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HMS Edgar (1779)
Encyclopedia
HMS Edgar was a 74-gun third-rate
ship of the line
of the Royal Navy
, that saw service in the American Revolutionary
, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
. Launched in 1779, she fought in the battles of Cape St Vincent
(in 1780) and Copenhagen
(in 1801)—two of the major naval engagements of the wars.
Edgar also saw service as flagship to two different admirals, and was even the scene of a mutiny in 1808. After the end of her active career, she was employed as a prison ship before her 56 year life came to an end in 1835, when she was ordered to be broken up.
on 25 August 1774 to be built to slightly modified lines of the , which had been designed by Sir Thomas Slade
. The Arrogant class of third rates was a development over Slade's previous , and a further nine ships were ordered from various yards—both Royal and commercial—to the same lines as Edgar. Originally, the Admiralty had intended to order her to be built to the lines of Sir John Williams' , specifically . Her keel was laid down on 26 August 1776, and she was launched on 30 June 1779.
A list composed in or around 1793, giving details of twelve Royal Navy ships, reveals that Edgar possessed a white figurehead, with details painted in red and black. Of the other eleven ships mentioned, seven had the plain white figureheads as completed by the dockyards, whilst four had painted theirs with a larger palette since being launched.
was embroiled in the American Revolutionary War
. She commissioned under her first captain, John Elliot, in May 1779, while her first action came on 16 January 1780, when she fought in the Battle of Cape St Vincent
as part of Admiral Sir George Rodney
's fleet. After a two-hour chase, Edgar was one of the first ships to engage the numerically inferior Spanish fleet.
In November 1781, the Admiralty
had received intelligence that a large convoy was preparing to sail from Brest under Admiral de Guichen
. It was a convoy of transports carrying naval supplies for the West Indies and the French fleet in the East Indies
. Edgar was part of Admiral Richard Kempenfelt
's squadron of 18 ships (11 of which mounted 64 or more guns), which he commanded from . Kempenfelt was ordered to intercept the convoy, which he did in the afternoon of 12 December in the Bay of Biscay
, approximately 150 miles (241.4 km) south-west of Ushant
. With the French naval escort to leeward of the convoy, Kempenfelt attacked immediately, capturing 15 of the transports before nightfall. The rest of the convoy scattered, most returning to Brest; only five transports reached the West Indies.
Her second major action came on 20 October 1782 when she was part of Admiral Richard Howe
's fleet of 35 ships of the line at the Battle of Cape Spartel
. The fleet had encountered the combined Franco-Spanish fleet of 46 ships of the line under Admiral Luis de Córdova y Córdova
, and some exchange of fire took place before Admiral Howe ordered a retreat.
Edgar spent the remainder of the war in the Channel Fleet under Admiral George Darby
.
. In 1787 Captain Charles Thompson took command, and in spring 1788 she served as Rear-Admiral John Leveson-Gower
's flagship whilst he commanded his fleet of observation on its two-month cruise off the Irish coast and west of the Scilly Isles. At the end of this cruise, Edgar returned to Portsmouth where she resumed her role as guardship.
Edgar was recommissioned in April 1791 and joined the home fleet.
, after they had captured her from the French. The ownership of the Spanish ship was a matter of some debate and was not settled until 4 February 1795, when the value of the cargo was put at £935,000. At this time all the crew, captains, officers and admirals received a share of the prize money
, with Admiral Hood
's share standing at £50,000. Besides Edgar, the ships that conveyed St Jago to Portsmouth were His Majesty's Ships , , and .
In 1794 the crew of rose up in mutiny whilst the ship lay in Leith
Roads. Edgar was ordered alongside Defiance, and if it were deemed necessary to restore order, to engage her. A comment left by one of Edgars crew suggests that had the order been given to fire, it would not have been obeyed, as the crew thought that the mutineers aboard Defiance were in the right.
In 1800 Edgar was part of the Channel Fleet under Admiral Sir Alan Gardner
blockading the important French port of Brest
. She was forced to return to Plymouth
on 18 February after sustaining damage to her mainmast, and after repairs sailed from Plymouth with , rejoining the Fleet on 13 May. Edgar was driven from her station on blockade duty on 9 November by hurricane force winds, and again put in to Plymouth for repairs.
On 28 February 1801, Captain George Murray
took over the command of Edgar, transferring from . On 2 April 1801, Edgar took part in the Battle of Copenhagen
. After passing down the Outer Channel in order to negotiate the southern tip of the Middle Ground shoal off the coast from Copenhagen
, Edgar was leading Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's line, and was the first to commence firing, as soon as she was in range of the Danish Prövesteen. Edgar was forced to fight unsupported for some time, as the next ship in line, , had run aground on the poorly charted Middle Ground, requiring , the next in line after Agamemnon, to manoeuvre around the stranded ship. During the course of the battle, Edgar had 31 killed, including the First Lieutenant and three soldiers of the 49th Regiment, and 115 men were wounded.
, and war gave way to a period of uneasy peace. In June 1802 Edgar was taken into Chatham for repairs. She was recommissioned in 1805 as part of the doubling and bracing programme, and served as Admiral Lord Keith's flagship off Texel
, blockading the Dutch coast. Edgar, along with several other ships, was in the Downs
on 17 December, when came in to shelter from gales that had blown up, hampering her progress to Chatham. Victory was returning to England after the Battle of Trafalgar
, and on board was the body of the late Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson.
On 28 March 1808, there was an attempted mutiny on board whilst Edgar was lying in Cawsand Bay
. The crew had all gathered on the quarter deck, but dispersed at the threat of a murderous volley from the ship's company of marines. Five men, including the captain of the main-top and the bosun's mate, were arrested and placed in irons. The five were tried for mutiny aboard in the Hamoaze
on 9 and 11 April. All were found guilty, despite attempts by Edgars petty officers to prove that they had been goaded into their actions by threats from the rest of the crew. Each of the men was sentenced to be flogged round the fleet, with the captain of the main-top, Henry Chesterfield, receiving a total of 700 lashes and two-years' solitary confinement; the bosun's mate, John Rowlands, received one-year's confinement and 300 lashes; two of the remaining men received 200 lashes each, and one 500 lashes.
's squadron sent to the Baltic
after Denmark
's declaration of war against Sweden
. By this time, Sweden had allied herself with Britain
, but both Denmark
and Russia were allies of Buonaparte. Saumarez, who had his flag in Victory, was therefore tasked with keeping the Baltic
open to British trade, and with promoting British interests in the region. The Gunboat War
with Denmark lasted from 1807 until 1814.
When word of the uprising of the Spanish against the French in 1808 reached Denmark, some 12,000 Spanish troops stationed in Denmark and under the Marquis de la Romana decided that they wished to leave French service and return to Spain. The Marquis contacted Rear-Admiral Keats
, on , who was in command of a small British squadron in the Kattegat
. They agreed a plan and on 9 August 1808 the Spaniards seized the fort and town of Nyborg
. Keats then prepared to take possession of the port and to organize the departure of the Spanish. Keats informed the Danish authorities that if they did not impede the operation he would spare the town. The Danes agreed, except for the captains of two small Danish warships in the harbour.
On 11 August Keats sent in the boats from Edgar, under the command of her captain, James Macnamara
. The boats captured the brig , of 18 guns and under the command of Otto Frederick Rasch, and the cutter Søormen
, of 12 guns and under the command of Thøger Emil Rosenørn. Despite the odds Rasch and Rosenørn refused and put up a stiff resistance before they struck.Translation from the Danish websites http://runeberg.org/dbl/13/0489.html and http://runeberg.org/dbl/14/0318.html. British losses were an officer killed and two men wounded; the Danes lost seven men killed and 13 wounded. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issue of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "11 Aug. Boat Service 1808" to all surviving claimants of the action.
The British organized the evacuation of the Spanish troops using some 50 or so local boats. Some 10,000 troops returned to Spain via Britain.Not all the Spaniards got away. Two squadrons of Spanish cavalry based as far away as Horsens on Jutland tried, on 10 August 1808, to make their way to Nyborg, but were stopped at the Little Belt crossing where Danish and French troops had reacted quickly to prevent further deserters crossing to the island of Funen.(from Danish website)
In early July 1810 Edgar, in company with and , sighted three Danish gunboats under the command of Lieutenant Peter Nicolay Skibsted
, who had captured the in April of that year. The gunboats (Husaren, Løberen, and Flink) sought refuge in Grenå
, on eastern Jutland, where a company of soldiers and their field guns could provide cover. However, the British mounted a cutting out expedition of some 200 men in ten ships’ boats after midnight on 7 July, capturing the three gunboats.
at Chatham in 1811. She underwent a conversion to serve as a prison hulk in 1813, and was renamed Retribution in 1815. She continued to serve in this role until 1835, when the decision was taken to have her broken up.
Third-rate
In the British Royal Navy, a third rate was a ship of the line which from the 1720s mounted between 64 and 80 guns, typically built with two gun decks . Years of experience proved that the third rate ships embodied the best compromise between sailing ability , firepower, and cost...
ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
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...
, that saw service in the American Revolutionary
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, French Revolutionary 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...
. Launched in 1779, she fought in the battles of Cape St Vincent
Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1780)
The naval Battle of Cape St Vincent, took place off the coast of Portugal on 16 January 1780 during the American War of Independence. A British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney defeated a Spanish squadron under Don Juan de Lángara. The battle is sometimes referred to as the Moonlight Battle,...
(in 1780) and Copenhagen
Battle of Copenhagen (1801)
The Battle of Copenhagen was an engagement which saw a British fleet under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker fight and strategically defeat a Danish-Norwegian fleet anchored just off Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson led the main attack. He famously disobeyed Parker's...
(in 1801)—two of the major naval engagements of the wars.
Edgar also saw service as flagship to two different admirals, and was even the scene of a mutiny in 1808. After the end of her active career, she was employed as a prison ship before her 56 year life came to an end in 1835, when she was ordered to be broken up.
Construction
Edgar was ordered from Woolwich DockyardWoolwich Dockyard
Woolwich Dockyard was an English naval dockyard founded by King Henry VIII in 1512 to build his flagship Henri Grâce à Dieu , the largest ship of its day....
on 25 August 1774 to be built to slightly modified lines of the , which had been designed by Sir Thomas Slade
Thomas Slade
Sir Thomas Slade was an English naval architect, most famous for designing HMS Victory, Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.-Career Outline:...
. The Arrogant class of third rates was a development over Slade's previous , and a further nine ships were ordered from various yards—both Royal and commercial—to the same lines as Edgar. Originally, the Admiralty had intended to order her to be built to the lines of Sir John Williams' , specifically . Her keel was laid down on 26 August 1776, and she was launched on 30 June 1779.
A list composed in or around 1793, giving details of twelve Royal Navy ships, reveals that Edgar possessed a white figurehead, with details painted in red and black. Of the other eleven ships mentioned, seven had the plain white figureheads as completed by the dockyards, whilst four had painted theirs with a larger palette since being launched.
American Revolutionary War
Edgar was launched when BritainKingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
was embroiled in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. She commissioned under her first captain, John Elliot, in May 1779, while her first action came on 16 January 1780, when she fought in the Battle of Cape St Vincent
Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1780)
The naval Battle of Cape St Vincent, took place off the coast of Portugal on 16 January 1780 during the American War of Independence. A British fleet under Admiral Sir George Rodney defeated a Spanish squadron under Don Juan de Lángara. The battle is sometimes referred to as the Moonlight Battle,...
as part of Admiral Sir George Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney
George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, KB was a British naval officer. He is best known for his commands in the American War of Independence, particularly his victory over the French at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782...
's fleet. After a two-hour chase, Edgar was one of the first ships to engage the numerically inferior Spanish fleet.
In November 1781, the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
had received intelligence that a large convoy was preparing to sail from Brest under Admiral de Guichen
Luc Urbain de Bouexic, comte de Guichen
Luc Urbain de Bouëxic, comte de Guichen - French admiral; entered the navy in 1730 as "garde de la Marine," the first rank in the corps of royal officers.His promotion was not rapid...
. It was a convoy of transports carrying naval supplies for the West Indies and the French fleet in the East Indies
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...
. Edgar was part of Admiral Richard Kempenfelt
Richard Kempenfelt
Richard Kempenfelt was a British rear-admiral who gained a reputation as a naval innovator. He is best known for his victory against the French at the Second Battle of Ushant and for his death when the HMS Royal George accidentally sank at Portsmouth the following year.He was born at Westminster...
's squadron of 18 ships (11 of which mounted 64 or more guns), which he commanded from . Kempenfelt was ordered to intercept the convoy, which he did in the afternoon of 12 December in the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Brest south to the Spanish border, and the northern coast of Spain west to Cape Ortegal, and is named in English after the province of Biscay, in the Spanish...
, approximately 150 miles (241.4 km) south-west of Ushant
Ushant
Ushant is an island at the south-western end of the English Channel which marks the north-westernmost point of metropolitan France. It belongs to Brittany and is in the traditional region of Bro-Leon. Administratively, Ushant is a commune in the Finistère department...
. With the French naval escort to leeward of the convoy, Kempenfelt attacked immediately, capturing 15 of the transports before nightfall. The rest of the convoy scattered, most returning to Brest; only five transports reached the West Indies.
Her second major action came on 20 October 1782 when she was part of Admiral Richard Howe
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe
Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe KG was a British naval officer, notable in particular for his service during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars. He was the brother of William Howe and George Howe.Howe joined the navy at the age of thirteen and served...
's fleet of 35 ships of the line at the Battle of Cape Spartel
Battle of Cape Spartel
The Battle of Cape Spartel was an indecisive naval battle between a Franco-Spanish fleet under Admiral Luis de Córdova y Córdova and a British fleet under Admiral Richard Howe...
. The fleet had encountered the combined Franco-Spanish fleet of 46 ships of the line under Admiral Luis de Córdova y Córdova
Luis de Córdova y Córdova
Luis de Córdova y Córdova was a Spanish admiral. He is best known for his command of the Spanish fleet during the American War of Independence...
, and some exchange of fire took place before Admiral Howe ordered a retreat.
Edgar spent the remainder of the war in the Channel Fleet under Admiral George Darby
George Darby
Vice Admiral George Darby was an officer in the Royal Navy. He was the second son of Jonathan Darby III Esq. , of Leap Castle, in King's County, Ireland.-Early career:Darby joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer...
.
Between the wars
After the conclusion of the war in 1783, Edgar was fitted for service as a guardship in Portsmouth HarbourPortsmouth Harbour
Portsmouth Harbour is a large natural harbour in Hampshire, England. Geographically it is a ria: formerly it was the valley of a stream flowing from Portsdown into the Solent River. The city of Portsmouth lies to the east on Portsea Island, and Gosport to the west on the mainland...
. In 1787 Captain Charles Thompson took command, and in spring 1788 she served as Rear-Admiral John Leveson-Gower
John Leveson-Gower (1740-1792)
John Leveson-Gower was an officer of the Royal Navy and a politician. He saw service during the Seven Years' War and the American War of Independence, rising to the rank of rear-admiral...
's flagship whilst he commanded his fleet of observation on its two-month cruise off the Irish coast and west of the Scilly Isles. At the end of this cruise, Edgar returned to Portsmouth where she resumed her role as guardship.
Edgar was recommissioned in April 1791 and joined the home fleet.
French Revolutionary War
After France's declaration of war against Great Britain brought the country into the French Revolutionary War in 1793, Edgar, under the command of Captain Bertie, was part of the squadron commanded by Admiral John Gell which in April escorted the Spanish ship St Jago back to PortsmouthPortsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, after they had captured her from the French. The ownership of the Spanish ship was a matter of some debate and was not settled until 4 February 1795, when the value of the cargo was put at £935,000. At this time all the crew, captains, officers and admirals received a share of 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...
, with Admiral Hood
Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood
Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood was a British Admiral known particularly for his service in the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars...
's share standing at £50,000. Besides Edgar, the ships that conveyed St Jago to Portsmouth were His Majesty's Ships , , and .
In 1794 the crew of rose up in mutiny whilst the ship lay in Leith
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
Roads. Edgar was ordered alongside Defiance, and if it were deemed necessary to restore order, to engage her. A comment left by one of Edgars crew suggests that had the order been given to fire, it would not have been obeyed, as the crew thought that the mutineers aboard Defiance were in the right.
In 1800 Edgar was part of the Channel Fleet under Admiral Sir Alan Gardner
Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner
Admiral Alan Gardner, 1st Baron Gardner was a British Royal Navy officer and peer of the realm. He became one of the Georgian era's most dashing frigate captains and, ultimately, a respected senior admiral.-Naval career:...
blockading the important French port of Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
. She was forced to return to 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...
on 18 February after sustaining damage to her mainmast, and after repairs sailed from Plymouth with , rejoining the Fleet on 13 May. Edgar was driven from her station on blockade duty on 9 November by hurricane force winds, and again put in to Plymouth for repairs.
On 28 February 1801, Captain George Murray
George Murray (Royal Navy officer)
Vice-Admiral Sir George Murray KCB was an officer in the Royal Navy who saw service in a wide range of theatres and campaigns. His active naval career spanned the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...
took over the command of Edgar, transferring from . On 2 April 1801, Edgar took part in the Battle of Copenhagen
Battle of Copenhagen (1801)
The Battle of Copenhagen was an engagement which saw a British fleet under the command of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker fight and strategically defeat a Danish-Norwegian fleet anchored just off Copenhagen on 2 April 1801. Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson led the main attack. He famously disobeyed Parker's...
. After passing down the Outer Channel in order to negotiate the southern tip of the Middle Ground shoal off the coast from Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, Edgar was leading Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's line, and was the first to commence firing, as soon as she was in range of the Danish Prövesteen. Edgar was forced to fight unsupported for some time, as the next ship in line, , had run aground on the poorly charted Middle Ground, requiring , the next in line after Agamemnon, to manoeuvre around the stranded ship. During the course of the battle, Edgar had 31 killed, including the First Lieutenant and three soldiers of the 49th Regiment, and 115 men were wounded.
Napoleonic Wars
The Revolutionary War was brought to an end on 25 March 1802 with the Treaty of AmiensTreaty of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens temporarily ended hostilities between the French Republic and the United Kingdom during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was signed in the city of Amiens on 25 March 1802 , by Joseph Bonaparte and the Marquess Cornwallis as a "Definitive Treaty of Peace"...
, and war gave way to a period of uneasy peace. In June 1802 Edgar was taken into Chatham for repairs. She was recommissioned in 1805 as part of the doubling and bracing programme, and served as Admiral Lord Keith's flagship off 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...
, blockading the Dutch coast. Edgar, along with several other ships, was in the Downs
The Downs
The Downs are a roadstead or area of sea in the southern North Sea near the English Channel off the east Kent coast, between the North and the South Foreland in southern England. In 1639 the Battle of the Downs took place here, when the Dutch navy destroyed a Spanish fleet which had sought refuge...
on 17 December, when came in to shelter from gales that had blown up, hampering her progress to Chatham. Victory was returning to England after the Battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
, and on board was the body of the late Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson.
On 28 March 1808, there was an attempted mutiny on board whilst Edgar was lying in Cawsand Bay
Cawsand Bay
Cawsand Bay is a bay on the south-east coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom.The bay takes its name from the village of Cawsand at , to the north-east of the Rame Peninsula...
. The crew had all gathered on the quarter deck, but dispersed at the threat of a murderous volley from the ship's company of marines. Five men, including the captain of the main-top and the bosun's mate, were arrested and placed in irons. The five were tried for mutiny aboard in the Hamoaze
Hamoaze
The Hamoaze is an estuarine stretch of the tidal River Tamar, between the River Lynher and Plymouth Sound, England.The Hamoaze flows past Devonport Dockyard, which belongs to the Royal Navy...
on 9 and 11 April. All were found guilty, despite attempts by Edgars petty officers to prove that they had been goaded into their actions by threats from the rest of the crew. Each of the men was sentenced to be flogged round the fleet, with the captain of the main-top, Henry Chesterfield, receiving a total of 700 lashes and two-years' solitary confinement; the bosun's mate, John Rowlands, received one-year's confinement and 300 lashes; two of the remaining men received 200 lashes each, and one 500 lashes.
Gunboat War
In May 1808 Edgar was one of the 12 ships of the line forming part of Vice-Admiral Sir James SaumarezJames Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez
Admiral James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez , GCB was an admiral of the British Royal Navy, notable for his victory at the Battle of Algeciras.-Early life:...
's squadron sent to the Baltic
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
after Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
's declaration of war against Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. By this time, Sweden had allied herself with Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
, but both Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and Russia were allies of Buonaparte. Saumarez, who had his flag in Victory, was therefore tasked with keeping the Baltic
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
open to British trade, and with promoting British interests in the region. The Gunboat War
Gunboat War
The Gunboat War was the naval conflict between Denmark–Norway and the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The war's name is derived from the Danish tactic of employing small gunboats against the conventional Royal Navy...
with Denmark lasted from 1807 until 1814.
When word of the uprising of the Spanish against the French in 1808 reached Denmark, some 12,000 Spanish troops stationed in Denmark and under the Marquis de la Romana decided that they wished to leave French service and return to Spain. The Marquis contacted Rear-Admiral Keats
Richard Goodwin Keats
Admiral Sir Richard Goodwin Keats was a British naval officer who fought throughout the American Revolution, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic War. He retired in 1812 due to ill health and was made Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland from 1813 to 1816. In 1821 he was made Governor of...
, on , who was in command of a small British squadron in the Kattegat
Kattegat
The Kattegat , or Kattegatt is a sea area bounded by the Jutland peninsula and the Straits islands of Denmark on the west and south, and the provinces of Västergötland, Scania, Halland and Bohuslän in Sweden on the east. The Baltic Sea drains into the Kattegat through the Øresund and the Danish...
. They agreed a plan and on 9 August 1808 the Spaniards seized the fort and town of Nyborg
Nyborg
Nyborg is a city in central Denmark, located in Nyborg Municipality on the island of Funen and with a population of 16,492 . Nyborg is one of the 14 large municipalities created on 1 January 2007...
. Keats then prepared to take possession of the port and to organize the departure of the Spanish. Keats informed the Danish authorities that if they did not impede the operation he would spare the town. The Danes agreed, except for the captains of two small Danish warships in the harbour.
On 11 August Keats sent in the boats from Edgar, under the command of her captain, James Macnamara
James Macnamara
James Macnamara was an officer of the Royal Navy who served during the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
. The boats captured the brig , of 18 guns and under the command of Otto Frederick Rasch, and the cutter Søormen
HMS Salorman (1808)
HMS Salorman was the Danish cutter Søormen, of twelve guns, built in 1789, which the British captured in 1808. In British records her name also appears as Sacormen and Salomen. She was wrecked in 1809.-Danish origins:...
, of 12 guns and under the command of Thøger Emil Rosenørn. Despite the odds Rasch and Rosenørn refused and put up a stiff resistance before they struck.Translation from the Danish websites http://runeberg.org/dbl/13/0489.html and http://runeberg.org/dbl/14/0318.html. British losses were an officer killed and two men wounded; the Danes lost seven men killed and 13 wounded. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issue of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "11 Aug. Boat Service 1808" to all surviving claimants of the action.
The British organized the evacuation of the Spanish troops using some 50 or so local boats. Some 10,000 troops returned to Spain via Britain.Not all the Spaniards got away. Two squadrons of Spanish cavalry based as far away as Horsens on Jutland tried, on 10 August 1808, to make their way to Nyborg, but were stopped at the Little Belt crossing where Danish and French troops had reacted quickly to prevent further deserters crossing to the island of Funen.(from Danish website)
In early July 1810 Edgar, in company with and , sighted three Danish gunboats under the command of Lieutenant Peter Nicolay Skibsted
Peter Nicolay Skibsted
Peter Nicolay Skibsted was a Danish naval officer with a successful career marred only by the loss in 1810 of a squadron of three gunboats under his command to the British.-Birth:...
, who had captured the in April of that year. The gunboats (Husaren, Løberen, and Flink) sought refuge in Grenå
Grenå
Grenaa or Grenå is a town in central Denmark with a population of 14,308 . The town centre is about 2 km west of the east coast of the Djursland peninsula in Jutland's Region Midtjylland...
, on eastern Jutland, where a company of soldiers and their field guns could provide cover. However, the British mounted a cutting out expedition of some 200 men in ten ships’ boats after midnight on 7 July, capturing the three gunboats.
Fate
Edgar was laid up in ordinaryReserve fleet
A reserve fleet is a collection of naval vessels of all types that are fully equipped for service but are not currently needed, and thus partially or fully decommissioned. A reserve fleet is informally said to be "in mothballs" or "mothballed"; an equivalent expression in unofficial modern U.S....
at Chatham in 1811. She underwent a conversion to serve as a prison hulk in 1813, and was renamed Retribution in 1815. She continued to serve in this role until 1835, when the decision was taken to have her broken up.