HMS Brazen (1798)
Encyclopedia
HMS Brazen was the French privateer Invincible General Bonaparte (or Invincible Bonaparte or Invincible Buonaparte), which the British captured in 1798. She is best known for her wrecking in January 1800 in which all but one of her crew drowned.
captured on 9 December 1798. She was sixteen days out of Bordeaux and had not made any captures.
The prize arrived at Spithead on 18 December and in time the Admiralty decided to purchase her. The Admiralty renamed her Brazen and established her as an 18-gun sloop of war
.
(1791-4), commissioned her on 19 October 1799. Two weeks later, Captain Andrew Sproule, Commander of the Brighton Sea Fencibles
wrote to Captain Henry Cromwell drawing attention to the presence of French privateers off the coast. A week later Admiral Milbanke
told the Admiralty in London that "the Brazen Sloop sailed this morning under orders to cruise till further notice for the protection of the Trade and annoyance of the enemy between Beachy Head and Dunmose."
She sailed from Morwellham
, a small inland Devon
port, and on 25 January 1800, she captured a French vessel off the Isle of Wight
that Hanson sent into Portsmouth with a 12-man prize crew. This left Brazen a little short-handed.
. Captain Sproule and 20 Sea Fencibles
rushed to the site but arrived too late to rescue any of the crew, all but one of whom died. During the following month Sproule and his Sea Fencibles rescued what they could from the Brazen.
As the bodies of the crew washed ashore the local citizens buried them in the churchyard of St Michael's in Newhaven. In all, they recovered some 95 bodies, out of a crew of about 105. Hanson's body, however, was never retrieved.
The wrecking so shocked the people of Newhaven that they formed a committee to investigate how a similar disaster could be avoided. In May 1803, using funds partly raised locally and partly from Lloyd's of London
they acquired a rescue lifeboat
of Henry Greathead
's "Original" design. This was some twenty years before the formation of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution
(RNLI).
The Newhaven Local & Maritime Museum has an extensive collection of information about the wrecking incident, including artefacts recovered from the wreck. It also has the painting featured on the Sussex Museum Group's website, together with three others that Ted Shipsey painted on the theme of the wreck and the rescue.http://www.newhavenmuseum.org.uk
Lastly, there is also a museum at Morwellham Quay that has some information on Brazen and the wrecking. However, since September 2009 the museum has been in administration.http://www.morwellham-quay.co.uk/index.php?pagetitle=Home
Capture
Invincible General Bonaparte was a French privateer of 20 guns and 170 men that the frigate BoadiceaHMS Boadicea (1797)
HMS Boadicea was a frigate of the Royal Navy. She served in the Channel and in the East Indies during which service she captured many prizes. She participated in one action for which the Admiralty would award the Naval General Service Medal...
captured on 9 December 1798. She was sixteen days out of Bordeaux and had not made any captures.
The prize arrived at Spithead on 18 December and in time the Admiralty decided to purchase her. The Admiralty renamed her Brazen and established her as an 18-gun sloop of war
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
.
Service
Brazen was fitted for service in the Channel and Captain James Hanson, who had sailed with Captain George VancouverGeorge Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver RN was an English officer of the British Royal Navy, best known for his 1791-95 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of contemporary Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon...
(1791-4), commissioned her on 19 October 1799. Two weeks later, Captain Andrew Sproule, Commander of the Brighton Sea Fencibles
Sea Fencibles
The original Sea Fencibles were a naval militia established to provide a close-in line of defense to protect the United Kingdom from invasion by France during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...
wrote to Captain Henry Cromwell drawing attention to the presence of French privateers off the coast. A week later Admiral Milbanke
Mark Milbanke
Admiral Mark Milbanke was a British naval officer and colonial governor.-Military career:Born the son of Sir Ralph Milbanke Bt, Mark Milbanke graduated from the Royal Naval Academy, Portsmouth in 1740. He was made Lieutenant in 1744 and in 1746 was given command of HMS Serpent.In 1789, Milbanke...
told the Admiralty in London that "the Brazen Sloop sailed this morning under orders to cruise till further notice for the protection of the Trade and annoyance of the enemy between Beachy Head and Dunmose."
She sailed from Morwellham
Morwellham Quay
Morwellham Quay is a historic river port in Devon, England that developed to support the local mines. The port had its peak in the Victorian era and is now run as a tourist attraction and museum...
, a small inland Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
port, and on 25 January 1800, she captured a French vessel off the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
that Hanson sent into Portsmouth with a 12-man prize crew. This left Brazen a little short-handed.
Wreck
Unfortunately, early in the morning on the next day, 26 January, Brazen was wrecked under high cliffs west of NewhavenNewhaven, East Sussex
Newhaven is a town in the Lewes District of East Sussex in England. It lies at the mouth of the River Ouse, on the English Channel coast, and is a ferry port for services to France.-Origins:...
. Captain Sproule and 20 Sea Fencibles
Sea Fencibles
The original Sea Fencibles were a naval militia established to provide a close-in line of defense to protect the United Kingdom from invasion by France during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...
rushed to the site but arrived too late to rescue any of the crew, all but one of whom died. During the following month Sproule and his Sea Fencibles rescued what they could from the Brazen.
As the bodies of the crew washed ashore the local citizens buried them in the churchyard of St Michael's in Newhaven. In all, they recovered some 95 bodies, out of a crew of about 105. Hanson's body, however, was never retrieved.
Postscript
Friends of Captain Hanson erected a monument in the form of an obelisk in the churchyard. The text commemorates Hanson, his officers (who are named), and the crew. In 1878 his widow, Louisa, restored the monument. She lived to the age of 103 and is believed to have been the longest recipient of a naval pension on record.The wrecking so shocked the people of Newhaven that they formed a committee to investigate how a similar disaster could be avoided. In May 1803, using funds partly raised locally and partly from Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's, also known as Lloyd's of London, is a British insurance and reinsurance market. It serves as a partially mutualised marketplace where multiple financial backers, underwriters, or members, whether individuals or corporations, come together to pool and spread risk...
they acquired a rescue lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
of Henry Greathead
Henry Greathead
Henry Francis Greathead was a pioneering rescue lifeboat builder from South Shields. Although Lionel Lukin had patented a lifeboat in 1785, Greathead successfully petitioned parliament in 1802 with the claim that he had invented a lifeboat in 1790, and he was awarded £1,200 for his trouble...
's "Original" design. This was some twenty years before the formation of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....
(RNLI).
External links
The Sussex Museums Group has a webpage on the Newhaven Local & Maritime Museum. That webpage features a painting of Brazen done by Ted Shipsey, a one-time member of the Newhaven Historical Society, which supports the museum.http://www.sussexmuseums.co.uk/newhaven.htmThe Newhaven Local & Maritime Museum has an extensive collection of information about the wrecking incident, including artefacts recovered from the wreck. It also has the painting featured on the Sussex Museum Group's website, together with three others that Ted Shipsey painted on the theme of the wreck and the rescue.http://www.newhavenmuseum.org.uk
Lastly, there is also a museum at Morwellham Quay that has some information on Brazen and the wrecking. However, since September 2009 the museum has been in administration.http://www.morwellham-quay.co.uk/index.php?pagetitle=Home