HMS Amaranthe (1804)
Encyclopedia
HMS Amaranthe was an 18-gun 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...
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...
built by John Dudman at Deptford Wharf and launched in 1804. She served in the Caribbean, taking part in two actions that gained those members of her crew that survived until 1847 the Naval General Service Medal. She was sold in 1815.
Service
Amaranthe entered service in January 1805 under Commander Edward Pelham BrentonEdward Pelham Brenton
Captain Edward Pelham Brenton was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars who military career was relatively quiet, apart from involvement in the capture of Martinique in 1809...
. She then deployed to 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...
. On 2 January 1806 she captured the Juno. Amaranthe captured the Hoffnung at the commencement of hostilities with Prussia. On 3 September 1807, Amaranthe captured the Louisa Wilhelmina.
Amaranthe sailed for 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...
on 20 April 1808. After joining a squadron gathered off Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
for the invasion of Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, Amaranthe participated in blockading the French West Indian islands. On 11 November, Amaranthe was in company with Circe
HMS Circe (1804)
HMS Circe was a Royal Navy 32-gun fifth-rate Thames-class frigate, built by Master Shipwright Joseph Tucker at Plymouth Dockyard, and launched in 1804. She served in the Caribbean during the Napoleonic Wars, and participated in an action and a campaign for which in 1847 in the Admiralty authorized...
when Circe captured the Ruthy. That same day, Amaranthe, together with Circe and Eperviere
HMS Epervier (1803)
HMS Epervier was a French 16-gun Alcyon-class brig. HMS Egyptienne captured her in the Atlantic Ocean on 27 July 1803; she was taken into Royal Navy service under her existing name. Before being broken up in 1811 she captured several prizes and was present at the Battle of San Domingo...
captured the American vessel Intrepid. Nine days later the same three British vessels, together with Unique, participated in the capture of the Mary and Allen. Prize money was paid in 1838. On 20 November Amaranthe, Circe, Cherub
HMS Cherub (1806)
HMS Cherub was an 18-gun Royal Navy Cormorant-class sloop built in Dover in 1806.-West Indies and Pacific service:Cherub was stationed in the West Indies and took part in the capture of Guadeloupe in 1810 and remained on the Leeward Islands station until 1812. That year she returned to England with...
, Eperviere and Ulysses participated in the capture of the Bonetta. Prize money was paid in 1839.
On 13 December 1808 Amaranthe joined Circe
HMS Circe (1804)
HMS Circe was a Royal Navy 32-gun fifth-rate Thames-class frigate, built by Master Shipwright Joseph Tucker at Plymouth Dockyard, and launched in 1804. She served in the Caribbean during the Napoleonic Wars, and participated in an action and a campaign for which in 1847 in the Admiralty authorized...
and Stork in destroying the French 16-gun schooner Cygne and two other schooners near Pearl Rock, Saint-Pierre, Martinique
Saint-Pierre, Martinique
Saint-Pierre is a town and commune of France's Caribbean overseas department of Martinique, founded in 1635 by Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc. Before the total destruction of Saint-Pierre in 1902 by a volcanic eruption, it was the most important city of Martinique culturally and economically, being known...
. The French vessels had already inflicted heavy casualties on the British vessels before Amaranthe arrived. Fire from Amaranthe compelled the crew of Cygne to abandon her, and Amaranthes boats boarded and destroyed the French vessel. For her part Amaranthe lost one man killed and five wounded due to fire from batteries on the shore.
Brenton then volunteered to destroy the schooner grounded near Cygne. Men from Amaranthe and boarded the schooner and set fire to her too. This expedition cost Amaranthe her sailing master, Joshua Jones, who was severely wounded. The other British vessels that contributed boats also had casualties. Including the losses in the earlier fighting before Amaranthe arrived, the British had lost some 12 men killed, 31 wounded, and 26 missing (drowned or prisoners) for little gain. Cygne was armed with 18 guns and carried a crew of 140 men. She had been carrying flour, guns and cartridge paper for the relief of Martinique. The French schooners were armed and were carrying flour.
Brenton was promoted 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:...
soon after the battle, with the promotion being back dated to 13 December, the date of the battle. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the Naval General Service Medal with the clasp "Off the Pearl Rock 13 Decr. 1808".
Command passed to Commander George Pringle in December 1808, but he was in command of . As a result, he did not actually assume command until after January 1809.
Amaranthe took part in the successful invasion of Martinique
Invasion of Martinique (1809)
The invasion of Martinique of 1809 was a successful British amphibious operation against the French West Indian island of Martinique that took place between 30 January and 24 February 1809 during the Napoleonic Wars...
in February 1809. During this campaign Pelham served on shore with a detachment of sailors and held the temporary Army rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Martinique" for the campaign.
On 18 June 1809 Amaranthe, under the command of Commander Pringle, was among the vessels in sight when captured the French frigate Felicité, and so shared in the prize money
Prize money
Prize money has a distinct meaning in warfare, especially naval warfare, where it was a monetary reward paid out to the crew of a ship for capturing an enemy vessel...
.
Commander Richard Yates assumed command in July 1814.