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HMS Indefatigable (1784)
Encyclopedia
HMS Indefatigable was one of the Ardent class
Ardent class ship of the line
The Ardent-class ships of the line were a class of seven 64-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir Thomas Slade.-Design:Slade based the design of the Ardent-class on the captured French ship .-Ships:...
64-gun third-rate
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...
ships-of-the-line 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:...
in 1761 for the Royal Navy. She had a long career under several distinguished commanders, serving throughout the French Revolutionary Wars
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 the 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...
. She took, alone or in company, some 27 prizes
Prize (law)
Prize is a term used in admiralty law to refer to equipment, vehicles, vessels, and cargo captured during armed conflict. The most common use of prize in this sense is the capture of an enemy ship and its cargo as a prize of war. In the past, it was common that the capturing force would be allotted...
and in 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issue of four clasps to the Naval General Service Medal to any still surviving members of her crews from the respective actions. She was broken up in 1816.
Construction
Indefatigable was ordered on 3 August 1780 (long after Slade's death), and her keel was laid down in May 1781 at the Bucklers HardBucklers Hard
Bucklers Hard is a hamlet situated on the banks of the Beaulieu River in the English county of Hampshire.- Overview :With its Georgian cottages running down to the river, Bucklers Hard is part of the 9,000 acre Beaulieu Estate...
shipyard in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
owned by Henry Adams. She was launched in early July 1784 and completed from 11 July to 13 September of that year at Portsmouth Dockyard as a 64-gun two-decked third rate for 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...
. She had cost £
£sd
£sd was the popular name for the pre-decimal currencies used in the Kingdom of England, later the United Kingdom, and ultimately in much of the British Empire...
25,210 4s
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
5d to build; her total initial cost including fitting out and coppering was £36,154 18s 7d. By that time, she was already nearly obsolete for the role of a ship of the line, and was never commissioned in that role.
Design modification
In 1794, she was razéRaze
Raze may refer to:* Demolition* Raze, Haute-Saône, a town in France* Raze * Raze * Raze , a fictional character in the Underworld films* Raze , a made for TV film aired on syfy...
ed: her upper gun deck
Gun deck
The term gun deck originally referred to a deck aboard a ship that was primarily used for the mounting of cannon to be fired in broadsides. However, on many smaller vessels such as frigates and unrated vessels the upper deck, forecastle and quarterdeck bore all of the cannons but were not referred...
was cut away to convert her into a large and heavily armed frigate. The original intention was to retain her twenty-six 24-pounder guns on her gundeck, and mount eight 12-pounder guns on her quarterdeck, and a further four on her forecastle, which would have rated her as a 38-gun vessel. However, it was at this time that the carronade
Carronade
The carronade was a short smoothbore, cast iron cannon, developed for the Royal Navy by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, UK. It was used from the 1770s to the 1850s. Its main function was to serve as a powerful, short-range anti-ship and anti-crew weapon...
was becoming more popular in the Navy, and on 5 December 1794 her intended armament was altered with the addition of four 42-pounder carronades to go on her quarterdeck, and two on her forecastle. Along with and , which were converted at about the same time, Indefatigable was thereafter rated as a 44-gun fifth-rate frigate (despite carrying only 38 long guns, which at the time would have led to her being classified as a 38-gun ship, irrespective of the carronades). The work was carried out at Portsmouth, at a cost of £8,764, from September 1794 to February 1795. On 17 February 1795, a further two 12-pounder guns were added to her quarterdeck, though her official rating remained unchanged.
Captain Sir Edward Pellew
Indefatigable was first commissioned in December 1794 under Captain Sir Edward PellewEdward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth
Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, GCB was a British naval officer. He fought during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary, and the Napoleonic Wars...
. He commanded her until early-1799.
On 9 March 1795, Indefatigable, and captured numerous French prizes: Temeraire, Minerve, Gentille, Regeneration, and a brig and sloop of unknown names.
On 20 March 1796, Indefatigable and her squadron chased three French corvettes, one of which, the Volage, of 26 guns, ran ashore under a battery at the mouth of the Loire
Loire
Loire is an administrative department in the east-central part of France occupying the River Loire's upper reaches.-History:Loire was created in 1793 when after just 3½ years the young Rhône-et-Loire department was split into two. This was a response to counter-Revolutionary activities in Lyon...
. Volage lost her masts in running ashore, but the French were later able to refloat her. Her two consorts, Sagesse and Eclatant, escaped into the river. In this action had four men wounded.
The squadron also captured or sank a number of merchant vessels between 11 and 21 March.
- Favorite Sultana, laden with salt—captured;
- Friends, brig, laden with flour—captured;
- Brig of unknown name, in ballast—sunk;
- Chasse maree of unknown name, empty—sunk;
- Providence, chasse maree, laden with wine and brandy—captured;
- Brig of unknown name, laden with empty casks—sunk;
- Four Marys, brig, in ballast—captured;
- Aimable Justine, brig, in ballast—captured;
- Nouvelle Union, brig, in ballast—captured.
The vessels sharing in the prize money were: Indefatigable, Concorde, , , , and the hired armed cutter Dolly and hired armed lugger Duke of York
Hired armed lugger Duke of York
The Hired armed lugger Duke of York served the Royal Navy from 14 October 1794 to 2 January 1799 when she foundered in the North Sea. She was of 57 44/94 tons burthen and was armed with eight 4-pounder guns....
.
On 13 April 1796 Indefatigable was in pursuit of a French frigate. Pellew signaled to Revolutionnaire to sail to cut her off from the shore. Revolutionnaire then captured the French frigate Unite
French frigate Gracieuse (1788)
The Gracieuse was a 32-gun Charmante class frigate of the French Navy. Renamed to Unité, she took part in the French Revolutionary Wars...
after having fired two broadsides into her. Unite had nine men killed and 11 wounded; Revolutionnaire had no casualties. The Royal Navy took the frigate into service as HMS Unite.
Virginie, carried 44 guns, 18 and 9-pounders, and had a crew of 340 men under the command of Citizen Bergeret, Capitaine de Vaisseau. She had 14 or 15 men killed, 17 badly wounded, and 10 slightly. She also had four feet of water in her hold from shot holes. Indefatigable had no casualties. Pellew sent Virginie into Plymouth under the escort of Concorde, and followed the next day with Amazon, which had sustained some damage. The Royal Navy took Virginie into service as .
In July 1796 there was an initial distribution of 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...
for the capture of Unite and Virginie of £20,000. Indefatigable shared this with Amazon, Revolutionnaire, Concorde and Argo. Apparently Duke of York too shared in some or all of the prize money. In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the issue of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Indefatigable 20 Apl. 1796".
On 12 June Indefatigable, Amazon, Concorde, Revolutionaire and then took two French brigs - the Trois Couleurs and the Blonde (alias Betsey) - off Ushant, after a chase of 24 hours. Trois Couleurs carried 10 guns and a crew of 70. Blonde had 16 guns and a crew of 95 men. Both were under the command of Ensigns Du Vesseaux and had left 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...
two days earlier for a six-week cruise, but had not yet taken any prizes.
In September 1796 Indefatigable, Phoebe, Revolutionnaire, and Amazon captured five Spanish ships.
On 1 October, Indefatigable, Amazon, Revolutionnaire, Phoebe and Jason shared in the capture of the Vrow Delenea Maria. The next day, Pellew and Indefatigable captured the privateer schooner Ariel, of Boston, off Corunna. Earlier, Pellew had recaptured the brig Queen of Naples, which had been sailing from Lisbon to Cork. From her he learned that there were two privateers around Corunna, one of which had captured a brig from Lisbon with a cargo of bale goods two days earlier. Pellew immediately set off towards Corunna and was able to intercept the Ariel. She had 12 guns and a crew of 75 men. She was 14 days out of Bordeaux. Her consort, the schooner Vengeur, was of the same strength, and Pellew yet hoped to catch her too. The brig from Bristol, however, had made it into the port of Ferrol
Ferrol
Ferrol can refer to:* Ferrol, Spain, industrial city and naval station in Galicia * Ferrol, Virginia, town in the United States of America* Ferrol, Romblon, municipality in the Philippines* Ferrol, Peninsula, Peru, South America...
, where Pellew had earlier chased two French frigates.
In January 1797, Indefatigable and Amazon captured the packet Sangossee. On 7 January Indefatigable and Amazon captured the Emanuel. Later that month Indefatigable fought her most famous battle.
The Action of 13 January 1797
Action of 13 January 1797
The Action of 13 January 1797 was a small naval battle fought between a French ship of the line and two British frigates off the coast of Brittany during the French Revolutionary Wars. During the action the frigates successfully outmanoeuvred the much larger French vessel and drove it on shore in...
was an engagement off the Penmarcks between the two frigates, Indefatigable and Amazon, against the French Droits de l'Homme, a 74-gun
Seventy-four (ship)
The "seventy-four" was a type of two-decked sailing ship of the line nominally carrying 74 guns. Originally developed by the French Navy in the mid-18th century, the design proved to be a good balance between firepower and sailing qualities, and was adopted by the British Royal Navy , as well as...
ship of the line. The battle ended with Droits de l'Homme being driven onto shore in a gale. Amazon also ran onto the shore; still, almost her entire crew survived both the battle and the grounding and were captured. Despite being embayed and having damaged masts and rigging, Indefatigable was able to repair the damage and beat off the lee shore
Lee shore
The terms lee shore and windweather or ward shore are nautical terms used to describe a stretch of shoreline. A lee shore is one that is to the lee side of a vessel - meaning the wind is blowing towards it. A weather shore has the wind blowing from inland over it out to sea...
, showing excellent seamanship. She had had only 19 officers and men wounded, with most of those not being serious. This action won for any still surviving crew in 1847 the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Indefatigable 13 Jany. 1797".
Subsequently Indefatigable or Pellew's squadron took more vessels, including privateers, primarily in the Channel. Thus, Pellew reported that on 30 April 1797 "we" captured the French brigantine
Brigantine
In sailing, a brigantine or hermaphrodite brig is a vessel with two masts, only the forward of which is square rigged.-Origins of the term:...
privateer Basque. She was armed with eight guns and carried a crew of 50 men.
On 11 May Indefatigable, in company with Phoebe, and Duke of York, captured the Nouvelle Eugénie. She was a razee
Razee
A razee or razée is a sailing ship that has been cut down to reduce the number of decks. The word is derived from the French vaisseau rasé, meaning a razed ship.-Sixteenth century:...
privateer of 16 guns and carried a crew of 120 men. She was four days out of Nantes on a 30-day cruise, but had taken no prizes.
On 21 July the Duke of York returned, having chased a French privateer lugger into the hands of Lieutenant Bray, who commanded the Revenue Cutter Hind. Hind also recaptured a sloop that the privateer had captured. The lugger was armed with two guns and carried a crew of 25 men.
On 14 October Indefatigable arrived at Teneriffe. There, at midnight, she captured the French brig corvette Ranger. Ranger was armed with 14 guns and carried a crew of 70 men. She had been carrying dispatches to the West Indies, which she was able to destroy before capture. The next day Pellew captured a Spanish schooner carrying a cargo of fish. Because Indefatigable was short of water, he put the crew of the Ranger, though not her officers, on board the schooner and sent them ashore at Santa Cruz.
Ten days after that, Indefatigable captured the privateer Hyène after a chase of eight hours. She was armed with 24 9-pounder guns and had a crew of 230 men. She was two weeks out of Bayonne but had not captured anything. Hyène had apparently mistaken Indefatigable for a vessel from Portuguese India. Pellew estimated that had she not lost her foretopmast in the chase, she might even so well have escaped. She had been the post-ship until her capture in 1793; the Royal Navy took her back into service under her original name.
Indefatigable returned to the Channel where, on 11 January 1798, in company with and Childers, they captured the French privateer schooner Vengeur. Vengeur was a new vessel of 12 guns and 72 men. She was eight days out of Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
but had taken no prizes. Pellew sent her into Falmouth.
Five days later, in the evening of the 16th, Pellew's squadron captured the French privateer Inconcevable. She was armed with eight guns and had a crew of 55 men. She was 10 days out of Dunkirk and had taken nothing. Prize money was paid to Indefatigable, Cambrian and .
On 28 January, Indefatigable and Cambrian captured the privateer Heureuse Nouvelle. She was armed with 22 guns and had a crew of 130 men. She was 36 days out of Brest and during that time had capture only one ship, a large American vessel named the Providence, which had a cargo of cotton and sugar. Pellew sent Cambrian in pursuit. Duke of York also shared in the capture.
On 30 April 1798 Indefatigable captured the brigantine privateer Basque. She was armed with eight guns and had a crew of 50 men. Indefatigable and Cleopatra captured the Hope on 11 July.
At daylight on 4 August Indefatigable sighted the privateer Heureux, together with a prize, and gave chase. The two separated, with the prize heading directly for Bayonne. After a chase of 32 hours on a great circular route, Indefatigable and her quarry found themselves off Bayonne where they intercepted the prize and captured her. The privateer was the Heureux, of 16 guns and 112 men. Her prize was the Canada, John Sewell, Master, which had been sailing from Jamaica to London, having stopped in Charlestown, with a cargo of sugar, rum and coffee. Pellew exchanged prisoners, taking off the crew of the Canada and putting on her the crew of Heureux. He then drove Canada on shore where he hoped her cargo at least would be destroyed.
While cruising in the Bay of Biscay, on 8 August, after a chase of 24 hours, Indefatigable captured the French corvette Vaillante, which was under the command of Lieutenant de Vaisseau La Porte. The corvette fired a few shots before she struck. She was armed with twenty-two 9-pounder guns and had a crew of 175 men. She had left Rochefort on 1 August, and the Île de Ré
Île de Ré
Île de Ré is an island off the west coast of France near La Rochelle, on the northern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait....
on the 4th, where she had picked up 25 banished priests, 27 convicts, and a Madame Rovere and family, all of whom she was taking to Cayenne. She was only 18 months old, coppered, and a fast sailer. The British took her into service as . On 15 November 1798 Indefatigable captured the Mercurius.
At dawn on 31 December 1798, Implacable captured the Minerve, five 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...
off Ushant. She was armed with 16 guns and carried a crew of 140 men. She was four weeks out of Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine.-Demographics:The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season...
and was waiting to enter Brest when captured. She had taken several prizes, one of which, the Asphalon, Indefatigable captured on 1 January 1799. Aspahalon, a Newcastle vessel, had been sailing from Halifax to London with a cargo of sugar, coffee and tobacco. Other vessels Minerve had captured included Martinus (Bremen brig), Tagus (Portuguese brig ), Minerva (English snow
Snow (ship)
A snow or snaw is a sailing vessel. A type of brig , snows were primarily used as merchant ships, but saw war service as well...
) and Ann and Dorothea (aka Beata Maria; Danish schooner).
On 14 January 1799 Indefatigable captured the Argo. More captures, or rather recaptures, of merchantmen followed. Indefatigable, and recaptured the Providence on 10 January 1799, the Pomona on 5 February, and the Wohlfarden on 9 February.Pellew had been captain of Nymphe in 1793-94.
Subsequent commanders
From March 1799 until the end of 1800 Indefatigable was under the command of Captain Henry CurzonHenry Curzon
Admiral Henry Curzon was a Royal Navy officer who held commands during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars....
. On 31 May she captured the brig Vénus. Venus was armed with twelve 4-pounder guns and two 9-pounders, and carried a crew of 101 men. She was nine weeks out of Rochefort and had captured two prizes, the schooner Clarence, sailing from Lisbon to London, and a ship from Lisbon sailing to Hamburg with a cargo of salt. Indefatigable was apparently also in company with Fisgard and Diamond.
On 9 October 1799 Indefatigable, Diamond, Cambrian, , Nymphe and shared in the capture of the Spanish brig Nostra Senora de la Solidad. Then on 7 November Nymphe, Indefatigable and Diamond shared in the recapture of the ship Brailsford.
Then on 6 January 1800 Indefatigable shared with , , and Stag in the capture of the French brig Ursule. On 11 February Indefatigable captured the Vidette.
On 12 June 1800, Indefatigable captured the French privateer brig Vengeur. She was armed with six long 4-pounders and 10 18-pounder carronades, and carried a crew of 102 men. She was two days out of Bordeaux and sailing for the coast of Brazil. Vengeur was sailing in company with three letters of marque
Letter of marque
In the days of fighting sail, a Letter of Marque and Reprisal was a government licence authorizing a person to attack and capture enemy vessels, and bring them before admiralty courts for condemnation and sale...
- a ship, a brig and a schooner - that were bound for Guadeloupe. On 11 June Vengeur had captured the Jersey-privateer lugger Snake.When the crew of Vengeur came ashore one of the men from Venguer was discovered to have been one of the mutineers on Danae, which Indefatiagble had captured in 1798, and which had suffered a mutiny in 1800. The mutineer was seized, court martialled and hanged.
On 3 July Indefatigable recaptured the brig Cultivator, from the French. Eleven days later, Indefatigable and Sirius captured the French ship Favori. The next day (or Bourdelois) captured the Phoenix. Indefatigable, Sirius and shared with Bordelais by agreement, and further shared with Bordelais.
Indefatigable then was with Sir John Borlase Warren
John Borlase Warren
Sir John Borlase Warren, 1st Baronet , was an English admiral, politician and diplomat. Born in Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, he was the son and heir of John Borlase Warren of Stapleford and Little Marlow...
's squadron at Ferrol. She apparently did not participate in the attack on a fort at the bay of Playa de Dominos (Doniños) on 25 August 1800.
On 22 October Indefatigable, took the French 28-gun frigate Vénus
French corvette Vénus (1794)
Vénus was a corvette of the French Navy that the British captured in 1800.French sources refer to her as a corvette of 28-guns, however in British service she was classified as a sloop...
off the Portuguese coast. Indefatigable had been chasing Venus from the morning when in the afternoon Fisgard came in sight and forced Venus to turn. Both British vessels arrived at Venus at almost the same time (7pm). Venus was armed with 32-guns and had a crew of 200 men. She was sailing from Rochefort to Senegal. Indefatigable and Fisgard shared the prize money with Boadicea, Diamond, , 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...
schooner Earl St Vincent.
In January 1801 Indefatigable was under Captain Matthew Scott. Indefatigable was part of the squadron that shared by agreement in the prize money from the Temeraire, which had captured on 30 May. Similarly, the same vessels shared by agreement in Dashers capture of Bien Aimé on 23 July 1S01. Indefatigable was then paid off later that year. Indefatigable was laid up in ordinary
Reserve 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 Plymouth in March to April 1802, as a result of the peace of October 1801
Treaty 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"...
.
Napoleonic Wars
Following the resumption of hostilities, the Indefatigable was fitted out for sea between July and September 1803. She was recommissioned under Captain Graham MooreGraham Moore
Admiral Sir Graham Moore, GCB, GCMG was a British sailor and a career officer in the Royal Navy. He was the younger brother of General Sir John Moore.-Naval career:...
, younger brother of Sir John Moore of Rifle Brigade and Corunna
Battle of Corunna
The Battle of Corunna refers to a battle of the Peninsular War. On January 16, 1809, a French army under Marshal Soult attacked the British under Sir John Moore...
fame.
Action of 5 October 1804
On 5 October 1804, with three other frigates (MedusaHMS Medusa (1801)
HMS Medusa was a 38-gun 5th rate frigate of the Royal Navy that served in the Napoleonic Wars. Launched on 14 April 1801, she took part in the Action of 5 October 1804 against a Spanish squadron, in the River Plate Expedition in 1807, and made several captures of enemy ships, before being converted...
, Lively
HMS Lively (1804)
HMS Lively was a 38-gun fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy, launched on 23 July 1804 at Woolwich Dockyard, and commissioned later that month. She was the prototype of the eponymous Lively class of 18-pounder frigates, designed by the Surveyor of the Navy, Sir William Rule...
and Amphion
HMS Amphion (1798)
HMS Amphion was a 32-gun fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She served during the Napoleonic Wars.Amphion was built by Betts, of Mistleythorn, and was launched on 19 March 1798....
and with Moore as Commodore, Indefatigable intercepted four Spanish frigates under the command of Rear-Admiral Don Joseph Bustamente, Knight of the Order of St. James, off Cadiz. As it transpired later, they were carrying bullion from Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
to Spain. Spain was at the time a neutral country, but was showing strong signs of declaring war in alliance with Napoleonic France
First French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
. Acting on Admiralty orders Moore required the Spaniards to change their course and sail for England. Admiral Bustamente refused and a short engagement ensued.
First, Mercedes blew up. Then Indefatigable captured Medée and Lively captured Clara. After a further chase, Lively and Medusa captured Fama.
- Medée, the flagship, was armed with forty-two 18-pounder guns, on the main deck, and had a crew of 300 men. She lost two men killed and 10 wounded.
- Fama, the Commodore's ship, was armed with thirty-six 12-pounder guns on the main deck, and had a crew of 180 men. She lost 11 killed and 50 wounded.
- Clara was armed with thirty-six 12-pounder guns on the main deck, and had a crew of 300 men. She lost seven killed and 20 wounded.
- Mercedes was armed with 3thirty-six 12-pounder guns, on the main deck, and had a crew of 280 men. After she exploded the British were only able to rescue her second captain and 40 men.
Indefatigable had no casualties. Amphion had five men wounded, one badly. Lively had two killed and four wounded. Indefatigable and Amphion escorted Medée and Fama 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...
. Medusa and Lively brought in Clara. The Royal Navy took Medea into service as and Clara as .
The value of the treasure was very large, and if it had been treated as Prize of War
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...
then Moore and his brother captains would have become extremely wealthy. As it was the money (and ships) were declared to be "Droits of Admiralty" on the grounds that war had not been declared, and the captains and crew shared a relatively small ex gratia
Ex gratia
Ex gratia is Latin for "by favour", and is most often used in a legal context. When something has been done ex gratia, it has been done voluntarily, out of kindness or grace...
payment of £160,000 for the bullion, plus the proceeds of the sale of the hull and cargo.
Normal operations
On 4 November 1804 recaptured the ship William Heathcote from the French. Indefatigable shared by agreement.In October 1805 Indefatigable, now under Captain John Tremayne Rodd
John Tremayne Rodd
Vice-Admiral Sir John Tremayne Rodd, KCB was an officer of the Royal Navy noted for his services during the Napoleonic Wars. Rodd served in a number of ships, including under Admiral Sir Charles Cotton and during the Battle of the Basque Roads...
(-1809), was part of the blockade of Brest. One boat each from the ships of the line of the squadron, plus three boats each from Indefatigable and entered the Gironde
Gironde
For the Revolutionary party, see Girondists.Gironde is a common name for the Gironde estuary, where the mouths of the Garonne and Dordogne rivers merge, and for a department in the Aquitaine region situated in southwest France.-History:...
on 15 July 1806 to attack two French corvettes and a convoy. A change in the wind permitted all but one corvette to escape. The British captured the French corvette César (or Caesar). She was armed with 18 guns, had a crew of 86 men, and was under the command of Monsieur Louis Francois Hector Fourré, Lieutenant de Vaisseau. The French were expecting the attack and put up a strong resistance. The British lost six men killed, 36 wounded and 21 missing. Indefatigable alone lost two killed and 11 wounded. The 21 missing men were in a boat from ; a later report suggested that most, if not all, had been taken prisoner. Most of the boats in the attack were so shot through that the British later abandoned them. The vessels claiming prize money included 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...
lugger
Lugger
A lugger is a class of boats, widely used as traditional fishing boats, particularly off the coasts of France, Scotland and England. It is a small sailing vessel with lugsails set on two or more masts and perhaps lug topsails.-Defining the rig:...
Nile, in addition to the various ships of the line and frigates. This cutting out expedition resulted in the participants qualifying for the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "16 July Boat Service 1806".
About a year later, on 19 October 1806, Indefatigable, and captured the chasse marees Achille, Jenny and Marianne. On 5 December 1807 Indefatigable captured the Pamelia. Then on the day after Christmas, Indefatigable and captured the American ship Eliza.
On 7 January 1808 Indefatigable and captured the French galiot
Galiot
Galiots were types of ships from the Age of Sail.In the Mediterranean, galiots were a type of small galley, with one or two masts and about twenty oars, using both sails and oars for propulsion...
Fanny and her cargo.
Then on 31 July, Indefatigable, in company with the gun-brig , captured the letter of marque Diane, which was on her way to 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...
, carrying letters and dispatches that she threw overboard during the chase, as well as naval stores. She was six years old, had a burthen of 482 tons (bm), was armed with fourteen 9 and 6-pounder guns and had a crew of 68 men. She had left the Gironde the evening before on this, her second voyage, to India.
On 19 August Indefatigable, still in company with Conflict, captured the Adele. In December a distribution of ₤10,000 was payable for the proceeds from the Diane and the Adele. On 1 and 9 September 1808 Indefatigable captured two American ships, the Sally and the Peggy. and were in company with Indefatigable at the time. were in company.On 1 November Indefatigable captured the Bonne Louise.
On 14 January 1809 Indefatigable captured French privateer lugger Clarisse in the Channel. She was pierced for 14 guns but had only three mounted. She had left Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine.-Demographics:The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season...
the evening before and had not made any captures. At the time of the capture, , Iris, , and Goldfinch were in sight. They shared with Indefatigable in the proceeds for the hull, but not the bounty money for the captured crew. On 20 February captured the French schooner Matilda. Indefatigable was in company.
Indefatigable arrived at the Basque Roads on 25 February. While there she captured two vessels, the Danish ship Neptunus on 24 March and the French ship Nymphe on 28 March. For the capture of Neptunus Indefatigable was in company with the sloops and . Foxhound was also in company for the capture of Nymphe.
In April 1809 Indefatigable participated in the battle of the Basque Roads. The action earned her crew another clasp to the Naval General Service Medal: "Basque Roads 1809".
In October 1809 Indefatigable was under Captain Henry E. R. Baker. Captain John Broughton succeeded him in December 1809 and remained in command until 1812.
On 6 May 1810 Indefatigable captured two French chasse marees, the Camilla and the Bonne Rencontre; and were in company. Next, Indefatigable captured the Flora on 13 June. On 20 October Indefatigable re-captured the Portuguese brig Intrigua.
On 15 January 1811, captured the Matilda and her cargo. Indefatigable and were in sight.
Then in June 1812, under Captain John Fyffe on the South American station, Indefatigable visited the Galapagos islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
. During this cruise she gave the second largest island, now known as Santa Cruz island
Santa Cruz Island (Galápagos)
Santa Cruz Island is one of the Galápagos Islands with an area of and a maximum altitude of .Situated in the center of the archipelago, Santa Cruz is the second largest island after Isabela. Its capital is Puerto Ayora, the most populated urban centre in the islands. On Santa Cruz there are some...
, its English name - Indefatigable.
By July Indefatigable was back in Portsmouth. When news of the outbreak of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
reached Britain, the Royal Navy seized all American vessels then in British ports. Indefatigable was among the Royal Navy vessels then lying at Spithead or Portsmouth and so entitled to share in the grant for the American ships Belleville, Janus, Aeos, Ganges and Leonidas seized there on 31 July 1812.
On 17 September Indefatigable, , , , , and shared in the capture of the Dankbarheide. When the gun-brig Hearty detained the Prussian vessel Friede on 29 September, Indefatigable, Desiree, Primrose, Cretan, Drake, were either in company or sharing by agreement.
Fate
Indefatigable was finally paid off in 1815. She was broken up at Sheerness in August 1816.In fiction
- C. S. ForesterC. S. ForesterCecil Scott "C.S." Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith , an English novelist who rose to fame with tales of naval warfare. His most notable works were the 11-book Horatio Hornblower series, depicting a Royal Navy officer during the Napoleonic era, and The African Queen...
chose Indefatigable under Pellew as the ship on which his (fictional) hero Horatio HornblowerHoratio HornblowerHoratio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy officer who is the protagonist of a series of novels by C. S. Forester. He was later the subject of films and television programs.The original Hornblower tales began with the 1937 novel The Happy Return Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Royal Navy...
spent most of his time as a midshipmanMidshipmanA midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
in the novel Mr. Midshipman HornblowerMr. Midshipman HornblowerMr. Midshipman Hornblower is a Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester. Although it may be considered as the first episode in the Hornblower saga, it was written as a prequel; the first Hornblower novel, The Happy Return, was published in 1937.-Plot introduction:Horatio Hornblower...
. The Spanish flotilla incidentAction of 5 October 1804The Battle of Cape Santa Maria was a naval action that took place off the southern Portuguese coast, in which a British squadron under the command of Commodore Graham Moore attacked a Spanish squadron commanded by Brigadier Don José de Bustamante y Guerra, in time of peace, without...
is referred to by Forester in the novel Hornblower and the HotspurHornblower and the HotspurHornblower and the Hotspur is a Horatio Hornblower novel written by C. S. Forester.It is the third book in the series chronologically, but the tenth by order of publication.-Plot summary:...
. Indefatigable is featured even more prominently in the Hornblower television seriesHornblower (TV series)Hornblower is the umbrella title of a series of television drama programmes based on C. S. Forester's novels about the fictional character Horatio Hornblower, a Royal Naval officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars....
. - Patrick O'BrianPatrick O'BrianPatrick O'Brian, CBE , born Richard Patrick Russ, was an English novelist and translator, best known for his Aubrey–Maturin series of novels set in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars and centred on the friendship of English Naval Captain Jack Aubrey and the Irish–Catalan physician Stephen...
fictionalizes this Spanish Flotilla incident in Post CaptainPost Captain (novel)Post Captain is a 1972 historical naval novel by Patrick O'Brian. It is second in the Aubrey–Maturin series of stories set in the early-nineteenth century, concerning the adventures of Captain Jack Aubrey and naval surgeon Stephen Maturin...
, the second of his Aubrey–Maturin seriesAubrey–Maturin seriesThe Aubrey–Maturin series is a sequence of nautical historical novels—20 completed and one unfinished—by Patrick O'Brian, set during the Napoleonic Wars and centering on the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and his ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin, who is also a physician,...
of novels. In this novel, Captain Aubrey is in temporary command of HMS Lively, one of the other ships in the British squadron under the command of Moore. Lastly, Alexander KentDouglas ReemanDouglas Edward Reeman, born at Thames Ditton, is a British author who has written many historical fiction books on the Royal Navy, mainly set during either World War II or the Napoleonic Wars....
mentions the incident in a novel.
See also
and of the similar IntrepidIntrepid class ship of the line
The Intrepid-class ships of the line were a class of fifteen 64-gun third rates, designed for the Royal Navy by Sir John Williams. His design, approved on 18 December 1765, was slightly smaller than Sir Thomas Slade's contemporary Worcester Class design of the same year, against which it was...
class, both 64-gun ships, were also razeed around the same time as Indefatigable, but neither had as distinguished a career.