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HMS Minotaur (1793)
Encyclopedia
HMS Minotaur was a 74-gun third-rate
ship of the line
of the Royal Navy
, launched on 6 November 1793 at Woolwich
. She was named after the mythological bull-headed monster
of Crete
.
in 1798, engaging the Aquilon
with HMS Theseus
and forcing her surrender, an operation that cost Minotaur 23 sailors dead and 64 wounded.
In May 1800, Minotaur served as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Lord Keith at the siege of Genoa
.
She was present at the landings in Aboukir Bay during the invasion of Egypt in 1801 where she lost a total of three men killed, and six wounded.
In May 1803, whilst in company with His Majesty's Ships and , she captured the French frigate
Franchise.
Minotaur was present at the Battle of Trafalgar
under Captain Charles John Moore Mansfield, where she was instrumental in capturing the Spanish ship Neptuno
, although Neptunos crew recaptured her in the storm that followed the battle.
HMS Minotaur served as the flagship of Rear-Admiral William Essington at the Battle of Copenhagen
in 1807.
Then on 25 July 17 boats from a British squadron under the command of Captain Charles Pater, consisting of Minotaur, , and attacked a flotilla of four enemy gunboats and a brig off Aspö
Head near Fredrickshamn in the Grand Duchy of Finland
, Russia
(present–day Hamina
, Finland
). Captain Forrest of Prometheus commanded the boats and succeeded in capturing gunboats Nos. 62, 65, and 66, and the transport brig No. 11. The action was sanguinary in that the British lost 19 men killed and 51 wounded, and the Russians lost 28 men killed and 59 wounded. Minotaur alone lost eight men killed and had 30 wounded, of whom four died of their wounds on the next day or so. In 1847 the Admiralty issued the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "25 JULY BOAT SERVICE 1809" to surviving claimants from the action. Cerberus then moved to the Mediterranean in 1810.
to Britain, under the command of John Barrett
, the Minotaur struck the Haak Bank on the Texel
off the Netherlands in the evening of 22 December 1810, after becoming separated from her consorts, HMS Plantagenet
and HMS Loire. She rolled on her side rapidly, where waves dismasted her and pounded her hull which began to split. Prior to the roll, 110 of her crew had taken to her boats and soon reached shore, where they informed the Dutch authorities of the disaster. Another 20 survivors were rescued by a pilot vessel. The authorities placed the survivors under custody and refused to dispatch more rescue vessels until the following morning. The rescue party found however that apart from four men who reached shore by clinging to wreckage, no survivors remained on the vessel or in the surrounding water, with the death toll being between 370 and 570. All survivors were taken to France as prisoners of war.
Three and a half years later, when the prisoners were released, the customary court martial decided that the deceased pilots were to blame for steering the ship into an unsafe position, having misjudged their location by over 60 miles because of the weather. The Dutch authorities were criticised for their failure to despatch rescue boats sooner by some of the survivors, including Lieutenant Snell, who gave examples of "how easy it would have been for the Dutch admiral in the Texel to have saved, or to have shown some wish to have saved, the remaining part of the crew". Reports from the Dutch chief officer of the marine district of the North coast indicated that two boats were sent out to the examine the wreck site on the morning of 23 December, but were prevented from approaching by the wind and seas. Maritime historian William Stephen Gilly concluded that "There is not the slightest doubt but that, had the Dutch sent assistance, the greater part of the ship's company would have been saved".
, though the subject was not originally the Minotaur, but a generic 'transport ship'. Turner had been producing sketches in preparation for the painting as early as 1805, but by the time he had completed the painting in 1810, the recent wreck of the Minotaur was a subject of much discussion, and the painting was named to capitalise on this public interest.
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...
, launched on 6 November 1793 at Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
. She was named after the mythological bull-headed monster
Minotaur
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur , as the Greeks imagined him, was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, "part man and part bull"...
of Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
.
Career
The ship fought at the Battle of the NileBattle of the Nile
The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...
in 1798, engaging the Aquilon
French ship Aquilon (1789)
The Aquilon was a Téméraire class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.She served off Italy under Brueys, and took part in the Battle of the Nile, where she fought HMS Vanguard, HMS Minotaur and HMS Theseus. She was captured and recommissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Aboukir.- External links...
with HMS Theseus
HMS Theseus (1786)
HMS Theseus was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy.One of the eight Culloden class ships designed by Thomas Slade, she was built at Perry, Blackwall Yard, London and launched on 25 September 1786.-Service:...
and forcing her surrender, an operation that cost Minotaur 23 sailors dead and 64 wounded.
In May 1800, Minotaur served as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Lord Keith at the siege of Genoa
Siege of Genoa (1800)
In the Siege of Genoa the Austrians besieged and captured Genoa but the smaller French force under André Masséna had diverted enough Austrian troops so that Napoleon could win the Battle of Marengo.-Background:...
.
She was present at the landings in Aboukir Bay during the invasion of Egypt in 1801 where she lost a total of three men killed, and six wounded.
In May 1803, whilst in company with His Majesty's Ships and , she captured the French frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
Franchise.
Minotaur was present at 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 ....
under Captain Charles John Moore Mansfield, where she was instrumental in capturing the Spanish ship Neptuno
Spanish ship Neptuno (1795)
Neptuno was an 80-gun Montañes-class ship of the line of the Spanish Navy. She was built in 1795 and took part in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. She fought with the Franco-Spanish fleet in the battle of Trafalgar, and was wrecked in its aftermath.Neptuno was built at Ferrol and...
, although Neptunos crew recaptured her in the storm that followed the battle.
HMS Minotaur served as the flagship of Rear-Admiral William Essington at the Battle of Copenhagen
Battle of Copenhagen (1807)
The Second Battle of Copenhagen was a British preemptive attack on Copenhagen, targeting the civilian population in order to seize the Dano-Norwegian fleet and in turn originate the term to Copenhagenize.-Background:Despite the defeat and loss of many ships in the first Battle of Copenhagen in...
in 1807.
Then on 25 July 17 boats from a British squadron under the command of Captain Charles Pater, consisting of Minotaur, , and attacked a flotilla of four enemy gunboats and a brig off Aspö
Aspö
Aspö is a small village on the Aspö Island in Väståboland, Finland. Until 2009 it belonged to the municipality of Korpo. Its Finnish-language name is Haapasaari, although this name is seldom used. The village is known for its white limestone church that has a red brick roof. The current church was...
Head near Fredrickshamn in the Grand Duchy of Finland
Grand Duchy of Finland
The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed 1809–1917 as part of the Russian Empire and was ruled by the Russian czar as Grand Prince.- History :...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
(present–day Hamina
Hamina
Hamina is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Kymenlaakso region. The town has a population of and covers an area of ofwhich is water. The population density is...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
). Captain Forrest of Prometheus commanded the boats and succeeded in capturing gunboats Nos. 62, 65, and 66, and the transport brig No. 11. The action was sanguinary in that the British lost 19 men killed and 51 wounded, and the Russians lost 28 men killed and 59 wounded. Minotaur alone lost eight men killed and had 30 wounded, of whom four died of their wounds on the next day or so. In 1847 the Admiralty issued the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "25 JULY BOAT SERVICE 1809" to surviving claimants from the action. Cerberus then moved to the Mediterranean in 1810.
Shipwreck
Whilst sailing from GothenburgGothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
to Britain, under the command of John Barrett
John Barrett (Royal Navy officer)
-Life:Barrett was made a lieutenant on 2 November 1793, and having distinguished himself in command of the store-ship Experiment at the capture of St...
, the Minotaur struck the Haak Bank on the 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...
off the Netherlands in the evening of 22 December 1810, after becoming separated from her consorts, HMS Plantagenet
HMS Plantagenet (1801)
HMS Plantagenet was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 22 October 1801 at Woolwich. She was designed by Sir William Rule as one of the 'large class' 74s, and was the only ship built to her draught...
and HMS Loire. She rolled on her side rapidly, where waves dismasted her and pounded her hull which began to split. Prior to the roll, 110 of her crew had taken to her boats and soon reached shore, where they informed the Dutch authorities of the disaster. Another 20 survivors were rescued by a pilot vessel. The authorities placed the survivors under custody and refused to dispatch more rescue vessels until the following morning. The rescue party found however that apart from four men who reached shore by clinging to wreckage, no survivors remained on the vessel or in the surrounding water, with the death toll being between 370 and 570. All survivors were taken to France as prisoners of war.
Three and a half years later, when the prisoners were released, the customary court martial decided that the deceased pilots were to blame for steering the ship into an unsafe position, having misjudged their location by over 60 miles because of the weather. The Dutch authorities were criticised for their failure to despatch rescue boats sooner by some of the survivors, including Lieutenant Snell, who gave examples of "how easy it would have been for the Dutch admiral in the Texel to have saved, or to have shown some wish to have saved, the remaining part of the crew". Reports from the Dutch chief officer of the marine district of the North coast indicated that two boats were sent out to the examine the wreck site on the morning of 23 December, but were prevented from approaching by the wind and seas. Maritime historian William Stephen Gilly concluded that "There is not the slightest doubt but that, had the Dutch sent assistance, the greater part of the ship's company would have been saved".
Legacy
The sinking was depicted by the famed landscape painter J. M. W. TurnerJ. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner RA was an English Romantic landscape painter, watercolourist and printmaker. Turner was considered a controversial figure in his day, but is now regarded as the artist who elevated landscape painting to an eminence rivalling history painting...
, though the subject was not originally the Minotaur, but a generic 'transport ship'. Turner had been producing sketches in preparation for the painting as early as 1805, but by the time he had completed the painting in 1810, the recent wreck of the Minotaur was a subject of much discussion, and the painting was named to capitalise on this public interest.