HMS Adamant (1780)
Encyclopedia
HMS Adamant was a 50-gun Portland-class fourth rate warship of the British 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...
. She served during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
, and 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...
in a career that spanned thirty years.
Built during the American War of Independence she spent the last three years of the war off the American coast, and saw action at the Battle of Cape Henry
Battle of Cape Henry
The Battle of Cape Henry was a naval battle in the American War of Independence which took place near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on 16 March 1781 between a British squadron led by Vice Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot and a French fleet under Admiral Charles René Dominique Sochet, Chevalier Destouches...
and at the Battle of the Chesapeake
Battle of the Chesapeake
The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American War of Independence that took place near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1781, between a British fleet led by Rear Admiral Sir Thomas...
. The years of peace were spent either in the Caribbean or off Nova Scotia, before the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars saw her commissioned for service in the Leeward Islands
Leeward Islands
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
and off the British coast. It was while serving in British waters that she became caught up in the mutiny at the Nore
Spithead and Nore mutinies
The Spithead and Nore mutinies were two major mutinies by sailors of the Royal Navy in 1797. There were also discontent and minor incidents on ships in other locations in the same year. They were not violent insurrections, being more in the nature of strikes, demanding better pay and conditions...
. As one of only two two-decker ships to remain in action during the mutiny she had to maintain the Dutch blockade by creating the illusion of being part of a larger fleet, which she managed successfully. Adamant then went on to fight at the Battle of Camperdown
Battle of Camperdown
The Battle of Camperdown was a major naval action fought on 11 October 1797 between a Royal Navy fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Dutch Navy fleet under Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter...
, after which she moved to the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, and then the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
via the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
. Here she took part in the destruction of the French commerce raider Preneuse
French frigate Preneuse (1795)
The Preneuse was a 44-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She served as a commerce raider at Île de France.In March 1798, under Lhermitte, she ferried ambassadors from Mysore sent by Tippu Sultan to île de France to request help against the British...
, and in her later years captured a number of privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
s. She became a receiving ship and flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of a port admiral during the last years of the Napoleonic Wars, until being broken up in June 1814.
Design and construction
Adamant was one of eleven ships built to a 1767 design by John Williams, and one of five ordered between 1775-6. She was ordered from Peter Baker, of LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, on 13 November 1776, and laid down on 6 September 1777. The ship was launched on 24 January 1780, and completed between 13 June and 12 August 1780 at Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
. Her initial cost was £16,313.13.10d, rising to £27,497.3.0d when the cost of fitting her out was included.
North America
Adamant was commissioned in November 1779 under the command of Captain Gideon Johnstone, and sailed for North America on 13 August 1780. She was with Vice-Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot's squadron at the Battle of Cape HenryBattle of Cape Henry
The Battle of Cape Henry was a naval battle in the American War of Independence which took place near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on 16 March 1781 between a British squadron led by Vice Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot and a French fleet under Admiral Charles René Dominique Sochet, Chevalier Destouches...
on 16 March 1781, and then at the Battle of the Chesapeake
Battle of the Chesapeake
The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes or simply the Battle of the Capes, was a crucial naval battle in the American War of Independence that took place near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay on 5 September 1781, between a British fleet led by Rear Admiral Sir Thomas...
on 5 September 1781. Johnstone was succeeded by Captain David Graves in February 1782, while Adamant was still in North America, after which she returned to Britain as a convoy escort in December 1782. The ship was then paid off in April 1783 and refitted for foreign service between May and September that year. Adamant recommissioned in June 1783 under Captain William Kelly, and on the completion of her refit, sailed to the Leeward Islands
Leeward Islands
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands in the West Indies. They are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. As a group they start east of Puerto Rico and reach southward to Dominica. They are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
in November, where she spent the next three years as the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
of Admiral Sir Richard Hughes. She was paid off again in September 1786 and underwent a great repair, followed by being fitted out as the flagship at Sheerness
Sheerness
Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
from August 1787 to May 1789. Adamant was recommissioned in February 1789 by Captain David Knox, after which Admiral Hughes again hoisted his flag in her and sailed her to Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
in June. From January 1792 the ship was under Captain Charles Hope, until returning to Britain in June that year and being paid off.
French Revolutionary Wars
Adamant was at first fitted for reserve duty in July 1792, but with the outbreak of war with Revolutionary France in April 1793 she was hurriedly recommissioned, at first under Captain William Bentinck and at some point in 1794 William MitchellWilliam Mitchell (Royal Navy officer)
Sir William Mitchell, KCB was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Mitchell is best known for rising from humble origins to high rank, having joined the Navy in 1766 as an able seaman and died in 1816 as a vice-admiral...
was her acting-captain. From June 1794 she was under Captain Henry D'Esterre Darby
Henry D'Esterre Darby
Admiral Sir Henry D'Esterre Darby, KCB, was an officer in the Royal Navy. He was the second son of Jonathan Darby IV Esq., of Leap Castle, in King's County, Ireland. He was the nephew of Vice Admiral George Darby...
. Darby took Adamant back to the Leeward Islands in September 1794, and by April 1796 Adamant was serving with George Vandeput
George Vandeput
Admiral George Vandeput was an English naval officer, the illegitimate son of Sir George Vandeput, 2nd Baronet and an unknown mother.-Naval career:...
's squadron. Captain Henry Warre took command in November 1796, and was succeeded by Captain William Hotham
William Hotham (1772–1848)
Sir William Hotham GCB was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
on 11 January 1797.
Mutiny at the Nore, and Camperdown
Nore
The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the Thames Estuary, England. It marks the point where the River Thames meets the North Sea, roughly halfway between Havengore Creek in Essex and Warden Point in Kent....
, operating in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
and blockading the Dutch fleet at the Texel
Texel
Texel is a municipality and an island in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the biggest and most populated of the Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea, and also the westernmost of this archipelago, which extends to Denmark...
with Admiral Adam Duncan's fleet. In May 1797 mutiny broke out
Spithead and Nore mutinies
The Spithead and Nore mutinies were two major mutinies by sailors of the Royal Navy in 1797. There were also discontent and minor incidents on ships in other locations in the same year. They were not violent insurrections, being more in the nature of strikes, demanding better pay and conditions...
among the ships at the Nore, following on from one at Spithead
Spithead
Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...
earlier in the year. Of the two-decker ships of the fleet, only the crews of Duncan's flagship , and Hotham's crew aboard Adamant remained loyal. With only two ships available to blockade the Dutch, Duncan and Hotham took their ships out to sea, remaining in sight of the Dutch coast and for several weeks implied by false signals and manoeuvres, that the rest of the fleet was just over the horizon. Convinced by the impersonation that the blockade was still in force, the Dutch remained in port. Duncan and Hotham were later reinforced by the Russian squadron based at Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
, and then by ships deserting the mutiny one by one.
Battle of Camperdown
The Battle of Camperdown was a major naval action fought on 11 October 1797 between a Royal Navy fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Dutch Navy fleet under Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter...
on 11 October 1797. The battle was a decisive victory for the British over the Dutch, led by Admiral Jan Willem de Winter
Jan Willem de Winter
Jan Willem de Winter was a Dutch admiral of the Napoleonic Wars.De Winter entered naval service as a young boy. He distinguished himself by his zeal and courage, and at the revolution of 1787 he had reached the rank of lieutenant. The overthrow of the patriot party forced him to fly for his safety...
, with Adamant escaping sustaining any casualties. Adamant was then attached to Sir Richard Strachan's
Sir Richard Strachan, 6th Baronet
Sir Richard John Strachan, 6th Baronet GCB was a British officer of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, eventually rising to the rank of Admiral.-Childhood:...
squadron patrolling off Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
, after which she and Hotham were sent with a convoy to the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
in October 1798. While operating in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
Adamant and the 74-gun , under Captain John Osborn, encountered the French commerce raider Preneuse
French frigate Preneuse (1795)
The Preneuse was a 44-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She served as a commerce raider at Île de France.In March 1798, under Lhermitte, she ferried ambassadors from Mysore sent by Tippu Sultan to île de France to request help against the British...
, under Captain Jean-Marthe-Adrien l'Hermite
Jean-Marthe-Adrien l'Hermite
Jean-Marthe-Adrien L'Hermitte was a French sea captain and rear admiral, notable for his involvement in the Glorious First of June and various other campaigns.- Early career :L'Hermitte was born to the family of a...
off Port Louis
Port Louis
-Economy:The economy is dominated by its port, which handles Mauritius' international trade. The port was founded by the French who preferred Port Louis as the City is shielded by the Port Louis/Moka mountain range. It is the largest container handling facility in the Indian Ocean and can...
, Île de France
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
on 11 December 1799. They chased her, forcing her to run ashore three miles from Port Louis, under the cover of French shore batteries. Hotham took Adamant in close, and tried to work up to the grounded frigate, coming under heavy fire from the batteries and the Preneuse as he did so. After a period of exchanging fire, the Adamant forced the French frigate to strike, and that evening three boats carrying men from Adamant and Tremendous approached with orders to destroy the French vessel. Despite coming under heavy fire from the batteries, they boarded the ship, captured the remaining French crew, including Captain l'Hermite, and removed as much of their captives' private property as they could. They then set fire to the Preneuse and returned to their ships without the loss of a single man. Hotham remained off South Africa and in the Indian Ocean until being recalled to Britain as an escort for a convoy in September 1801, returning on 14 December 1801.
Napoleonic Wars
Adamant spent between May 1803 and August 1804 under repair at Chatham DockyardChatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
, before recommissioning in June under Captain George Burlton. On 13 April 1805 Adamant and captured the 4-gun privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
Alert, and in October 1805 command passed to Captain John Stiles. Stiles escorted a convoy of East Indiamen
East Indiamen
An East Indiaman was a ship operating under charter or license to any of the East India Companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries...
in 1806, and on 6 May captured the Spanish 26-gun privateer Nuestra Señora de los Dolores off the Cape of Good Hope. On 17 June 1807 he added another prize to his total, capturing the 1-gun privateer Bueno Union while serving on the Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
station. Stiles was succeeded by Captain Micaiah Macbon in October 1807, and Adamant returned to the Jamaica station the following year. By early 1809 she was back in Britain, and spent the period between April and July 1809 being fitted at Chatham for service as a receiving ship at Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
. She was recommissioned in May 1809 under Captain John Sykes and in August took part in the Scheldt operations
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...
. Captain Matthew Buckle took command in August 1810, and remained Adamants captain for the next three years, which she spent as flagship of Rear-Admiral Robert Otway
Robert Otway
Admiral Sir Robert Waller Otway, 1st Baronet, GCB was a senior Royal Navy officer of the early nineteenth century who served extensively as a sea captain during the Napoleonic War and later supported the Brazilian cause during the Brazilian War of Independence...
, and as a receiving ship at Leith. As the Napoleonic Wars drew to a close the ship was laid up in ordinary at Sheerness in 1814, and then broken up there in June 1814.