HMS Avon was a 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

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...

 brig-sloop built by Symons at Falmouth

Falmouth, Cornwall

Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....

 and launched on 31 January 1805. In the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

 she fought a desperate action with the USS Wasp

USS Wasp (1814)

USS Wasp was a sloop-of-war that served in the U.S. Navy in 1814 during the War of 1812. She was the fifth US Navy ship to carry that name....

 that resulted in her sinking on 27 August 1814.
Avon entered service 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...

 under the command of Commander Francis J. Snell and sailed for the Mediterranean on 18 April 1805. On 7 May she captured the Frisken. By 9 May Avon was off Lisbon, where the schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

 Milbrook reported to Snell her capture of the Spanish privateer lugger Travella, of three guns and 40 men, off the Bayona Islands

Cíes Islands

The Cíes Islands are an archipelago off the coast of Pontevedra in Galicia , in the mouth of the Ría de Vigo. They belong to the parish of San Francisco de Afora, in the municipality of Vigo...

 (Baiona

Baiona, Pontevedra

Baiona is a municipality in Galicia, Spain, in the province of Pontevedra.Baiona is a tourist town with a medieval historical center situated by the outlet of the Vigo Bay. Its population of just over 11,000 rises to around 45,000 in the summer, if one includes tourists...

), and the recapture of the British brig Stork.