The Battle of the Basque Roads

[Bligh]

Master's Mate Edward Tapley.





On 1 January 1809 Nimrod was under the command of Master's Mate Edward Tapley and shared in the proceeds of the recapture of the ship Crawford by Amazon.



In April 1809 Tapley served at the Battle of the Basque Roads.

William Congreve, who had arrived with a transport, fitted Whiting, Nimrod and the other hired armed cutter, King George, with rockets. On 11 April the three vessels took up a position near the Boyard Shoal (see Fort Boyard) while fireships made a night attack on the French ships. The next day all three, together with a number of other vessels, opened fire upon Océan, Régulus, and the frigate Indienne, as those ships lay aground. The first two eventually escaped, and the last was one of four eventually destroyed, though by her own crew some days later to avoid capture.

In 1847 the surviving members of the crews of all the British vessels at the battle qualified for the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Basque Roads 1809".



On 9 November 1809 Nimrod and the hired armed cutter Adrian were among the vessels that shared in Snapper's capture of the French brig Modeste. Around the end of December, Nimrod, under the command of Tapley, recaptured the ship Elshon.