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HMS Daedalus (1780)
Encyclopedia
HMS Daedalus was a 32-gun fifth rate frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
of the 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...
, launched in 1780 from the yards of John Fisher, of Liverpool
Liverpool
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...
. She went on to serve in the American War of Independence, as well as the French Revolutionary
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 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...
.
American War of Independence
Daedalus entered service in 1780 under the command of Captain Thomas PringleThomas Pringle (Royal Navy officer)
Vice-Admiral Thomas Pringle was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.-Family and early life:...
. He escorted a convoy to North America in May 1781, accompanied by Captain Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
in the 28-gun Sixth rate . Pringle went on to serve in 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...
the following year, capturing the French 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...
Moustic on 20 January 1782, and the privateer Légère on 11 December 1782. Pringle escorted a convoy to Newfoundland during the year, and in 1783 was engaged in patrolling the Shetland fisheries. The Daedalus was paid off in July 1784, and in 1790 underwent a Great Repair at Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...
, that lasted until 1793.
French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
Captain Charles Henry KnowlesSir Charles Knowles, 2nd Baronet
Sir Charles Henry Knowles, 2nd Baronet GCB was an officer of the Royal Navy, who saw service during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, eventually rising to the rank of Admiral...
recommissioned the Daedalus in March 1793, and sailed her to the Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
station. Knowles was replaced by Captain Thomas Williams
Thomas Williams (Royal Navy officer)
Admiral Sir Thomas Williams GCB was a senior British Royal Navy officer of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, who served in numerous theatres during the American Revolutionary War, French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars...
in September 1794, during which time Daedalus was part of Admiral Adam Duncan's fleet. In September 1795, Captain George Countess
George Countess
Rear-Admiral George Countess was an officer of the British Royal Navy who saw extensive service in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Made captain in 1790, he was in command of HMS Charon in 1794 and witnessed the Glorious First of June from her, although she was not engaged as she was...
took over, and Daedalus sailed to the West African coast and then on to 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...
. In January 1797, Daedalus was deployed against the French Expédition d'Irlande
Expédition d'Irlande
The Expédition d'Irlande was an unsuccessful attempt by the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republican group, in their planned rebellion against British rule...
and on 8 January she was involved in the capture of the troopship Suffern and burnt her to avoid weakening the crew by dispersing them in the prize.
Command passed to Henry Ligbird Ball in March 1797, who on 9 February 1799 captured the 36-gun Prudente off 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...
. He sailed on to the East Indies, operating successfully in the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
at Batavia Roads. Command then passed temporarily to Lieutenant Charles James Johnson and then Captain William Waller before Daedalus returned to Britain and was placed in reserve in 1803. She was fitted out for service with Trinity House
Trinity House
The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters...
that year, followed by repair works from December 1805 to December 1806 to fit her out as a floating battery on the Thames at Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
. She recommissioned under Captain Frederick Warren in December 1806 and in March 1807 sailed for 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...
. She was in action on 11 November 1808 when she helped in the capture of the town of Samana in San Domingo, also taking the 5-gun privateers Guerrière and Exchange.
Fate
Command passed to Captain Samuel Inglefield in 1809 who continued on the Jamaica station until Daedalus was badly damaged in a hurricane. She was found to be rotten through and was paid off in October 1810 and broken up at SheernessSheerness
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....
in July 1811.