HMS Gorgon (1791)
Encyclopedia
HMS Gorgon was a 44-gun fifth-rate
two-decker
ship of the Adventure class
of 911 tons, launched at Blackwall Yard
in 1785 and completed as a troopship. She was subsequently converted to a storeship. She also served as a guardship and a hospital ship at various times before being broken up in 1817.
on 15 March 1791, along with the Third Fleet
, arriving on 21 September 1791. She carried six months provisions for 900 people in the starving colony and Watkin Tench
said “we hailed it with rapture and exhilaration”. She also carried about 30 convicts, and Philip Gidley King
who was returning to the colony to take up the post of lieutenant-governor of Norfolk Island
.
On 18 December 1791 the Gorgon left Port Jackson
, taking home part of the marine
contingent, sent by the First Fleet
to guard the convicts, including Tench, Robert Ross
, William Dawes
, and Ralph Clark. She also carried samples of animals, birds and plants from New South Wales. At the Cape of Good Hope
the Gorgon took on board Mary Bryant
, her daughter Charlotte, and the four surviving male convicts involved in an escape from the penal colony
. She also took on board ten of the mutineers of HMS Bounty
that had seized in Tahiti
and who had survived the wreck of that vessel. During the voyage many of the children on board, including Charlotte Bryant, died of heat and illness.
The Gorgon arrived at Portsmouth
on 18 June 1792, discharging her mixed passenger list of marines, escaped convicts, and mutineers.
In February 1794 Gorgon was part of the fleet under Vice-Admiral Lord Samuel Hood
at the taking of the Port of San Fiorenzo and Bastia
, which eventually led to the capture of the island of Corsica
by forces under Admiral Lord Nelson. Hood assigned Gorgon the task of protecting the convoy of transports carrying the troops and horses under the command of Lieutenant-General David Dundas
.
At some point in 1794 Commander James Wallis replaced Patterson in command. However, in March 1795 Gorgon was paid off.
Commander Edward Tyrell recommissioned her in May 1795 and sailed her to the Mediterranean on 11 November 1795.
On 10 June 1796, Gorgon was in company with and the hired armed
cutter Fox. They were with the British fleet outside Toulon and were present when captured the French corvette Utile at Hyères
Roads. Later that month Gorgon was at the evacuation of Leghorn
.
In April 1797 Captain John W.T. Dixon took command. Captain John Williams replaced him in October 1797. Gorgon sailed for the Leeward Islands in January 1798.
On 13 January 1798 Gorgon was 70 leagues
from Cape Finisterre
when she caught up with and recaptured the brig Ann, of Dartmouth. Fifteen days earlier Ann had been sailing from Newfoundland
to Lisbon when a French privateer had captured her. While Gorgon was exchanging people with the brig, another brig, this one exhibiting French colours, arrived. After Gorgon fired a few shots, the brig struck.
The newcomer turned out to be the French privateer Henri, from Nantes. She carried 14 guns, five of which she had thrown overboard. She also had a crew of 108 men. She had been cruising for five days but had taken nothing. Captain Richard Williams put a prize crew aboard and took her with him into Lisbon.
Between 1799 and 1800 Gorgon continued to serve as a storeship. under Commander Henry Hill. Then in 1801 Commander George Ross and Gorgon participated in the Egyptian campaign.
. In October 1805 she was under Commander Francis Stanfell, with Commander Charles Ryder replacing him in May 1806.
Between November 1806 and July 1808 Gorgon was back in Woolwich, where she underwent a large repair and was fitted as a victualler. Commander Robert Brown Tom recommissioned her in May 1808 and sailed her to the Baltic where she again served as a storeship.
Even so, on 12 May 1809, she captured the Danish vessel the Petrena. Then on 21 May she was in company with the gun-brig when they captured the Danish boat Helden.
By November 1809 she was a hospital ship under Commander Charles Webb. On 24 October 1810, Gorgon, , and the gun-brig were present at the capture of the brig Hoppet.
Commander Alexander Milner had replaced Webb by April 1811. He sailed Gorgon to the Mediterranean on 10 March 1812. She came under the command of Commander Rowland Mainwaring in September. She then served as the flagship for Vice Admiral Francis Pickmore
off Toulon. Commander Claude de Crespigny replaced Mainwaring at Port Mahon
in 1813, but he died in July. Commander John Cornish replaced de Crespigny and in turn Commander Richard Booth Bowden replaced him in 1814.
Bowden then sailed Gorgon to America where she was part of the British fleet at the Battle of New Orleans
. Before that battle her boats participated in the Battle of Lake Borgne
on 14 December 1814. Gorgon had one master's mate slightly wounded. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issue of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "14 Dec. Boat Service 1814" to all surviving claimants from the action.
Fifth-rate
In Britain's Royal Navy during the classic age of fighting sail, a fifth rate was the penultimate class of warships in a hierarchal system of six "ratings" based on size and firepower.-Rating:...
two-decker
Two-decker
A two-decker is a sail warship which carried her guns on two fully armed decks. Usually additional guns were carried on the upper works , but this was not a continuous battery, so were not counted....
ship of the Adventure class
Adventure class ship
The Adventure-class ship was a class of eight 44-gun sailing two-decker warships of the Royal Navy, classed as a fifth rate like a frigate, but carrying two complete decks of guns, a lower battery of 18-pounders and an upper battery of 12-pounders...
of 911 tons, launched at Blackwall Yard
Blackwall Yard
Blackwall Yard was a shipyard on the Thames at Blackwall, London, engaged in ship building and later ship repairs for over 350 years. The yard closed in 1987...
in 1785 and completed as a troopship. She was subsequently converted to a storeship. She also served as a guardship and a hospital ship at various times before being broken up in 1817.
Troopship
Gorgon was fitted as a troopship at Portsmouth at a cost of £5,210, the work being completed on 15 December 1787. Lieutenant Charles Craven commissioned her in October 1787. She then was paid off one year later. One year after that, she was fitted for foreign service at an additional cost of £5,200 and recommissioned under Lieutenant William Harvey in October 1789.New South Wales
Under Commander John Parker, she went to New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
on 15 March 1791, along with the Third Fleet
Third Fleet (Australia)
The Third Fleet consisted of 11 ships which set sail from United Kingdom in February, March and April 1791 bound for the Sydney penal settlement, with over 2000 convicts. The passengers consisted of convicts, military personnel and notable people sent to fill high positions in the colony...
, arriving on 21 September 1791. She carried six months provisions for 900 people in the starving colony and Watkin Tench
Watkin Tench
Lieutenant-General Watkin Tench was a British Marine officer who is best known for publishing two books describing his experiences in the First Fleet, which established the first settlement in Australia in 1788...
said “we hailed it with rapture and exhilaration”. She also carried about 30 convicts, and Philip Gidley King
Philip Gidley King
Captain Philip Gidley King RN was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. He is best known as the official founder of the first European settlement on Norfolk Island and as the third Governor of New South Wales.-Early years and establishment of Norfolk Island settlement:King was born...
who was returning to the colony to take up the post of lieutenant-governor of Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
.
On 18 December 1791 the Gorgon left Port Jackson
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...
, taking home part of the marine
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
contingent, sent by the First Fleet
First Fleet
The First Fleet is the name given to the eleven ships which sailed from Great Britain on 13 May 1787 with about 1,487 people, including 778 convicts , to establish the first European colony in Australia, in the region which Captain Cook had named New South Wales. The fleet was led by Captain ...
to guard the convicts, including Tench, Robert Ross
Robert Ross (marine)
Major Robert Ross was the officer in charge of the First Fleet garrison of marines, and Lieutenant-Governor of the convict settlement of Norfolk Island.- Life and career :...
, William Dawes
William Dawes (marine)
William Dawes was an officer of the Royal Marines, an astronomer, engineer, botanist, surveyor, explorer, abolitionist and colonial administrator. He traveled to New South Wales with the First Fleet on board HMS Sirius.-Early life:...
, and Ralph Clark. She also carried samples of animals, birds and plants from New South Wales. At 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...
the Gorgon took on board Mary Bryant
Mary Bryant
Mary Bryant was a Cornish convict sent to Australia. She became one of the first successful escapees from the fledgling Australian penal colony.-Life:...
, her daughter Charlotte, and the four surviving male convicts involved in an escape from the penal colony
Penal colony
A penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory...
. She also took on board ten of the mutineers of HMS Bounty
Mutiny on the Bounty
The mutiny on the Bounty was a mutiny that occurred aboard the British Royal Navy ship HMS Bounty on 28 April 1789, and has been commemorated by several books, films, and popular songs, many of which take considerable liberties with the facts. The mutiny was led by Fletcher Christian against the...
that had seized in Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
and who had survived the wreck of that vessel. During the voyage many of the children on board, including Charlotte Bryant, died of heat and illness.
The Gorgon arrived at Portsmouth
Portsmouth
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...
on 18 June 1792, discharging her mixed passenger list of marines, escaped convicts, and mutineers.
French Revolutionary Wars
Between March and July 1793 Gorgon was fitted as a 20-gun storeship at Woolwhich, for a cost of £5,709. She then was recommissioned under Commander Charles Patterson, who sailed her for the Mediterranean on 15 October 1793.In February 1794 Gorgon was part of the fleet under Vice-Admiral Lord Samuel 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...
at the taking of the Port of San Fiorenzo and Bastia
Bastia
Bastia is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It is also the second-largest city in Corsica after Ajaccio and the capital of the department....
, which eventually led to the capture of the island of Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
by forces under Admiral Lord Nelson. Hood assigned Gorgon the task of protecting the convoy of transports carrying the troops and horses under the command of Lieutenant-General David Dundas
Sir David Dundas, 1st Baronet
General Sir David Dundas, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British general who served as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces from 1809 to 1811.-Military service:...
.
At some point in 1794 Commander James Wallis replaced Patterson in command. However, in March 1795 Gorgon was paid off.
Commander Edward Tyrell recommissioned her in May 1795 and sailed her to the Mediterranean on 11 November 1795.
On 10 June 1796, Gorgon was in company with and the hired armed
Hired armed vessels
right|thumb|250px|Armed cutter, etching in the [[National Maritime Museum]], [[Greenwich]]During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the Royal Navy made use of a considerable number of hired armed vessels...
cutter Fox. They were with the British fleet outside Toulon and were present when captured the French corvette Utile at Hyères
Hyères
Hyères , Provençal Occitan: Ieras in classical norm or Iero in Mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France....
Roads. Later that month Gorgon was at the evacuation of Leghorn
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
.
In April 1797 Captain John W.T. Dixon took command. Captain John Williams replaced him in October 1797. Gorgon sailed for the Leeward Islands in January 1798.
On 13 January 1798 Gorgon was 70 leagues
League (unit)
A league is a unit of length . It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The league originally referred to the distance a person or a horse could walk in an hour...
from Cape Finisterre
Cape Finisterre
right|thumb|300px|Position of Cape Finisterre on the [[Iberian Peninsula]]Cape Finisterre is a rock-bound peninsula on the west coast of Galicia, Spain....
when she caught up with and recaptured the brig Ann, of Dartmouth. Fifteen days earlier Ann had been sailing from Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
to Lisbon when a French privateer had captured her. While Gorgon was exchanging people with the brig, another brig, this one exhibiting French colours, arrived. After Gorgon fired a few shots, the brig struck.
The newcomer turned out to be the French privateer Henri, from Nantes. She carried 14 guns, five of which she had thrown overboard. She also had a crew of 108 men. She had been cruising for five days but had taken nothing. Captain Richard Williams put a prize crew aboard and took her with him into Lisbon.
Between 1799 and 1800 Gorgon continued to serve as a storeship. under Commander Henry Hill. Then in 1801 Commander George Ross and Gorgon participated in the Egyptian campaign.
Napoleonic Wars
Commander William Wilkinson recommissioned Gorgon in May 1803 on the Irish station. In 1805, she served as a floating battery or guardship on the River ShannonRiver Shannon
The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...
. In October 1805 she was under Commander Francis Stanfell, with Commander Charles Ryder replacing him in May 1806.
Between November 1806 and July 1808 Gorgon was back in Woolwich, where she underwent a large repair and was fitted as a victualler. Commander Robert Brown Tom recommissioned her in May 1808 and sailed her to the Baltic where she again served as a storeship.
Even so, on 12 May 1809, she captured the Danish vessel the Petrena. Then on 21 May she was in company with the gun-brig when they captured the Danish boat Helden.
By November 1809 she was a hospital ship under Commander Charles Webb. On 24 October 1810, Gorgon, , and the gun-brig were present at the capture of the brig Hoppet.
Commander Alexander Milner had replaced Webb by April 1811. He sailed Gorgon to the Mediterranean on 10 March 1812. She came under the command of Commander Rowland Mainwaring in September. She then served as the flagship for Vice Admiral Francis Pickmore
Francis Pickmore
Francis Pickmore naval officer and colonial governor born in Chester, Cheshire, England and died St. John's, Newfoundland....
off Toulon. Commander Claude de Crespigny replaced Mainwaring at Port Mahon
Mahon
Mahón is a municipality and the capital city of the Balearic Island of Minorca , located in the eastern part of the island. Mahon has the second deepest natural harbor in the world: 5 km long and up to 900m. wide...
in 1813, but he died in July. Commander John Cornish replaced de Crespigny and in turn Commander Richard Booth Bowden replaced him in 1814.
Bowden then sailed Gorgon to America where she was part of the British fleet at the Battle of New Orleans
Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1815 and was the final major battle of the War of 1812. American forces, commanded by Major General Andrew Jackson, defeated an invading British Army intent on seizing New Orleans and the vast territory the United States had acquired with the...
. Before that battle her boats participated in the Battle of Lake Borgne
Battle of Lake Borgne
The Battle of Lake Borgne was a naval battle between the Royal Navy and the United States Navy in the American South theatre of the War of 1812. It occurred on 14 December 1814 on Lake Borgne and was part of the British advance on New Orleans.-Background:...
on 14 December 1814. Gorgon had one master's mate slightly wounded. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issue of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "14 Dec. Boat Service 1814" to all surviving claimants from the action.