloop Harrier , Captain Edward Ratsey. After exchanges of fire first with Harrier and then with Phaeton , Sémillante took refuge under
1218-612: The Dutch interpreter Motoki Shozaemon wrote the first English-Japanese dictionary (6,000 words). Although the incident revealed the vulnerability of the Tokugawa system to foreign interference, the Bakufu did not enter into more fundamental reform of its defenses because of its priority on maintaining the internal balance of power with the country's daimyo. Pellew was confirmed in his rank of post captain on 14 October 1808, and went on to see action in
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#17328512500111276-639: The Dutch trading ships would not be coming that year. He left behind a letter for the Dutch director Hendrik Doeff . The Nagasaki Magistrate, Matsudaira, took responsibility by performing seppuku . Following the attack of the Phaeton , the Bakufu reinforced coastal defenses, and promulgated a law prohibiting foreigners coming ashore, on pain of death (1825–1842, Muninen-uchikowashi-rei ). The Bakufu also requested that official interpreters learn English and Russian, departing from their prior focus on Dutch studies. In 1814,
1334-610: The Far East. Later in 1804 she and HMS Lancaster chased the French privateer Henriette back to Port Louis . Also, Phaeton recaptured the Mornington , which the French privateer Nicholas Surcouf in Caroline had captured on 14 August 1804; Captain Fallonard of the brig Île de France recaptured Mornington . The British recaptured Mornington again as she continued to sail under
1392-421: The French frigates Forte , Seine , and Régénérée , and the brig Mutine , all sailing for the Île de France with troops and military supplies. Stopford took her back to England as his prize. The Royal Navy then bought her in as Bonne Citoyenne , a sixth-rate sloop-of-war. While cruising in the Channel, on 6 March 1797, Phaeton took the French privateer Actif . She was armed with 18 guns and had
1450-458: The French privateer brig Resolue (or Resolu ). Resolue was armed with 18 guns and carried a crew of 70 men. She had previously captured the English merchant ship General Wolfe , sailing from Poole to Newfoundland and an American sloop sailing from Boston to Hamburg . Stag later recaptured the American. On 6 December, Phaeton and Stag captured the French privateer brig Resource . She
1508-524: The Indian Ocean, operating for the next three years against British shipping from Île de France . On 18 November 1805 Phaeton was at Saint Helena . There she took on board 32 officers and crew from the East Indiaman Brunswick , which the French had captured. The French had released them at the Cape of Good Hope and a cartel had delivered them to St Helena. Phaeton was already carrying
1566-626: The Mediterranean under Captain John Peyton , taking part in the Battle of the Nile in August. On 1 July 1800, Defence , Fisgard , Renown and the hired armed cutter Lord Nelson were in Bourneuf Bay when they sent in their boats to attack a French convoy at Île de Noirmoutier . The British destroyed the French ship Therese (of 20 guns), a lugger (12 guns), two schooners (6 guns each) and
1624-576: The Naval General Service Medal with clasp "27 Oct. Boat Service 1800". On 16 May 1801, boats from Phaeton and Naiad under the direction of Naiad ' s first lieutenant, entered the port of Marín, Pontevedra , in Galicia in north west Spain. There they captured the Spanish corvette Alcudia and destroyed the armed packet Raposo , both under the protection of a battery of five 24-pounders. Alcudia , commanded by Don Jean Antonio Barbuto,
1682-550: The Roches Bonnes. On 9 October Unite captured Découverte , with the 32-gun frigate Stag and Phaeton in company. Phaeton also recaptured three British vessels. These were Adamant (24 September), Arcade (3 October), and Recovery (20 October). Then on 28 December Phaeton took the 12-gun Hazard in the Bay of Biscay. The next day, the 44-gun Anson , Captain Philip Charles Durham , with Phaeton , retook
1740-408: The actual capture. St Jago had been sailing from Lima to Spain when General Dumourier captured her on 11 April. In trying to fend off General Dumourier , St Jago fought for five hours, losing 10 men killed and 37 wounded, before she struck . She also suffered extensive damage to her upper works. St Jago ' s cargo, which had taken two years to collect, was the richest ever trusted on board
1798-477: The battle. After repairs, she was sent to the Mediterranean, joining Admiral William Hotham in time to take part in the Battle of Hyeres in July. Defence was at Plymouth on 20 January 1795 and so shared in the proceeds of the detention of the Dutch naval vessels, East Indiamen , and other merchant vessels that were in port on the outbreak of war between Britain and the Netherlands. In 1798 she returned to
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1856-519: The capture). On 22 March she participated in damaging the 36-gun frigate Charente near the Cordouan lighthouse . Phaeton fired on Charente , chasing her first into range of the guns of the 74-gun third rate Canada , under the command of Captain Sir John Borlase Warren , with whom she exchanged broadsides. Charente grounded, but then so did Canada . Phaeton and Anson had to abandon
1914-619: The cargo at £935,000 and awarded it to the captors. At the time, all the crew, captains, officers and admirals could expect to share in the prize. Admiral Hood 's share was £50,000. On 28 May Phaeton took the 20-gun Prompte off the Spanish Coast. The Royal Navy took Prompte into service under her existing name. Together with Weazle , Phaeton took two privateers in the Channel in June - Poisson Volante , of ten guns, and Général Washington . On 27 November Phaeton and Latona were among
1972-405: The chase to pull Canada free. In the meantime, Charente threw her guns overboard, floated free, and reached the river of Bordeaux , much the worse for wear. With Anson , Phaeton took the 18-gun privateer Mercure on 31 August. Mercure was pierced for 20 guns and had a crew of 132 men. She was one day out of Bordeaux and had captured nothing. A week later, Anson and Phaeton captured
2030-495: The command of Pellew, entered Nagasaki 's harbour to ambush some Dutch trading ships that were expected to arrive shortly. Phaeton entered the harbour on 4 October surreptitiously under a Dutch flag. Despite the arrival of the "Dutch" ship being later in the season than normal, the Japanese and Dutch representatives did not suspect anything. So, Dutch representatives from their Nagasaki trading enclave of Dejima rowed out to welcome
2088-405: The eighteen-pounder cannon on their upper deck, the main gun deck of a frigate. Before coming into service, their designed secondary armament was augmented, with 9-pounder guns being substituted for the 6-pounder guns originally planned, and with ten 18-pounder carronades being added (six on the quarterdeck and four on the forecastle). The type eventually proved successful, and went on to be virtually
2146-506: The entry of European powers into the war, and with renewed resistance provided by the large, nine hundred ton, thirty-two gun 12-pounder armed frigates of the French Navy , the RN looked to a newer larger design of frigate to meet this challenge. From November 1778 larger frigates with a heavier 18-pounder primary armament were ordered. They were the first Royal Navy frigates designed to be armed with
2204-649: The eponymous Elgin Marbles , for Constantinople . She arrived at the Dardanelles on 2 November. Elgin would be Britain's ambassador to the Ottoman Empire until 1803. In May 1800 she participated in the blockade of Genoa as part of Lord Keith 's squadron. The Austrian general besieging the city, Baron d'Ott, particularly appreciated her fire in support of the Austrian army. On 14 April 1800 Phaeton and Peterel captured
2262-538: The first ship to run aground and that HMS St George (flagship) immediately let go its anchor but that the ship swung around on her cable and also went aground as a result." This account was corroborated by an account printed in Gentleman's Magazine in 1812. In the incident, "HMS St George was also destroyed, with the loss of 838 lives, including Reynolds." Given the fog of war and passage of time, this historical debate may never be conclusively resolved. Atkins' body
2320-469: The guns of a shore battery. Unable to dislodge her, the two British vessels eventually sailed off, each having suffered two men wounded. Sémillante was reported to have suffered 13 killed and 36 wounded. After resupplying at San Jacinto, Sémillante intended to sail for Mexico in March 1805 to fetch specie for the Philippines; the encounter with Phaeton and Harrier foiled the plan. Motard returned to
2378-501: The hour of danger and distress." Defence ran aground and was overcome by a breaking sea. The breakup led to loss of 593 men, her full complement being 597. One of the survivors said that "At half-past twelve the captain told Mr. Baker he would not wear till the St. George did, but would stay by her." On the other hand, the Annual Register (Vol 54), however, states that "HMS Defence was
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2436-623: The last battle of the war, at Cuddalore . She returned to England at the end of 1785. She was then laid up during the years of peace until the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars . Recommissioned into the Channel Fleet under Captain James Gambier , she fought at the Glorious First of June in 1794, distinguishing herself in action against Mucius and Tourville , and becoming one of only two British ships to be completely dismasted in
2494-472: The loss is conflicted. Some say he followed HMS St George onto the reef. As published by Brenton 3 Brenton (1837) Naval History of Great Britain the St George , bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Robert Carthew Reynolds, ran ashore. Ostensibly, when told of this, Atkins asked whether the admiral had made the signal giving him leave to part company. Hearing a denial, Atkins said: "I will never desert my Admiral in
2552-529: The meager Japanese forces in Nagasaki were seriously out-gunned and unable to intervene. At the time, it was the Saga clan's turn to uphold the policy of Sakoku and to protect Nagasaki, but they had economized by stationing only 100 troops there, instead of the 1,000 officially required for the station. The Nagasaki Magistrate , Matsudaira Yasuhide (Nagasaki bugyō) [ ja ] , immediately ordered troops from
2610-469: The neighbouring areas of Kyūshū island. The Japanese mobilized a force of 8,000 samurai and 40 ships to confront the Phaeton , but they could not arrive for a few days. In the meantime, the Nagasaki Magistrate decided to respond to the ship's demands, and provided supplies. Phaeton left two days later on 7 October, before the arrival of Japanese reinforcements, and after Pellew had learned that
2668-657: The other boats. The barge and two cutters immediately made straight for the polacca and succeeded in securing her by 5 am. The captured ship was San Josef , alias Aglies , of two 24-pounder iron guns, two brass 18-pounder guns as stern chasers, four brass 12-pounder guns and six 6-pounder guns. She was a packet , carrying provisions between Málaga and Velilla . She had a crew of 49 seamen, though 15 were away, and there were also 22 soldiers on board to act as marines. The boarding party suffered one man killed and three wounded, including Beaufort who received, but survived, 19 wounds. The Spanish sustained at least 13 wounded. Once Morris
2726-613: The sand dunes of Thorsminde , which have been known ever since as "Dead Mens Dunes". The Danish authorities quickly ordered Lieutenant Wigelsen to the area as Receiver of Wreck Captain David Atkins is first noted as a midshipman under Captain Erasmus Gower in HMS ; Edgar in 1780–81. For two years commencing in 1792, he was 3rd lieutenant with Gower in HMS Lion under Gower. John Barrow later claimed Atkins while on Lion
2784-529: The six vessels of a squadron that captured the 28-gun French corvette Blonde off Ushant . In February 1794 Phaeton was paid off, but the next month Captain William Bentinck recommissioned her. During the battle of the Glorious First of June , Phaeton came to the aid of the dismasted Defence . While doing so, Phaeton exchanged broadsides with the French ship-of-the-line Impétueux . Phaeton suffered three men killed and five wounded. She
2842-517: The standard frigate type during the latter periods of the age of sail. HMS Defence (1763) HMS Defence was a 74-gun Bellona -class third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy , built by Israel Pownoll and 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 . In 1811 she
2900-414: The visiting ship. But, as they approached, Phaeton lowered a tender and captured the Dutch representatives, while their Japanese escorts jumped into the sea and fled. Pellew held the Dutch representatives hostage and demanded supplies (water, food, fuel) to be delivered to Phaeton in exchange for their return. The cannons in the Japanese harbour defenses were old and most could not even fire. Consequently,
2958-402: Was jury-rigged and so Atkins refused to leave her without the admiral's permission. As a result, both were wrecked near Ringkøbing . Cressy did not ask for permission and so avoided wrecking. Defence lost all but 14 of her crew of 597 men and boys, including her captain. St George too lost almost her entire crew, including the admiral. Most of the bodies that came ashore were buried in
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#17328512500113016-513: Was a navigator, "showing skill in lunar observations way beyond his years". He followed Gower onto HMS Triumph and was first lieutenant on Triumph from 1794. He was promoted captain in 1798; in 1801, he was promoted to captain; and thence to flag captain to Gower on Princess Royal . In 1805 HMS Seine was captained by him. In 1809, he commanded Defence in the Walcheren Expedition . Accounting for blame for
3074-564: Was armed with 10 guns and carried a crew of 66 men. She had sailed from La Rochelle two days previously and was sailing for the African coast. Ambuscade shared in the prize money for both Resolu and Resource . On 11 April, 1799 she recaptured American brig "Nymph" captured by a privateer on 13 March. She was sent in to Plymouth. In July 1799 Captain Sir James Nicoll Morris took command of Phaeton and sailed with Lord Elgin , of
3132-469: Was moored stem and stern close to the fort. Her sails had previously been taken ashore so the boats had to tow her out but soon after a strong south-west wind set in and it was necessary to set her on fire. Only four men from the two British ships were wounded. Phaeton then returned to Britain and was paid off in March 1802. In July 1803 Captain George Cockburn recommissioned Phaeton for service in
3190-488: Was one of the British ships in support of the 1809 Walcheren Campaign which was intended to capture Vlissingen (Flushing) and Antwerp in the Netherlands. She ran aground on 24 December 1811 off the west coast of Jutland , Denmark. She was under the command of Captain D. Atkins and in the company of St George , under Rear-Admiral Robert Carthew Reynolds , and Cressy , when a hurricane and heavy seas came up. St George
3248-428: Was sure that his men had secured the prize he sailed Phaeton in pursuit of a second polacca that had passed earlier, sailing from Ceuta to Málaga. Phaeton was able to catch her under a battery at Cape Molleno. While Phaeton was returning to pick up Beaufort, his men and their prize, the French privateer schooner sailed past, too far away for Phaeton to intercept. The British immediately commissioned San Josef as
3306-466: Was the only one of the support vessels there to suffer casualties. In 1847 the Admiralty awarded the survivors to that date of all the vessels at the battle, including Phaeton , the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "1 June 1794". In September, Phaeton came under the command of Captain Stopford . In May 1795 Phaeton escorted Princess Caroline of Brunswick to England. Then began what would become
3364-531: Was wrecked off the coast of Jutland with the loss of almost her entire crew. During the American War of Independence , Defence served with the Channel Fleet , seeing action at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in 1780. She was sent out to India in early 1782 as part of a squadron of five ships under Commodore Sir Richard Bickerton , arriving too late for the battles of that year. But in 1783 she took part in
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