HMS Harrier (1804)
Encyclopedia
HMS Harrier was a launched in 1804. She took part in several notable actions before she was lost, presumed foundered, in March 1809.

Career

Harrier was commissioned in November 1804 under Commander William Woodridge, who sailed her for the East Indies on 24 December 1804. In 1805 Commander Edward Ratsey replaced Woodridge.

On 2 August 1805, Harrier fought the 40-gun Sémillante
French frigate Sémillante (1792)
The Sémillante was a 32-gun frigate of the French Navy, lead ship of her class. She was involved in a number of multi-vessel actions against the Royal Navy, particularly in the Indian Ocean. She captured a number of East Indiamen before the she became so damaged that the French disarmed her and...

, Captain Léonard-Bernard Motard
Léonard-Bernard Motard
Léonard-Bernard Motard was a French naval officer and eventually contre-amiral.Motard enlisted in the French Navy in 1786. He was promoted to ensign in 1791, to lieutenant in 1793, and to capitaine de frégate in 1797...

, in the San Bernardino Strait
San Bernardino Strait
The San Bernardino Strait is a strait in the Philippines. It separates the Bicol Peninsula of Luzon island from the island of Samar in the south.-Filipinos and San Bernardino Strait:...

 off San Jacinto, Philippines
San Jacinto, Masbate
San Jacinto is a 4th class municipality in the province of Masbate, Philippines. It is located in Ticao Island. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 24,780 people in 5,652 households.-Barangays:...

, together with the , under Captain John Wood. After exchanges of fire first with Harrier and then with Phaeton, Sémillante took refuge under the guns of a shore battery. Unable to dislodge her, the two British vessels eventually sailed off, each having suffered two men wounded. Sémillante was reported to have suffered 13 killed and 36 wounded. After resupplying at San Jacinto, Sémillante intended to sail for Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 in March 1805 to fetch specie
Coin
A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....

 for the Philippines; the encounter with Phaeton and Harrier foiled the plan. Motard returned to the Indian Ocean, operating for the next three years against British shipping from Île de France
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

.

In 1806 Lieutenant Edward Troubridge took command. On 4 July Harrier was in company with , under the command of Captain Edward Elphinstone, when they captured and destroyed the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...

’s brig Christian Elizabeth. She was armed with eight guns and carried a crew of 80 men. The Christian Elizabeth was sheltering under the guns of Fort Manado
Manado
Manado is the capital of the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia. Manado is located at the Bay of Manado, and is surrounded by a mountainous area. The city has about 405,715 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar...

.

Greyhound and Harrier then sailed across the Molucca Sea
Molucca Sea
The Molucca Sea is located in the western Pacific Ocean, within the country of Indonesia. The region is rich in coral and has many diving sites.-Location:...

 to the island of Tidon
Tidung
The Tidung, or Tidong are a group of Dayak people who lived in northeastern part of Borneo and surrounding small islands. They lived on both sides of the border of Malaysia and Indonesia. They are closely related to other native people in northeastern Borneo, such as Murut people.Tidung speak...

 in the Celebes. There, on 6 July, they captured another enemy ship, the Belgica. She was armed with 12 guns and had a crew of 32 men.

Greyhound and Harrier continued their cruise westward until the evening of 25 July when, in the Salayer Strait, they sighted four ships. The next morning they were able to bring the Dutch squadron to action.
After 40 minutes of an exchange of fire the Dutch frigate Pallas
HMS Celebes (1806)
HMS Celebes was the Dutch or Batavian Republic frigate Pallas that the frigate and brig-sloop captured on 26 July 1806 in the East Indies. The British took her into service as HMS Makassar , but renamed her within the year to Celebes.Commander Edward Troubridge, formerly of Harrier, became her...

 struck to Greyhound. Harrier engaged the two merchant vessels, Victoria and Batavier, which struck to her. The fourth Dutch vessels, the corvette William, which had not been engaged, escaped. Casualties on Pallas were heavy, with eight men killed outright and 32 wounded, including her captain and three of his lieutenants. Six of the wounded later died, including the Dutch captain. There were also four men killed on the East Indiamen and seven wounded, one of whom died later. British losses by contrast were light, with one man killed and eight wounded on Greyhound and just three wounded on Harrier.

Prize crews took the three captured ships to Port Cornwallis
Port Blair
Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...

 on South Andaman Island
South Andaman Island
South Andaman Island is the southernmost island of the Great Andaman and is home to the majority of the population of the Andaman Islands. Port Blair, the capital of the islands, is located on the southern part of this island. Some areas of the island are restricted areas for non-Indians; however,...

. Troubridge received promotion to commander in September, and assumed command of HMS Celebes, the former Pallas. Commander William Wilbrahim replaced Troubridge in Harrier.

Between 1 and 3 February 1807 Harrier endured a hurricane of Madagascar on her way to the Cape of Good Hope. She logged sightings of and , neither of which was ever seen again. Blenheim was the flagship of Admiral Sir Thomas Troubridge
Sir Thomas Troubridge, 1st Baronet
Sir Thomas Troubridge, 1st Baronet was a British naval commander and politician.Troubridge was educated at St Paul's School, London. He entered the Royal Navy in 1773 and, together with Nelson, served in the East Indies in the frigate Seahorse. In 1785 he returned to England in the Sultan as...

, father of Edward Troubridge. One of the passengers on Blenheim was Elphinstone, who had been recalled to Britain. Harrier herself reached the Cape of Good Hope, but not without difficulty, and refitted there.

In 1807, Commander George Pigot replaced Wilbrahim in command of Harrier. Pigot was superseded in turn by Commander Justice Finley (acting), at the Cape of Good Hope. Finley was captain of Harrier on 7 August 1807 when she captured the Helena.

Harrier, , and shared in the capture of the Jeune Laure on 5 March 1808.

Commander John James Ridge was captain of Harrier on 19 October 1808 when she captured the French ship Soeuffleur. Harrier, Nereide
French frigate Néréide (1779)
The Néréide was a Sybille class 32-gun, copper-hulled, frigate of the French Navy. On 22 December 1797 HMS Phoebe captured her and she was taken into British service as HMS Nereide. The French recaptured her at the Battle of Grand Port, only to lose her again when the British took Île de France in...

 and shared in the capture on 5 January 1809 of the Goende Monche.

Fate

On 13 and 14 March 1809, Harrier was in company with her class-mate , about 1000 miles from Rodrigues
Rodrigues
Rodrigues is a common surname in the Portuguese language. It was originally a Patronymic, meaning Son of Rodrigo or Son of Rui. The "es" signifies "son of". The name Rodrigo is the Portuguese form of Roderick, meaning "famous power" or "famous ruler", from the Germanic elements "hrod" and "ric" ,...

. Harrier fell behind and was never seen again. She was presumed to have foundered with all hands.
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