First and Second Rate Ships of the 18th Century

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HMS Prince (1788)



HMS Prince was a 98-gun second rateship of the line of the Royal Navy. A revived London class ship first designed by Sir Thomas Slade, M/shipwrights, John Jenner to 1782 when he died, and then successively Henrey Peake, Martin Ware, and finally completed by John Nelson. She was launched on the 4th of July 1788 at Woolwich.

History
GREAT BRITAIN
Name:	HMS Prince
Ordered:	9 December 1779
Builder:	Woolwich Dockyard
Laid down:	1 January 1782
Launched:	4 July 1788
Fate:	Broken up, 1837
Notes:	Participated in: Battle of Trafalgar
General characteristics
Class and type:	London-classship of the line
Tons burthen:	1871
Length:	177 ft 6 in (54.10 m) (gundeck)
Beam:	49 ft (15 m)
Depth of hold:	21 ft (6.4 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Armament:	98 guns: Gundeck: 28 × 32 pdrs Middle gundeck: 30 × 18 pdrs Upper gundeck: 30 × 12 pdrs Quarterdeck: 8 × 12 pdrs Forecastle: 2 × 12 pdrs

Life.

She saw relatively little action during her career and seems to have been a relatively poor sailer—she sailed, according to one observing captain, 'like a haystack.'

Commissioned in 1790 by CaptainJosiah Rogers for the Spanish Armament, as Flagship of Sir John Jervis she saw no action, and was next recommissioned in 1793 under Capotain Cuthbert Collingwood, as the Flagship of Rear Admiral George Bowyer in Lord Howe's fleet.

In 1795 she was at the Battle off Isle de Groix under Captain Francis Parry. Captain Charles Powell Hamilton from October 1795 until she was paid off in June 1796.

Lengthened at Plymouth in late 1796 with a new 17 feet section inserted to improve her sailing qualities, she reccomissioned under Captain Thomas Larcome as Flagship of Rear Admiral Sir Roger Curtis for service in the North Sea.

She sailed for the Med in June 1798, and took part in the blockade of Cadiz. By 1800 she was in the Channel under the Earl of Northesk, and at the end of 1801 returned to Plymouth for small repairs.
In 1803 she took part in the blockade of Brest, and then joined Admiral Nelson's Fleet.


Trafalgar.

By 1805 she was in service with the Channel Fleet under Captain Richard Grindall. At the Battle of Trafalgar, in October that year she was in the Lee column. Passed by her whole division, she took over two hours to cover the two or three miles to reach the battle. By the time she arrived most of the enemy fleet were in British hands or had fled, leaving few targets for Prince's massive broadsides. She did fire on the Spanish flagship Principe de Asturias and Achille, but was not attacked and suffered no damage or casualties.

Whilst engaging Prince, Achille's fore top caught fire, and the next broadside against her brought her blazing main mast down, engulfing the ship in flames. At this point, knowing that Achille's fate was sealed and making the most of his unique position, Grindall ceased firing and wore round to clear her, before placing boats in the water to rescue French seamen from Achille and elsewhere. This proved hazardous: Achille's abandoned but loaded guns were set off by the intense heat now raging below decks, and she exploded at 5:45 pm, by which point only 100 men had been rescued from her. Nonetheless, Prince and nearby British ships were able to rescue hundreds of sailors from the water.


In the week of ferocious storms which followed the battle the sturdy Prince was invaluable, providing replacement stores to more battered ships, towing those that needed it, and saving many men from the heavily-damaged other ships. She and the other undamaged British ships saved many others that would otherwise have sunk and at one point saved 350 men from the sinking Santíssima Trinidad who would otherwise have drowned, taking them to Gibraltar. Upon arrival there, however, she was ready to sail again in a matter of hours.

Later life.

By 1813 she was fitted out as a guardship for service at Spithead. and in 1815 as a victualling vessel and Officer's accommodation at Portsmouth.

After the war she remained in Portsmouth until withdrawn from service, and was broken up in November 1837.

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HMS Queen (1769)


By Robert Strickland Thomas.

HMS Queen was a three-deck 90-gun the sole ship of her class, second-rateship of the line of the Navy, designed by William Batley. Built by M/shipwright Joseph Harris and completed by William Grey. She was thus the only ship built to her specification. She was launched on the 18th of September,1769 at Woolwich Dockyard. Her armament was increased to 98 guns in the 1780s.

History
GREAT BRITAIN
Name:	HMS Queen
Ordered:	10 November 1761
Builder:	Woolwich Dockyard
Launched:	18 September 1769
Honours and awards:	Participated in: First Battle of Ushant Second Battle of Ushant Battle of Cape Spartel Glorious First of June
Fate:	Broken up 1821
General characteristics
Class and type:	90-gun second rateship of the line
Tons burthen:	1876 (bm)
Length:	177 ft 6 in (54.1 m) (gundeck)
Beam:	49 ft 6 in (15.1 m)
Depth of hold:	21 ft 9 in (6.6 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Armament:	Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounder guns Middle gundeck: 30 × 18-pounder guns Upper gundeck: 30 × 12-pounder guns Forecastle: 2 × 9-pounder guns

HMS Queen at the King's Dock Woolwich in 1771, by Hendrik Kobell


Service.

In November of 1776 she commissioned under Captain John Robinson for Channel service.

HMS Queen fought at the First Battle of Ushant under Captain Alexander Innes in Admiral Augustus Keppel's Fleet in 1778, and the Second Battle of Ushant, Captain Frederic Maitland, under Kempenfelt in 1781. In 1794 she fought in the Glorious First of June under Howe,where she served as Rear-Admiral Alan Gardner's flagship. During the battle Queen sustained significant damage, and her commanding officer, Captain John Hutt, was amongst those killed.

From August she came under the command of Captain William Bedford and took part in the action off the Isle de Groix on the 23rd of June 1795.

Under Captain Mann Dobson as Flagship of Vice Admiral Sir Hyde Parker she sailed for the West Indies in the August of 1796. She spent the next four years on the Jamaica station. On her return to Portsmouth in 1800 she underwent huge repairs.


By the March of 1804, she was under the command of Captain Theophilus Jones, until May and then under Captain Manley Dixon for the Channel Fleet. Next, in 1805 under Captain Francis Pender as Flagship of Rear Admiral John Knight.

After the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, HMS Queen continued in the blockade of Cadiz. On the 25th of November, Thunderer apprehended the Ragusan ship Nemesis, sailing from the Isle de France to Leghorn, Italy, with a cargo of spice, indigo dye, and various other goods. Queen shared the prize money with ten other British warships.

On the 25th day of October 1806, the Spanish privateer Generalísimo captured HM gunboat Hannah, which was serving as a tender to HMS Queen.

After Trafalgar, the demand for the larger three-decker first and second rate ships was in decline and consequently, in 1811 the Admiralty had HMS Queen cut down to a two-decker third rate 74. at Chatham.

In late 1811 she served in the Channel under Captain Lord John Colville and then in the North sea in 1813
.
Under Captain John Goode from the September of 1814 for Mediterranean service, she was eventually paid off in the August of 1816.



Fate.
Queen was eventually broken up at Chatham in 1821.

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HMS St George (1785)




St George and other vessels by Dominic Serres

- http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/13700.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28375804

HMS St George was a 98-gun Duke Class second rateship of the line,built at Portsmouth, M/shipwright Edward Hunt,then Nicholas Phillips, and completed by George White. She was launched on the 14th of October,1785.

History
Great Britain
Name:	HMS St George
Ordered:	16 July 1774
Builder:	Portsmouth
Laid down:	August 1774
Launched:	14 October 1785
Honours and awards:	· Participated in: · Naval Battle of Hyères Islands · Battle of Copenhagen
Fate:	Wrecked, 1811
General characteristics
Class and type:	Duke-classship of the line
Tons burthen:	1931 (bm)
Length:	177 ft 6 in (54.1 m) (gundeck)
Beam:	50 ft (15.2 m)
Depth of hold:	21 ft 2 in (6.5 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Complement:	850 officers and men
Armament:	· Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounder guns · Middle gundeck: 30 × 18-pounder guns · Upper gundeck: 30 × 12-pounder guns · QD: 8 × 12-pounder guns · Fc: 2 × 12-pounder guns

.


Service.



Commissioned in 1790 under Captain Sir George Collins for the Spanish Armament, she was paid off in the December of that year. Recommissioned in the March of 1791 under Captain John Samuel Smith as the Flagship of Rear Admiral Sir Richard King for the Russian Armament, she again paid off in the September of the same year.

Remaining Kings Flagship she was appointed Guardship at Plymouth under Captain Thomas Hicks. Then in 1792, under Captain Sir Thomas Byard,Then in February 1793, Captain Thomas Foley was appointed when Captain John Gell was appointed to be a Rear-Admiral of the Blue and raised his flag on the St George.

While 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 (equivalent to £94,890,000 in 2018). At this time all the crew, captains, officers and admirals could expect to share in this prize. Admiral Hood's share was £50,000 (equivalent to £5,070,000 in 2018). The ships that conveyed St Jago to Portsmouth were St George, Egmont, Edgar, Ganges, and Phaeton



In October 1793 Gell was able to obtain the surrender of the French frigate Modeste, which had abused the neutrality of the port of Genoa. 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 in 1795, and took part in the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801, flying Nelson's flag. However, Nelson transferred to Elephant before the battle, as Elephant was better suited for the shallow waters; St George remained in the background during the fighting. Her captain was Thomas Masterman Hardy, future captain of HMS Victory under Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar. Captain Sir William Bolton earned his promotion to Commander after his service on the St George in this battle, on 2 April 1801. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issuance of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Copenhagen 1801" to all remaining survivors of the battle.


Last voyage and loss.








After the bombardment of Copenhagen in September 1807 and the capture of the Royal Danish Fleet, followed the Gunboat War between Denmark/Norway and the United Kingdom. As a consequence of the war, convoys of merchant ships were escorted through Danish waters by British navy ships in order to protect the merchant ships from attacks by Danish and Norwegian privateers. St. George took part in the convoys and was therefore in the Baltic Sea in autumn 1811, where her last voyage started.



After several storms and running aground then re-floated, she was wrecked off Ringkobing Jutland with the loss of almost all her crew including Captain Guion and Rear Admiral Reynolds..





Model of St George with broken foremast.

aufgearbeitet, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32274465

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HMS Union (1756)




HMS Union at the Battle of Quiberon Bay by Nicholas Pocock painted in 1812.

HMS Union was a 90-gun second rateship of the line of the Royal Navy, built by M/shipwright John Ward, Thomas Slade, Adam Hayes and completed John Locke by at Chatham Dockyard to the draught specified by the 1745 Establishment as amended in 1750, and launched on 25 September 1756.

History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Union
Ordered:	12 July 1750
Builder:	Chatham Dockyard
Launched:	25 September 1756
Fate:	Broken up, 1816
General characteristics
Class and type:	1750 amendments 90-gun second rateship of the line
Tons burthen:	1781
Length:	171 ft (52.1 m) (gundeck)
Beam:	48 ft 6 in (14.8 m)
Depth of hold:	20 ft 6 in (6.2 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Armament:	90 guns: Gundeck: 26 × 32 pdrs Middle gundeck: 26 × 18 pdrs Upper gundeck: 26 × 12 pdrs Quarterdeck: 10 × 6 pdrs Forecastle: 2 × 6 pdrs

Commissioned in November 1756, she served throughout the Seven Years' War.When the ship joined the Channel Fleet, she became flagship to Vice-Admiral Thomas Smith.

One of the midshipmen on the Union was John Hunter, later to become an admiral and the second Governor of New South Wales.

Paid off in 1762, she was never recommissioned for sea duty. After repairs in 1776 she went into ordinary in 1777. In 1778 she was Commissioned under Captain John Dalrymple as a Hospital Hulk at Chatham in 1790, and in June of that year the administration of her in that role was taken over by Lieutenant William Quarm at Sheerness. From the November of 1799 she was under Lieutenant William Richards, and then in May of 1800 Lieutenant John Dixon, then in the September of1801 under Lieutenant John Rickman.

On the 6th 0f February 1802 she became a receiving ship renamed Sussex. In May 1807 Rickman was superseded by Lieutenant William Cockraft until she was paid off in Ordinary in the March of 1816. In October of that year she was broken up at Chatham.


Footnote.

The results (published in 1796) of an experiment made at the desire of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, on board the Union hospital ship, to determine the effect of the nitrous acid in destroying contagion, and the safety with which it may be employed were given in a letter addressed to the Right Hon. Earl Spencer, by James Carmichael Smyth, M. D. F.R.S., Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and Physician Extraordinary to His Majesty, published with the approbation of the lords commissioners of the Admiralty.

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HMS Windsor Castle (1790)



HMS Windsor Castle was another revived London class 98-gun second rateship of the line. Begun by M/shipwright Adam Hayes,then Henry Peake and completed by Martin Ware. She was launched on the 3rd of May, 1790 at Deptford Dockyard.

History
GREAT BRITAIN
Name:	HMS Windsor Castle
Ordered:	10 December 1782
Builder:	Deptford Dockyard
Laid down:	19 August 1784
Launched:	3 May 1790
Honours and awards:	Participated in: Naval Battle of Genoa (1795) Battle of Cape Finisterre (1805)
Fate:	Broken up, 1839
General characteristics
Class and type:	London-classship of the line
Tons burthen:	1871 (bm)
Length:	177 ft 6 in (54.10 m) (gundeck)
Beam:	49 ft (15 m)
Depth of hold:	21 ft (6.4 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Armament:	98 guns: Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounder guns Middle gundeck: 30 × 18-pounder guns Upper gundeck: 30 × 12-pounder guns Quarterdeck: 8 × 12-pounder guns Forecastle: 2 × 12-pounder guns

Commissioned in the July of 1790 under Captain Sir James Barclay for the Spanish Armament, as the Flagship of Rear Admiral Herbert Sawyer. Then paid off. She was recommissioned in The December of 1792 under Captain Sir Thomas Baird as the Flagship of Vice Admiral Phillips Cosbey, and on the 22nd of April 1793 she sailed for the Med.

In 1794 she became the Flagship of Rear Admiral Robert Linzee under several successive captains,culminating with John Gore after the Mutiny of November 1794.

She took part in actions off Genoa on the 13th of March 1795 and off Hyeres on the 31th of July in that year. From December she was dispatched as Flagship of Rear Admiral Robert Mann in pursuit of French Admiral De Richery.

After repairs in Plymouth she was recommissioned in the August of 1799 under Captain John Manley. In 1800 she became the Flagship of Vice Admiral Sir Andrew Mitchell in the Channel with Captain Peter Bover in temporary command. Recommissioned again in 1803 as Flagship of Admiral James Montague under Captain Albemarle Bertie, she had a series of captains again until May 1804. She then came under the Captaincy of Charles Boyle until 1808.

Dardanelles.

Windsor Castle was part of Robert Calder's fleet at the Battle of Cape Finisterre on the 22nd of July,1805. She shared in the prize and head money for the San Rafael and Firme captured on that day.
During September 1806, a French squadron of five frigates and two corvettes under Commodore Eleonore-Jean-Nicolas Soleil was escorting a convoy ferrying supplies and troops to the French West Indies. A British squadron intercepted the convoy, which led to the Action of the 25th of September, where the British captured four of the frigates: Armeide, Minerva, Indefatigable, and Gloire. The frigate Thétis and the corvette Sylphe escaped, with the Lynx managing to outrun Windsor Castle.


Duckworth's squadron forcing the Dardanelles
By Thomas Whitcombe.
- Collections of the National Maritime Museum, Public Domain.

While in the Mediterranean she served during Vice Admiral Sir John Duckworth's unsuccessful 1807 Dardanelles Operation. On 19 February, Windsor Castle suffered seven men wounded while forcing the Dardanelles. Near a redoubt on Point Pesquies the British encountered a Turkish squadron of one ship of 64 guns, four frigates and eight other vessels, most of which they ran aground. Marines from Pompee spiked the 31 guns on the redoubt. On 27 February Windsor Castle had one man killed assisting a Royal Marine landing party on the island of Prota.

On the way out, the Turkish castle at Abydos fired on the British squadron. Granite cannonballs weighing 7-800 pounds and measuring 6'6" in circumference hit Windsor Castle, Standard and Active. Windsor Castle was badly damaged when an 800-pound stone shot from a Turkish cannon sheared off her main mast. Windsor Castle had four men killed and 20 wounded in the withdrawal. In all, the British lost 29 killed and 138 wounded. No ship was lost.

Windsor Castle accompanied Duckworth on the Alexandria expedition of 1807, and in May left Alexandria and sailed to Malta.
Paid off in 1808, she was cut down into a 74 at Plymouth in 1814. Following that she was used as a guard ship until 1825, when she briefly served in the Med under Captain Dunscombe Bouverie. She was paid off and fitted as a Divisional ship in August 1833, and became a Depot ship at Deal in 1834.

Fate.

She was eventually broken up in 1839.

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HMS Prince of Wales (1794)


By Джошуа Кристалл

HMS Prince of Wales was a Boyne (old) Class 98-gun second rate ship of the line,M/ shipwright George White, and completed by Edward Tippett launched on 28 June 1794 at Portsmouth.

History
GREAT BRITAIN
Name:	HMS Prince of Wales
Ordered:	29 November 1783
Builder:	Portsmouth Dockyard
Laid down:	May, 1784
Launched:	28 June 1794
Fate:	Broken up, 1822
Notes:	Participated in: Battle of Groix Battle of Cape Finisterre
General characteristics
Class and type:	Boyne-class ship of the line
Tons burthen:	2024 ​1⁄94 (bm)
Length:	182 ft 3 in (55.55 m) (gundeck) 149 ft 11.375 in (45.70413 m) (keel)
Beam:	50 ft 3 in (15.32 m)
Depth of hold:	21 ft 9 in (6.63 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Armament:	98 guns: Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounder guns Middle gundeck: 30 × 18-pounder guns Upper gundeck: 30 × 12-pounder guns QD: 8 × 12-pounder guns Fc: 2 × 12-pounder guns

She was commissioned in 1794 under Captain John Bazley as Flagship of Rear Admiral Henry Harvey,who commanded a squadron in the North Sea and later participated in the Battle of Groix in 1795. and 1798 at the capture of Trinidad under Captain Richard Brown.
In 1799 under Captain Adrian Renou now as the Flagship of Vice Admiral Lord Hugh Seymour she took part in the capture of Surinam
Prince of Wales served under Captain William Prowse as the flagship of Rear Admiral Sir Robert Calder in the chase of Gantheaume to the West Indies in the Spring of 1801. and at the Battle of Cape Finisterre, under Captain William Cuming in 1805.


A French prisoner's of war model of HMS. Prince of Wales.


She was not present at Trafalgar. In consequence of the strong feeling against him for his conduct at Cape Finisterre, Calder had demanded a court-martial. Nelson was ordered to send Calder home, and allowed him to return in his own flagship, even though battle was imminent. Calder left in early October 1805, missing the battle.

In Hood's squadron, on the 15th of July 1806, her boats, along with others, cut out the French 16 gun Le Cesar in the estuary of the Gironde.

She sailed for the Baltic on the 26th of July, 1807, as the Flagship of Admiral James Gambier for the expedition to Copenhagen.
In 1812 she had a short cruise in the Med under Captain John Erskine Douglas, and was then laid up at Portsmouth in the July of 1814.

Prince of Wales was finally broken up there in December 1822.

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HMS Neptune (1797)





HMS Neptune was a 98-gun second rateship of the line built at Deptford Dockyard commencing on the 15th of February, 1790, to a design developed by Surveyor of the NavySir John Henslow. She was one of three ships of the Neptune class, alongside her sisters HMS Temeraire and HMS Dreadnought. Neptune was laid down at Deptford in April 1791, having received her name on the 24th of July, 1790. The initial stages of her construction were overseen by Master Shipwright Martin Ware, though he was succeeded by Thomas Pollard in June 1795, and Pollard oversaw her completion. Neptune was launched on 28 January 1797 and sailed to Woolwich to be fitted for sea. Arriving at Woolwich on 12 February, she was immediately docked to have her copper sheathing fitted, a process that was completed by 1 March. Launched again, she finished fitting out, and received her masts and yards.

History
GREAT BRITAIN
Name:	HMS Neptune
Ordered:	15 February 1790
Builder:	Deptford Dockyard
Laid down:	April 1791
Launched:	28 January 1797
Fate:	Broken up in October 1818
General characteristics
Class and type:	Neptune-classship of the line
Tons burthen:	2110 ​53⁄94 (bm)
Length:	185 ft (56 m) (gundeck)
Beam:	51 ft (16 m)
Depth of hold:	21 ft (6.4 m)
Propulsion:	Sails
Sail plan:	Full rigged ship
Complement:	750
Armament:	Gundeck: 28 × 32-pounder guns Middle gundeck: 30 × 18-pounder guns Upper gundeck: 30 × 18-pounder guns QD: 8 × 12-pounder guns Fc: 2 × 12-pounder guns

She was commissioned on the 25th of March, 1797 under Captain Henry Stanhope, becoming the third ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name Neptune.
Stanhope sailed from Woolwich on 11 June 1797, flying the broad pendant of CommodoreSir Erasmus Gower, and made for the Nore

Mutiny at the Nore.

Shortly after her arrival at the Nore, Neptune became caught up in the mutiny that had broken out there. While lying at Gravesend, Neptune and the 64-gun ships HMS Agincourt and HMS Lancaster, together with a fleet of gunboats, were ordered to intercept and attack the mutinous ships at the Nore. Before they could proceed word came that the mutineers had entered negotiations with the Earl of Northesk, captain of the 64-gun HMS Monmouth, and by 9 June the mutiny was on the verge of collapse. The attack was called off, and on 21 September Stanhope was superseded by Gower as captain of Neptune. The crisis over, Neptune joined the Channel Fleet.

Mediterranean.

Gower remained in command of Neptune until his promotion to rear-admiral of the white, at which point Herbert Sawyer became her acting-captain. Sawyer was in command until 22 January 1799, and Gower left her on 28 February 1799. Command of the ship formally passed to Captain James Vashon on 5 March 1799.
The first half of 1799 was spent with the Channel Fleet, and in June Neptune was one of 15 ships of the line assigned to join Vice-Admiral Lord Keith's fleet in the Mediterranean.

The squadron, commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Cotton, rendezvoused with Keith's force at Menorca on 7 July, bringing the British fleet in the Mediterranean up to 31 ships. Keith intended to intercept a large Franco-Spanish force of 42 ships under Admirals Étienne Eustache Bruix and Jose Mazarredo, and set out to sea on 10 July. Bruix' expedition evaded Keith, and reached the safety of Brest on 9 August. Neptune went on to spend the rest of the French Revolutionary Wars in the Mediterranean.

Vashon was superseded on 26 March 1801, and the following day Captain Edward Brace arrived to take command. Neptune became the flagship of Vice-Admiral James Gambier during this period. Brace's period of command was brief, he was superseded by Captain Francis Austen on 12 September. With the draw down in hostilities prior to the signing of the Treaty of Amiens in March 1802, Neptune was one of the many ships of the Mediterranean fleet to be ordered home, arriving at Portsmouth on 24 February. Austen paid her off on 29 April, but recommissioned her the next day. Neptune then underwent a brief refit, Austen was superseded on 30 September 1802 and the following day Captain William O'Bryen Drury took command. With Neptune fully refitted and stored, she sailed from the dockyard and joined the Channel Fleet at Spithead on 29 October.

Blockade, and approach to Trafalgar.

Drury commanded Neptune for the next two years, until his promotion to rear-admiral in 1804. He departed the ship on 13 May 1804, and the following day Captain Sir Thomas Williams took over. Neptune spent the rest of 1804 deployed with the Channel Fleet, blockading the French Atlantic ports. During this time Captain Williams' health progressively worsened, and he was invalided back to Britain on 7 May 1805. He was replaced by Captain Thomas Fremantle on 8 May, and was sent to join Robert Calder's force blockading Ferrol, after the Franco-Spanish fleet had arrived there after the Battle of Cape Finisterre. Calder decided that his eight ships were not sufficient to resist Villeneuve's fleet were it to come out of harbour, and instead went north to join Admiral William Cornwallis's fleet off Brest. Shortly afterwards Nelson's fleet returned from the West Indies, bringing 12 more ships, and Calder was given 18 ships, including Neptune, and sent back to Ferrol to search for Villeneuve. By now Villeneuve had put into Cadiz and Calder's force was ordered to join the hastily assembled British fleet under Vice-Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood, that was blockading the Franco-Spanish fleet at Cadiz. As the British fleet settled in for a long blockade Fremantle commented on Neptune's sailing qualities. She had the reputation of being slow, and Fremantle complained that he did not like being in 'a large ship that don't sail and must continually be late in action. During the battle however, Midshipman William Baddock commented that 'The old Neptune, which never was a good sailer, took it into her head that morning to sail better than I ever remember to have seen her do before. Neptune went into the battle 18 men short of her complement.

Trafalgar.

Neptune formed part of the weather column in the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October, and was the third ship from the lead, situated between her sister HMS Temeraire, and the 74-gun HMS Leviathan. Fremantle had been promised a position second to Nelson aboard HMS Victory, and by 10 o'clock was sailing fast enough to threaten to overtake her. Fremantle hoped to pass her, and lead the line into battle, but Nelson ordered 'Neptune, take in your studding-sails and drop astern. I shall break the line myself. Neptune went into action with her band playing, and everyone except the officers and the band lying down on the deck to protect them from enemy fire. Ahead of her Fremantle saw Eliab Harvey's Temeraire turn to pass astern of the French Redoutable, but resolved to follow Nelson and HMS Victory to pass astern of the French flagship Bucentaure. As she passed under Bucentaure's stern, Neptune discharged a double-shotted broadside from her larboard (port) guns, with devastating consequences on Villeneuve's already disabled flagship. Fremantle then had the helm swung hard to starboard, bringing his ship abeam of the Bucentaure. He fired two more triple-shotted broadsides from nearly 50 guns at a range of less than 100 yards into the beleaguered French ship.



The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805: beginning of the action by Thomas Buttersworth (oil on canvas).

The ship in the right foreground is the Bucentaure in starboard-bow view, with her mizzen mast and main topgallant mast shot away. In port-bow view and passing astern of her is Neptune, delivering raking fire. On the left of the picture, the port-stern of HMS Victory is visible, passing astern of Santísima Trinidad and raking her. On Victory's starboard side is the French Redoubtable.



Neptune engaged, Trafalgar, 1805, by John Francis Sartorius. HMS Neptune, seen in bow profile, exchanges broadsides with the Spanish Santísima Trinidad

Fremantle then spotted the towering mass of the Spanish four-decker Santísima Trinidad sailing away from him, and steered towards her starboard quarter in the hope of raking her stern. Opening fire with his larboard battery, he positioned Neptune off the Spanish vessel's starboard beam and the two exchanged heavy fire for the next hour as more British ships poured through the gap astern of Neptune. Neptune took fire from other ships of the combined fleet as they sailed past Santísima Trinidad, heavily battered by Neptune's guns, as well as those from the 74-gun ships HMS Leviathan and HMS Conqueror, became completely dismasted and covered in debris. She fought on until 5.30 pm, when she struck her colours, having sustained casualties of 205 dead and 103 wounded. Neptune left the 98-gun HMS Prince to take possession and headed north to cut off the remains of the enemy fleet, briefly becoming engaged with the French 74-gun Intrépide. During the battle Neptune suffered considerable damage to her masts, although they did not fall. Most of her rigging was cut to pieces and she sustained nine shot holes in her hull. She sustained casualties of ten killed and 34 wounded. A remarkably small proportion of her officers became casualties, with only the captain's clerk, Richard Hurrell, being wounded.


H.M.S 'Victory' towed into Gibraltar, watercolour study by Clarkson Stanfield. HMS Victory, seen in full starboard view, is towed into Gibraltar by HMS Neptune, seven days after the Battle of Trafalgar.


After the battle Collingwood transferred his flag from the damaged HMS Royal Sovereign to the frigate HMS Euryalus, and on 22 October Neptune took the Royal Sovereign in tow. On 23 October, as the Franco-Spanish forces that had escaped into Cadiz sortied under Commodore Julien Cosmao, Neptune cast off the tow, surrendering the duty to HMS Mars, and took on board Villeneuve and several captured flag captains, who had originally been aboard Mars. As the weather continued to deteriorate Neptune sent her boats to assist in the evacuation of the Santísima Trinidad before she foundered. After riding out the storm she took the battered Victory, carrying Lord Nelson's body, in tow on 26 October and brought her into Gibraltar on 28 October.

West Indies.

After undergoing some repairs at Gibraltar Neptune sailed to Britain, arriving at Portsmouth on 6 December 1805, where she was paid off.

She was moved to Spithead in 1806, but was back in Portsmouth on 23 November, and was moved into a dock on 24 March 1807 to undergo a refit. The refit lasted until November 1807 and involved having her copper sheathing removed and her hull refitted. She was then recoppered, She was recommissioned on 18 August 1807 under her old commander, Captain Sir Thomas Williams, and was relaunched three days later on 21 August to complete her refit. She was initially assigned to serve in the English Channel, but was moved to the West Indies in 1808. On 9 November Williams was superseded by Captain Thomas Pinto, who only spent six weeks in command before being succeeded by Captain Charles Dilkes on 20 December.

In January 1809 an attack on the French colony of Martinique, governed by Admiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse, was planned. Neptune became the flagship of the expedition's commander, Rear-Admiral Alexander Cochrane, and the invasion force, consisting of 44 vessels and transports for 10,000 troops under Lieutenant-General George Beckwith, sailed on 28 January. The force arrived at Martinique on 30 January, and 3,000 troops were landed under Major-General Frederick Maitland without resistance. 600 troops were put ashore at Cape Solomon under Major Henderson, both landings supervised by Captain William Charles Fahie aboard the 74-gun HMS Belleisle. An additional force of 6,500 men were landed in the north of the island under Major-General Sir George Prévost, and the French were driven into several fortified positions, the last of which surrendered on 24 February 1809.

Battle with Troude.



Engraving entitled Intrepid behaviour of Captain Charles Napier, in HM 18 gun Brig Recruit for which he was appointed to the D' Haupoult. The 74 now pouring a broadside into her. 15 April 1809, by G. W. Terry.

Cochrane's squadron remained in the area blockading the island, and in March a French squadron consisting of three 74-gun ships, Hautpoult, Courageux and Polonais, and two frigates, Félicité and Furieuse, under the overall command of Commodore Amable Troude, arrived in the Caribbean. Finding Martinique in British hands, Troude anchored near Îles des Saintes.

There they were blockaded until 14 April, when Cochrane removed this threat. A British force under Major-General Frederick Maitland and Captain Philip Beaver in Acasta, landed troops on the islands capturing them.^[13] The British then installed heavy guns on vantage points.

Threatened, Troude put to sea, chased by Cochrane's squadron. After a running battle over several days the Hautpoult was brought to action and captured. Neptune's captain, Charles Dilkes, was given command of her, while Captain James Athol Wood succeeded him in command of Neptune on 2 August.

Neptune was among the naval vessels that shared in the proceeds of the capture of the islands.

Final years.

Dilkes resumed command of Neptune on 2 March 1810, while Wood was exchanged into HMS Pompee. Dilkes had apparently been suffering poor health, and Captain N Ballard took command in an acting capacity on 22 July. Neptune returned to Plymouth on 26 October and entered the dock on 9 November to be fitted for the ordinary, and after undocking on 8 December she was laid up in the Hamoaze until late autumn 1813. Her hull appears to have quickly deteriorated, and after a survey she was deemed unfit for further service at sea. The Navy Board proposed that she be converted into a prison ship, a recommendation the Admiralty accepted, and she was taken in hand for fitting out on 22 November.

On the completion of the work in December she was commissioned under Lieutenant George Lawrence, Neptune spent three years in this role, and was finally broken up in October 1818.