HMS Anson (1781)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Launched: | 1781 |
| Fate: | Wrecked, 29 December 1807 |
| General Characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 1375 tons (as razée) |
| Length: | 159 ft 6 in |
| Beam: | 44 ft 5 in |
| Draught: | 12 ft 3 in (depth of hold) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Complement: | 310 officers and men (as razée) |
| Armament: | (As razée) 44 guns Gun deck: 26 × 24 pdrsQuarter deck: 8 × 12 pdrs; 4 × 42 pdr carronades Forecastle: 2 × 12 pdrs; 2 × 42 pdr carronades |
HMS Anson was a third-rate 64-gun ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was launched at Plymouth in 1781 by Georgina, Duchess of Devonshire. In 1794, she was razéed to a large frigate of 44 guns by removing her forecastle and quarterdeck and altering the former upper deck (now weather or spar-deck) to 42-pounder carronades from the 18-pounder long guns previously mounted.
She fought at the Battle of Les Saintes on April 9, 1782 under the flag of Admiral Sir George Rodney against Admiral de Grasse. In this engagement, Captain William Blair was one of the two Royal Navy post captains killed.
On October 18, 1798 under the command of Captain Philip Charles Durham, in company with Kanagaroo, she captured the French frigate Loire, this after having earlier lost her mizzen mast, main lower and topsail yards during the pursuit of a French squadron off Ireland.
She sailed from Plymouth on 26 January 1799, and on February 2, in company with Ethalion, captured the French privateer cutter Boulonaise, 14, from Dunkirk which had been harassing shipping in the North Sea.
On September 9, 1799 Captain Durham hosted a fête for King George III. During the course of the evening, the king was found on the low deck surrounded by the ship’s company talking to an old sailor.
On 10 April 1800, when north-west of the Canary Islands, Anson detained the Catherine & Anna bound for Hamburg, Holy Roman Empire, from Batavia with a cargo of coffee.
In 1801 Captain W.E. Cacraft assumed command and the ship was placed on the Channel station, cruising from Portsmouth. In 1802 she was in the Mediterranean, and in November she sailed from Malta for Egypt. She went in for repairs in 1805 at Portsmouth.
On the morning of August 23, 1806 Captain Charles Lydiard along with Arethusa made a successful attack near Moro Castle in Cuba.
On September 15, 1806, she encountered the French Foudroyant, 84, under jury rig some 15 miles off Havana. Assuming that she had been damaged in action Captain Charles Lydiard attacked but then after half an hour found that the French ship had only suffered from bad weather and retained all her fire power. He was forced to haul off after 2 men had been killed, 13 wounded, his sails and rigging had been badly damaged and the ships were drifting fast in shore.
Anson was wrecked in Mount's Bay, Cornwall, on December 29, 1807. The previous day she had been driven onto a lee shore by a gale while attempting to return to Falmouth.She had anchored, but when the cable parted at about 8 o'clock in the morning, she ran onto the sand and was soon broken up by the waves. 270 of the 330 on board were saved. Captain Lydiard was among the casualties, his body being recovered on January 1, 1808 and taken to Falmouth for burial.
[edit] References
- Robert Gardiner, "Frigates of the Napoleonic Wars", Chatham Publishing, London 2000.
- Michael Phillips. Sailing Ships of the Royal Navy. Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 15 January 2007.
