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HMS Liverpool (1814)
Encyclopedia
The third HMS Liverpool was a 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...
frigate, reclassified as a fourth rate. She was built by Wigram, Wells and Green and launched at Woolwich on 21 February 1814. She was built of pitch-pine), which made for speedy construction at the expense of durability.
Her major service was on the East Indies Station
East Indies Station
The East Indies Station was a formation of the British Royal Navy from 1865 to 1941.From 1831 to 1865 the East Indies and the China Station were a single command known as the East Indies and China Station...
from where in 1819 she led the successful attack on the pirates based in Ras al-Khaimah
Ras al-Khaimah
Ras al-Khaimah is one of the emirates of the United Arab Emirates , in the east of the Persian Gulf. It is in the northern part of the UAE bordering Oman's exclave. The capital city and home of most residents is also called Ras al-Khaimah. The city has a population of 263,217 as of 2008. The city...
. She was sold in 1822 but continued to operate in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
for an indefinite period thereafter.
Service
Liverpool was commissioned under Captain Arthur Farquhar in May 1814. Her first commission was very brief, though. She escorted convoys to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Quebec. She then served at the Cape StationSouth Atlantic Station
The South Atlantic Station was one of the geographical divisions into which the British Royal Navy divided its worldwide responsibilities. It was formed from the former Cape of Good Hope Station.-History:...
before returning to Deptford
Deptford
Deptford is a district of south London, England, located on the south bank of the River Thames. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Navy Dockyards.Deptford and the docks are...
to be paid off on 3 April 1816. First, though, she captured the French schooner
Circonstance on 21 October 1815. Circonstance was carrying 67 slaves.
In 1817 Liverpool was laid up at Deptford. Then in 1818, the Liverpool was re-commissioned under Captain Francis Augustus Collier.
He sailed her to join the East Indies Station
East Indies Station
The East Indies Station was a formation of the British Royal Navy from 1865 to 1941.From 1831 to 1865 the East Indies and the China Station were a single command known as the East Indies and China Station...
, sailing via Mauritius
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...
and Trincomalee
Trincomalee
Trincomalee is a port city in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and lies on the east coast of the island, about 113 miles south of Jaffna. It has a population of approximately 100,000 . The city is built on a peninsula, which divides the inner and outer harbours. Overlooking the Kottiyar Bay,...
. While at Port Louis
Port Louis
-Economy:The economy is dominated by its port, which handles Mauritius' international trade. The port was founded by the French who preferred Port Louis as the City is shielded by the Port Louis/Moka mountain range. It is the largest container handling facility in the Indian Ocean and can...
she captured four slave vessels. In the middle of 1819 she captured the Deux Amis (29 July), Constance (17 August) and Jenny (24 August). Bounty money was paid for the freed slaves.
Rear Admiral King
Sir Richard King, 2nd Baronet
Vice Admiral Sir Richard King, 2nd Baronet KCB was an officer in the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, who fought with distinction at the battle of Trafalgar despite being amongst the youngest captains present.King was the son of Sir Richard King, 1st Baronet, a...
appointed Captain Collier of Liverpool to command the naval portion of a joint navy-army punitive expedition against the pirates at Ras al-Khaimah
Ras al-Khaimah
Ras al-Khaimah is one of the emirates of the United Arab Emirates , in the east of the Persian Gulf. It is in the northern part of the UAE bordering Oman's exclave. The capital city and home of most residents is also called Ras al-Khaimah. The city has a population of 263,217 as of 2008. The city...
in the Persian Gulf. The naval force consisted of Liverpool, , , and a number of gun and mortar boats. The Bombay Marine of the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
contributed six armed vessels: the 16-gun Teignmouth under the command of Captain Hall, the senior captain, the 16-gun Benares, the 14-gun Aurora, the 14-gun Nautilus, the 12-gun Ariel and the 12-gun Vestal. Later several vessels belonging to the Sultan of Muscat
Said bin Sultan, Sultan of Muscat and Oman
Said bin Sultan Al-Said was Sultan of Muscat and Oman from November 20, 1804 to June 4, 1856. He became joint ruler of the country along with his brother Salim on the death of their father, Sultan bin Ahmad, in 1804...
joined the expedition. On the army side, Major General Sir William Keir commanded some 5,000 troops in transports.
The punitive expedition anchored off Ras-al-Khaimah on 2 December but waited for two days before landing the troops. Collier placed Captain Walpole of Curlew in charge of the gun boats and an armed pinnace
Pinnace (ship's boat)
As a ship's boat the pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a "tender" for guiding merchant and war vessels. In modern parlance, pinnace has come to mean a boat associated with some kind of larger vessel, that doesn't fit under the launch or lifeboat definitions...
to protect the landing, which was, however, unopposed.. On 4 December Curlew approached the shore and from there fired on the town, but with little effect. On 8 December the Navy took three 24-pounders from Liverpool and brought them onshore. These were much more effective. When the troops entered the town on 9 December they found that the inhabitants had all fled. The siege cost the British five dead and 52 men wounded. The Arabs reportedly had lost a thousand dead.
The British then spent December and early January moving up and down the coast destroying forts and vessels. The capture and destruction of the fortifications and ships in the port was a massive blow for the Gulf pirates. The Royal Navy suffered no casualties during the action.
Fate
Liverpool carried on serving in the East Indies Station and made a trip to China under Collier. Collier then transferred to , a newly built vessel, and brought her home, arriving on 16 October 1820. Liverpool returned to the Persian Gulf in August 1821, where she lost a number of her crew to the heat. She was paid off at Bombay in January 1822. Liverpools captain, officers and crew then transferred to the newly-built and sailed her back to Spithead, arriving on 6 October 1822.Liverpool was then sold at Bombay on 16 April 1822 for £3,780. The buyer apparently was a Persian prince who wanted to use her to suppress piracy in the Gulf.